The popularity of the Birthday Reminder Service continues to soar as I bring you this edition. This week I will talk about a bygone April Fools’ Day, a great couple and spring cleaning in a different sense. Here we go…

This April Fools’ Day, Megan will not be in town. I’m thinking of her as I write this because Kong is cuddled up against me and I remember how the two of them fooled me once! I’ll wish her through the ecard dashboard but I’m continuously thinking of the time when I really felt that Kong was speaking to me! Actually Adrian had a role to play in this as well. It so happened that on the morning of this hilarious day, I went to give Kong his bowl of breakfast. And suddenly I heard a voice, “How dare you keep me hungry!”

I was muggy with sleep and looked at Kong in sheer disbelief! There was no sign of hostility in the amicable nature of Kong. It took me a good few seconds to really understand that this was an April Fools’ Day prank. As the voice came on again, I located the walkie-talkie immediately. It was right under Kong’s mat. Megan and Adrian rushed in from the other room, with Adrian holding the other walkie-talkie aloft like a trophy. They were crimson with laughter and Kong’s vigorously wagging tail told me that he had enjoyed it too!

“What is the hallmark of great lovers?” This was the question that Adrian asked me. I thought for a while and replied, “Maybe people who make love a driving force in their lives, as opposed to other aspects like fame or money!” Adrian smiled and replied that he was happy that I didn’t go into the stereotypical ideas of great lovers, like having a flower bower for his lady or making a monument to show his affection! “You being a writer, I expected that!” he added with a wry smile.

It’s true that when you are faced with a question about love, your mind tends to get a high and float around unrestrained. You imagine the most fanciful ideas as possible and within your means. But love in the modern world cannot be so dramatic. A simple act can catapult you from being just another lover to a great lover. After three years of dating each other, Cathy showed Adrian the rose that he had given her during their initial period of courtship! What would you say to that?

In the meantime, as Adrian’s June wedding comes nearer, he’s planning a bachelor party. He’s planning on online invitations and getting into the groove to track RSVPs. That will be one crazy event!

We’re all familiar with the term spring cleaning. It’s the time of the year when you throw out clutter and redundant items from your home. Why not do the same about your online profiles? All of us have tons of people on our profile pages who have added us randomly. They hardly interact and do nothing but make up the numbers. That’s exactly what Irina is doing now. She’s striking off people who are no longer a part of her life.

At one phase of her life, Irina thought it worthwhile to add as many people as she could. “Contacts seemed important back then,” Irina explained why she was on this drive, “Now I want only my closest friends to be on my page!” It seems like a good idea. You have to admit that from your own perspective, you cannot touch base with everyone you know on a regular basis. You do segregate people according to the need of the hour. There hardly seems to be any point having a huge friend list when you can’t keep track of them.

Donna has conditioned her children, Ethan and Emily, to ask questions from a very early age. They have an argumentative mind and take nothing on face value. That is a great quality to have in the digital age. You ask them about a topic and they are objective and thorough about what they know. Their confidence in their knowledge also gives them a certain leadership quality. Very few children of their age can hold their own when confronted by tricky subjects.

“I want them to be flexible,” Donna told me when I pointed out this streak to her. It is only natural that children will ask many questions. What makes Ethan and Emily special is that they do not come off as know-it-alls. They make generous allowances for others to express their ideas. Open-mindedness adds to the weapons of the wise. Whenever I have debated a point with them, I found them transparent and forthright. I see a bright future here.

Here’s a wise quote by Max Eastman on April Fools’ Day: “It is the ability to take a joke, not make one that proves you have a sense of humor.”