April Fools' Day once was really fun at the Democrat-Gazette (and elsewhere). My mentor and friend (and other mom) Mary Hargrove and I were notorious for newsroom pranks on the day. More than a few batches of plastic bugs were deployed (sorry, Danny, RIP), desk drawers turned upside-down, and fake letters sent (such as the one to a soccer-hating editor asking him to serve as the leader of the Arkansas Soccer Dads).

Now, though, the idea just seems off somehow. Not that the pranks we did were mean-spirited (they were mostly pretty tame, but still funny). Still, at a time when some people take so much joy in causing others pain (too many Internet trolls to count), April Fools' Day just adds fuel to the fire.

That's why I like what Jama Oliver posted on Threads the other day: "[H]ear me out ... since everything is kind of trash right now, what if we did an April Kindness Day? Instead of playing pranks we do little 'gotchas' by surprising people with treats? Sweet text messages? Hand written notes? Like 'haha! I bought you some Nerds Gummy Clusters because I know you love em! Booyah!'"

So, yeah, maybe put away the plastic bugs, whoopie cushions, and phone messages that lead to the reptile house at the zoo, and this year take a page from the late Jennings Osborne and his random........

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