April Fools’ Day is no joke. In recent days, scores of our car-covering colleagues felt the sting of a certain automaker making them look foolish. On April Fools’ Day eve, I’m wondering: When have you felt the sting of a practical joke?
As a 19-year-old Detroiter, I of course went across the river — which happens to be an international border — to visit the truly gross bars and clubs in Windsor, Canada. It’s a rite of passage for any Detroit kid. We were hanging out at a place called the Milk Bar, where some older guys chatted us up. I remember one of them was named Harvey. Anyway, we said goodnight to the guys and headed home across the bridge.
Given that this was 2005 (oy), you’d think the Border Patrol would be operating very seriously. So when we got on the other side of the Ambassador Bridge, the Customs and Border Patrol officers giving us a hard time wasn’t that surprising. What was surprising was what the CBP officer said after inspecting my passport.
“So, where’s all the drugs?”
“What?” I replied.
Listen, I was a painfully good kid. If I’m honest, a nerd. I was the DD for crying out loud. I hadn’t even smoked pot yet. I panicked, imagining my 1995 Dodge Avenger ripped to shreds looking for drugs that I had never even heard of.
“Uhhh, I don’t have any drugs.”
He stared at me with his hands on his hips for what felt like very long minutes.
“Well that’s not what Harvey says!” he said with a laugh. Turns out the guys at the bar were a group of CBP officers blowing off steam in Windsor after a shift. After we left, they called up their asshole buddies working that night, described us and my car — and asked them to give us a hard time.
Assholes. Anyway, what about you? What car-based pranks have you totally fallen for?