April 1

April 1 is a day which I won't ever forget, for many reasons.  First, this year it is the day that Channing Mauger, the 17 year old grandson of my college roommate and closest friend, Jim Herrold, was buried.  Channing has joined his grandmother and grandfather in heaven after a tragic two months of unexpected suffering.  He was an excellent high school long distance runner at Oley Valley.  He would have been valedictorian of his graduating class.  He was accepted at Bucknell University and Cornell University.  He seemed to be in perfect health.  Then suddenly he became very ill and ended up in Children's Hospital in Philadelphia where he was a patient for nearly two months.  They found that his blood counts, especially his platelets, were extremely poor and, as a result, mold became his enemy.  It was determined that he would need a bone marrow transplant.  Later his liver and kidneys would need to be replaced.  He was put into a coma for over a month in hopes that his body would heal.  But on March 26 the Lord took him home while his family surrounded him singing hymns and praise songs.  He passed quietly to his new home.  His body, which was just a rental, was buried April 1.  This day was also the birthday of my mother-in-law.  Folks enjoy mother-in-law jokes, but I would never joke about her,  She was a special lady who loved and served the Lord.  She was an excellent mother who reared two wonderful Christian daughters.  She went through some very difficult times and learned how to prosper with very limited money and means.  She knew how to work hard.  And I will never forget her and what she meant to me.  If she were still living she would be 99 on this April 1 birthday. And April 1 was also the day, many years ago, that we buried Dianne's grandmother.  He was a very rainy day and a muddy event at the cemetery. But I also remember this day for the fun I have had over the years with April Fool's Day pranks.  When I was teaching, every few years I would teach "L'ooflirpa's Theorem", a fake theorem, that included a few mathematically incorrect steps.  My students would play the "student game", taking notes, shaking their heads in agreement and accepting whatever I said. The next day I would explain to them the fallacy of the proof.  I was amazed at how easy it was to fool them.   In fact, one year I even found some students still trying to apply this false theorem on a final exam - then I realized that I may have been too good at teaching this false lesson.  But for many years I have annually sent out a fake e-mail on April 1.  After stating my case, I would ask folks to click on a link for more information.  The link would take them to a page that would say "April Fools!".  Some years this has been a major success.  In one case we announced that we were making a quick and unexpected move to Florida.  We had folks in tears and there was even a meeting called to consider how we would be replaced in Awana. Too bad they didn't use the link I provided. Another successful one was telling folks that I had accidentally sent a "l'ooflirpa virus" and that their computers would be infected unless they went to a special site.  Several folks were upset and worried. Again, too bad that they didn't use the link I had provided.  Then there was the announcement that Taco Bell had purchased the naming rights to the Liberty Bell and were going to call it the Taco Bell.  This upset many folks, including some home school teachers who didn't check the link.  Now I do face some challenges with these pranks.  They are getting harder to do because many folks now expect them and look for them.  It is also harder to come up with ideas that are believable.   Finally, many folks just accept them and don't take the time to use the link which I ask them to use.  But I guess that if you read it on the internet or in an e-mail it must be true.  Right?  I think Abe Lincoln said that .... or maybe it was Joe Biden.  So I think the day of my April Fool's Day e-mails may be be over .... April Fools to you!