Playing a Joke on Jeff

It was 1974. I had just lost fifty pounds as a result of one of my many diets and had begun wearing a hair piece. I was living in Clifton Park with my wife, Sally, and three of our four children. Kristine, my oldest daughter, had married and was living with her husband, John, in Schenectady.

I got a call from Jeff, a young lad who had been one of Kris's suitors in the past. It had been some years since I had last seen him. At that time I had been much heavier and had obviously been bald. Though he and Kris were no longer seeing each other, Jeff and I had retained contact and he would visit from time to time. He said he was in town and wanted to visit. I agreed.

As he was on his way, I realized that I might look different so I decided to play a joke on him. When Jeff arrived, he parked on the street in front of the house. I opened the front door and hastened to greet him. Extending my hand, I said, "Hi, I'm Mario's younger brother, Al. "Mario is away for a few minutes but he'll be right back. Come on in." Jeff bought the story and said he was happy to meet me.

Inside the house, Sally and the kids had been clued in on the joke and did not let on. Jeff sat and we began talking. Jeff wanted to know about Al, and I had to make up facts as we went along. Jeff never showed any doubt that what I was saying was true. At one point, he said, "It's amazing, your voice is exactly the same as your brother's." It was at this point that I thought it might be reveal time.

I said, "I think I hear Mario coming into the house. I'll go see." I left the room and reentered a few seconds later. I caught Jeff's eye and, shaking his hand, said, "Hello, Jeff, I'm happy to see you. How have you been?"

He looked puzzled but responded, "I'm fine Al. Was that Mario arriving?"

I feigned puzzlement and said, "Jeff, don't you know me. I'm Mario." He smiled saying, "You're joking. You're Al. Mario's away."

I kept up the ruse and Jeff became more and more confused. Finally, he said, "Who are you, really?" That's when I told him that I had been Mario all along. To say that he was completely amazed would be very much of an understatement.

Jeff is married now but we still communicate. Whenever we do, the time he was completely fooled keeps coming up.