Living in a third world country offers unique opportunities for comic relief. I remember, as a kid, being puzzled for weeks by an orange table sitting in the middle of a dry riverbed with nothing else around. The “table” turned out to be the roof a bulldozer that had gotten caught out in a hurricane, and the flooding river buried it up to its roof in sand.
Not long ago, I was driving my motorcycle when something suddenly hit my helmet, almost knocking me over. Quickly recovering my wits, I looked around in time to see a terrified chicken flying off the other way. I don’t know why the chicken crossed the road, nor why it chose to fly, but I know that we both got the shock of our lives.
My favorite, though, is the Tawbuid family whose Filipino friends took them to visit the nearby town of San Jose for the first time. The ladies went to the market while the men decided to visit the only elevator in town. As they stood watching, an old, stooped lady entered the elevator, and the doors closed. A minute or two later, the doors opened, and a beautiful young girl emerged. Having no idea what an elevator was, the Tawbuid father hollered at his son, “Quick, get your mother and bring her here!”
It’s the little moments like these that put the spice in life and keep me smiling even when the going gets rough.

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