April Fool’s Day and Other Funny Things

I am linking up with

again with the prompt of 10 things that I find funny.

We are in Florida on spring break with my parents. 

Just thought I’d set the scene a bit for the first item on my list.

1)  This morning at our beach condo, the owner stopped by to drop off some lumber for an upcoming project. He came to the door to tell Monte that he discovered a gas leak with the water heater and would need us to go to a hotel (paid for by him) for a night until the gas company could repair the leak, which wouldn’t be until tomorrow. He looked so nervous and seemed to feel so bad about having to tell us that news. I was just speechless thinking about all we’d have to pack up when Monte turned around and yelled, “April Fool’s Day!” He and the owner just laughed and laughed. Monte set the whole thing up. 

Monte LOVES a good prank. 

And Monte LOVES getting the girls on April Fool’s Day.

But usually I’m IN on the joke.

2)  One year Monte changed all the clocks in the house and woke the girls up at 3:30 telling them they were late for school and to hurry and get dressed. In the kitchen, he had put out bowls and a box of cereal and a big sign that said, “It’s 3:30, go back to bed. April Fool’s Day!”

3)  Another year, Monte surprised the girls with a box of fresh doughnuts before school. He had taken toothpaste and squirted it inside where the cream should’ve been. Ellie took a huge bite and said, “You bought mint doughnuts?”

4)  Another year, he printed up on what looked like official school stationery, a letter stating the new policy of Saturday school per state regulations, blah, blah, blah. The girls seemed wary of it from the beginning and showed it to a neighbor girl who threw a fit thinking it was true!

5)  April Fool’s Day pranks aside, I do find Monte consistently funny. Yes, he does tell an insane amount of lame jokes to hopefully get one good laugh. But his humor has a way of surprising me, which adds to the amusement. 

For example:

6)  The condo we are currently staying in is just lovely with high ceilings, beautiful crown molding, a really nice kitchen and beautifully tiled spacious bathrooms. 

But the toilets. 

The first time we used one we all jumped. 

Because no matter which toilet is being used (upstairs or down, there are three), we all know it. 

It is SO loud that it sounds like something is wrong. 

REALLY wrong. 

Monte called the owner and spoke with his wife. 

I overheard him say, “The toilet sounds like a dragon when it is flushed!” 

That struck me funny because it was so. dead. on. 

Monte usually doesn’t get caught up in descriptive detail 

(which has proven frustrating to me 

on more than one occasion). 

But this time he got it right! 

And I hadn’t thought of it in that particular way first. 

The toilets flush with the force and equal decibel of a jet engine, 

followed by a deep growling and a thudding whack, 

finished off by a hiss. 

Every. Time. 

We have started not flushing them in the middle of the night (regardless if we’ve used them or not) so we don’t scare each other into night terrors.

And the response of the owner’s wife when Monte told her about the dragon toilets?

“Yeah, they do that. Scary, isn’t it?"

7)  Traveling. Yes, there is so much funny to me in traveling. Especially when you get off the interstate and start seeing some true culture. Not strip malls and chain restaurants and high rises. 

No sir. 

Like the pig races at the petting zoo portion of African Wildlife Safari we drove through in the rain during our misadventures in northern Ohio last summer. 

The safari that we had to pass the nuclear power plant to get to.

On the drive here, we passed a spray-painted sign advertising the sale of miniature donkeys. What?! Miniature donkeys exist? That is hilarious to me! I instantly wondered what a miniature donkey would cost. Monte and I discussed that at some length and felt settled that they probably run about the same as a good designer dog. We all entertained the thought of owning one and then put it in the teacup pig category. Which means no, no, never, never, ain’t no way.

8)  Speaking of donkeys, I find this funny:

Sumita and I went to this really cool furniture store a few weeks ago. It had some really unique pieces including this picture. It’s two donkeys looking at each other. I snapped a picture of it and sent it to Carisa who is decorating her brand new house and I already knew for a fact that she has a big picture of a horse head in her basement alongside some adorable cow prints, so why not add some donkeys in the mix? I ended up calling her so we could laugh and “talk out” all the funny of this picture. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I showed this picture to Monte. He loved it right away. The contrasting light donkey, with the dark one. One seeming to be recoiling under the stink eye of the other. Monte and I deemed this picture to be marriage. Two stubborn donkeys (or the other term to describe this animal depending on the condition of your marriage), staring each other down. One right, one wrong. Monte said he wants us to paint it ourselves--each painting our own donkey. The $365 price tag may have had a little to do with that. Can you imagine the conversation starter a big ol’ painting of two donkeys staring each other down could be? 

Guest:  “Umm. What’s this here?”

Me:  “Two donkeys staring at each other.”

Guest:  “Oh. Why?”

Me:  “Marriage.”

9)  Another thing we saw on our drive to Florida was an overpass with huge graffiti letters spray painted on it spelling out the word MOIST. I had to text Sumita because that word is on her daughter’s “Words I Can’t Tolerate” list. I wondered if MOIST was this particular artist’s name, or possibly a gang name marking its territory. How intimidating could a gang be with a name like MOIST? Unless their rival is DAMP…

10) When I mentioned to Monte outside of Nashville that a restroom break was needed, he deemed a gas station called “Nervous Charlie’s” right for the job.

McDaniel and the “Nervous Charlie’s” gorilla.

There was a gorilla out front.

And large hams in sacks hanging on hooks inside.

And enough fireworks for sale to light up

 several cities for the 4th of July.

I’m not sure which of the three made Charlie more nervous.

Hey, you can’t soak up this kind of culture flying to your destination.

What 10 things do you find funny?