We couldn't resist the timing of the last issue of the Gazette falling just a few days before April 1. It had been three years since our last big April Fool's edition (Volume 2 Number 7). Long-time readers of the Gazette will remember when our April Fool's front page story was about a 10-story bank that was being planned to replace the Vogue. (The front page of that issue is available at www.broadripplegazette.com). So many readers enjoyed that first prank issue that we thought we would try it again.

This year we had two fake stories. The first was written by my son about all three presidential nominees coming to Broad Ripple and the BRG endorsement of all three. The second was about the installation of a 20-foot diameter corrugated pipe down the entire length of the canal. Both stories were continued on page A11 where it was explained that the stories were jokes, but, some readers never made it that far.

It didn't take long for the calls and emails to come pouring in. By the response, we apparently roped many of you in. One disgruntled reader called in about John McCain visiting, "You mentioned John McCain coming for a rally but you didn't give an address! Are you trying to make it difficult for us to go?"

I especially enjoyed the caller that started out with, "I was reading in the Broad Ripple Gazelle about Barack..." He said Broad Ripple Gazelle so naturally, as if we had always been called that.

We even had a few entries to the Rene's Bakery Mistakes Can Be Sweet contest for the "misspelling" of Gazette as Gazelle!

Another caller said, "I saw [the canal pipeline article] and all I saw was red! I was getting ready to protest it. You got me good!"

We hope everyone had a good laugh. Thanks to all of you for your loyal readership. Oh, and the Broad Ripple Farmers' Market opens on Saturday May 3, 2008, at Broad Ripple High School instead of when the April Fool article stated.