April first 1977 I had Robin's car while he was on duty aboard ship. Duty consisted of being on board ship for 24 hours at a particular duty station in case of war. The military is always at the ready and his duty rotation was every three days. Rob would often leave his car with me, he didn't always like leaving it on the dock parking lot.
Often when he had duty I would join him for his evening meal aboard ship and this night was going to be no different. I headed out to his car which was parked in our driveway to take it to the ship. His car had the necessary passes to get easily onto the base so it was easiest to take his car verses mine to the ship. As I began to pull out of our driveway I noticed that for the millionth time our neighbor across the street had parked on the street directly behind our driveway. They did this so often and it was so annoying. I carefully pulled awkwardly out of our driveway so as not to hit my neighbors car and drove down the street towards my destination. I had a strange feeling that I needed to go back because I had hit the car that was parked on the street. I shook my head because I had felt nothing and heard nothing when backing out. I thought I had quite the active imagination. Again the feeling came that I needed to go back because I had hit the car that was parked at the end of the drive way and this time it was stronger. I decided I would go back because the feeling was so strong. I went back and there on the driver door was a deep scratch about 12 to 14 inches long. I could not believe it, I never felt a thing. I got out and checked it and sure enough I had the dark blue paint on my bumper. I knocked on my neighbors door and told them what had happened and of course they freaked out not just because it had happened but because the car was only one week old. I was not happy and told her she did not need to keep parking her car directly behind my driveway because technically that was illegal. I gave her my insurance information and went on to the ship for my supper with Rob and to let him know what had happened.
I tried to tell Rob what had happened when I got to the ship but he just kept laughing and saying, "April fools". I could not convince him it was not a joke. He could not come off the ship to see the paint on the bumper and I could not convince him. The more he laughed it made me laugh and I kept telling him I was serious. The next day when I went to pick him up from the ship I insisted that what I had told him was true. He went to the bumper and looked and somehow the paint had come off and so there was no evidence. We had to literally go to my neighbors and she had to tell him that yes in fact I had hit her car in order for him to believe it wasn't an April Fools joke.
My neighbors car door was repaired and she rarely parked her car directly behind our driveway again. Rob and I chuckled for years about our April Fools joke that was no joke.
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