When I was a college student, I would sometimes bring a friend home for a weekend. I always had to warn the friend that my dad was a practical joker. Once when we were all sitting at the dinner table, my dad passed the butter plate to my boyfriend. As my friend put out his hand to receive it, my dad gave the plate an extra shove and my friend ended up with his thumb stuck in the soft butter. My dad laughed like crazy. I wanted to cry. My friend just sat there looking at a glob of butter on his thumb. Another time, Daniel, my future husband, was with us, wearing a favorite old shirt. There were some little holes in the back of it. My dad put his finger in one of the holes and ripped the shirt all the way to the bottom. Dan was shocked! Not me. I knew that if you were a guest at our house, y…