Anita Dufalla, Post-Gazette Click illustration for larger version.

Even our parents, who love us, can play April Fools' Day tricks on us.

Walt Michalski, of Peters, learned that lesson early when he was growing up in Morristown, N.J.

Each year, his mother would gently wake him and say, "It snowed last night. There's no school today."

"I don't know how many years she caught me on that one. I would get all excited. I guess hope springs eternal," said Mr. Michalski, 46, a representative for the American Federation of Teachers.

"I tried to pull it on my own kids but they were sharper than I was at their ages," he said.

The origin of April Fools' Day is disputed, but the tradition certainly caught on in America and other countries, such as England, Holland and France.

April 1, traditionally known as April Fools' Day is characteristically a time to play jokes, a day to frustrate, tease -- even embarrass -- the gullible. The potential for fun exists everywhere -- at home, at work, at school, at play. No one is immune.

We asked some residents of the South to recall the best April Fools' joke they ever fell for, or the best such joke they played on someone else.

Garvey Jones, of Bethel Park, remembered that one April Fools' Day several years ago he was having a really bad day. Then he got a phone call from a neighbor informing him that his car had two flat tires. He came "storming" out of the house, saw nothing was wrong and called the neighbor back.

"'Did you happen to look at the calendar today?' " he asked me," Mr. Jones, 75, a retired health insurance manager, said.

"I felt foolish that he suckered me into it. If it hadn't been such a bad day, I might not have bitten. But, at least my bad mood changed into a good one," he said.

Last year, Dormont councilman Norman Simeone was witness to an April Fools' joke played at a Carnegie restaurant and catering business.

"Since we all knew what was going on, we all felt involved ," Mr. Simeone, 74, a retired sales engineer, said.

"We could see the customer, who was playing the joke, talking on his cell phone and we could also see the business owner in the back taking the call.

"The owner had a big catering assignment that day and he had just bought a new Ford truck. He had brought it to a shop for routine maintenance and the fellow playing the joke pretended he worked there. He said he was 'Bob,' the service manager.

"He told the owner he needed a new engine and it was not covered by warranty. He kept expertly stringing him along, saying 'there's nothing we can do.'

"The owner hung up in anger, then immediately called back and learned there was no employee named Bob. Then, he noticed that patrons were struggling to hold back their laughter and he started to laugh too," Mr. Simeone recalled.

John Egger, 55, of Baldwin borough, said he relishes playing April Fools' jokes. When asked to recall his favorite, he responded, "Which one? But, he narrowed it down to two. One of which appeared to be a play on his last name.

"When I was 15 years old, I took a dozen eggs that my parents bought, poked small holes into each one, and blew the yolk out. Then I carefully put the shells back into the carton.

"I learned that day that my father did not have a great sense of humor. And I learned that I could run really fast," Mr. Egger said.

The other joke involved Mr. Egger's playful mood while working as a clerk at a South Side convenience store.

"I pretended to be filling out forms and told a regular customer that I just got a phone call saying that in three hours we were going to reduce the gas prices, but for just for an hour only," Mr. Egger said. "He kept after me asking questions."

"Is this nationwide?" the customer asked. "No, just in select stores," Mr. Egger told him.

"When I finally told him to check today's date, he got mad. But not at me, he was mad at himself for trying to figure out how he could get several cars down to our store to fill them up with gas."

Such jokes also occur in law offices, as Jim Coster, 48, of Scott, learned to his chagrin and later good humor.

He got a phone call and thought it was from a judge's tipstaff. He was told the judge was reviewing a case he was on and he had five minutes to report to the judge's chambers or else be held in contempt.

"Our law office was in the Law and Finance building near the courthouse. I ran over, was sweaty and panting and found that the judge's staff didn't know what I was talking about. I later learned a friend pulled the joke."

"Short sheeting" is a common April Fools' joke in the military, Fred Menzl, 60, a retired Port Authority mechanic, said.

Making beds in the required military manner is a daily part of Army routine. The joke is when a bed seems to be made up properly but a sheet only covers up half the bed.

"I've seen guys poke holes through sheets with their legs," Mr. Menzl recalled.

Jim Bruder, 60, of Carrick, remembers feeling isolated when he was stationed aboard the U.S.S. Shangri La back in 1965. He opened up the ship's newspaper and learned that Elvis had just got married. (The King didn't really tie the knot until 1967.) Other stories seemed equally amazing. Then he and his mates realized that this was the April Fools' edition, Mr. Bruder, a retired Port Authority employee, said.

Dennis Shinton, 59, of Brookline, a retired Pittsburgh firefighter, remembered getting a phone call telling him he was late for duty on a day he thought he had off.

"I was throwing my clothes on and then I got another call, saying 'April Fool."'

Margaret Lindquist, a retired teacher from Mt. Lebanon, taught fourth and fifth grades.

"Every year students would tell me that my shoes were untied or something fell on the floor. They always got me, although the same jokes would be tried by other students three or four more times that day."

Janice Boyko, 55, of Brentwood, a South Allegheny 4th-grade teacher, only shook her head when asked if her students tried similar jokes.

"Lets just say this. Teachers are very, very happy when April Fools' Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday."