APRIL 1, A STRANGE ELIXIR

My Dad was not exactly a bundle of yucks. He didn't talk much, didn't joke much and didn't party much. But every April 1, he had a temporary personality change.

He would give one of his customers a telephone message "Mr. Wolf Called, please call 555-1212". The number, of course, would be the Lincoln Park Zoo. He would giggle like a schoolgirl. Even when I was a little, bitty kid, I didn't think it was very funny but it was fun to see my Dad having fun. Never could tell how the customers took it, but they kept coming back.