April Fool's Day has always been one of my favourite days of the year, (perhaps because I have always enjoyed being a fool). Over the years I have celebrated the occasion with some modest pranks. (Click on image to see full screen.)
In 1998, while selling a condominium building in Kerrisdale, I got the ridiculous idea of paying for an article in the Vancouver Courier reporting that Prince Charles had purchased a penthouse in my Elm Park Place development. After all, the prince admired good architecture, and this was a very well-designed building and the 100% wool Axminster carpets in the building were like those in the palace.
After the article appeared, several buyers angrily phoned my office complaining about my decision to sell to the prince. Some worried his presence in the building would no doubt add to the security costs and monthly condominium fees. Really! Eventually, my assistant was able to point out the article had been published on April 1st, and the prince had not purchased a unit.
The next year a story appeared in the Courier about a secret provincial government memorandum that noted the province was considering another SkyTrain extension along the Arbutus Corridor and West 41st to UBC, adjacent to the same condominium building. The extension would be funded in part by increased UBC tuition fees and taxes on the businesses along West 41st, especially the coffee houses.
The following day Amy Xu, one of my daughter's Crofton School classmates brought the newspaper article to 'show and tell' since there would be a SkyTrain station near the school. My daughter had to tell her that it wasn't a real story. Her dad had made the whole thing up since he was trying to sell some apartments. It was just an April Fool's Day prank. Amy had never heard of April Fool's Day before.
In 2013, I tried again. This time it was a story in the North Shore News about my proposal to build 14,000 duplexes and coach houses in the upper lands of West Vancouver, which would double the population over the next 20 years. The housing would be linked to Ambleside and Dundarave by gondolas, like that I had proposed at SFU.
Brent Bartholomew, Metro's Director of Planning liked my proposal, noting that "for too long, West Vancouver has been an enclave for the rich and very rich. This proposal would accommodate more lower and middle income households, including the children and parents of the rich and very rich."
This article had a number of unexpected results. Both Business in Vancouver and the Vancouver Sun contacted me seeking more details about my proposal, especially the network of gondolas. However, many local residents were not amused at all. In fact, in an effort to address the damage, I had to buy space in the following week's paper to apologize to those who were so upset. Really!
But to end on a bittersweet note, the following year on April 1, 2014, I arrived in Odessa, Ukraine, where my family originated. As we all know, the was a war in eastern Ukraine but I did not expect it to affect Odessa, and other than the presence of some Russian artillery and soldiers, it didn't. But the reason I mention this is because since 1973, on April 1, Odessa celebrates Humorina https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humorina n annual festival of humour with parades and performances around the city. While I missed most of it due to a late flight, I can't help but wonder whether it is being celebrated at all this year.
Let's hope it can be fully celebrated next year, and I'll feel like offering
some new pranks.
2 comments:
great
good work i really like it
Post a Comment