成人论坛

Abdul-Rehman Malik, journalist and broadcaster

It鈥檚 the first of April and, Sara, I have to be honest, I鈥檓 a little worried. It is, after all, April Fools鈥� Day.听 For most of us it鈥檚 a day for some harmless hilarity. We鈥檒l poke a bit of fun at our friends and track down those strange news stories that could be true, but aren鈥檛. Not for me. Growing up in Canada, April Fools鈥� Day was a day of anxiety. It was a day when kids like me 鈥� occupying the lower rungs of the social ladder 鈥� had to watch our backs. I remember a friend of mine being given a shiny, wrapped chocolate Easter egg. He excitedly opened it, only to hear a crack and watch as the raw egg dripped down his hands. The bullies were out in full force.

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So, I remember walking into my seventh grade classroom on April Fools鈥� with trepidation. I was on guard. No dodgy Easter eggs for me, I thought. My classmates that year were a lot like me 鈥� a bit odd. A motley crew of eccentrics thrown together for allegedly doing well on some standardised tests. The upshot was we did away with much of the curriculum and got to engage in plenty of 鈥渟elf-directed鈥� learning.

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Imagine our outrage that morning when we found our project on the history of goblins, our display on the effects of nuclear war and the diorama on the impact of HIV/AIDS had been slapped with official looking signs with big red letters reading 鈥淐ENSORED鈥�.

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Just as we were discussing our response (I think someone was already drafting a petition), the door opened and two eighth graders came in. We knew them. They were a clever pair and even the teachers feared them a bit. They stood quietly at the front of the room and placed a wooden chopping board against the wall. The scarlet coloured letters on it read, 鈥淏rought to you by The Censorship Board鈥�. We paused. They smiled. We all laughed. It was a worthy April Fools鈥� prank.

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听"There is no greater sin than distressing someone鈥檚 heart,鈥� the Persian mystic Balyani advised, "nor is there any more meritorious act of devotion than bringing joy to someone鈥檚 heart."

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The true jesters poke fun at themselves first, make us laugh together at the comedy of life itself and spread some joy. I for one will stick to figuring out which stories in this morning鈥檚 papers are pulling my leg. The trouble is I never can figure it out. Happy April Fools鈥� all the same.