Father Joeker

Ang Medalyon

Noong nasa Germany ako, pumunta ako sa isang department store. Tinanong ko ang sales lady kung ano ang pwede kong mabili sa 50 pfennigs ko -– hindi ko kasi kabisado ang halaga ng pfennigs sa peso. Sinamahan niya ako sa jewelry section. Laking tuwa ko kasi mukhang makakabili ako ng isang mamahaling kwintas. Pero isang pagkaliit-liit na medalyon ang inabot niya sa akin. Asus, bigla akong namula sa hiya. Di ba

I Love You

Our hosts at Oies, northern Italy, treated us at Kapalla Restaurant. Inside the restaurant was a very big card with ‘Ich liebe dich’ written on it. I asked my companion, Fr Ittoop, what it meant. He said that I should say it to the waitress when she came. So, I said aloud to her, ‘Ich liebe dich’. She blushed and after a few seconds said, ‘Bravo, bravo’. The other customers broke into laughter. One of them who spoke German translated it for me: I love you. Luckily the lady did not say, ‘Avante’.

Bagong Mata

Pumunta ako sa Methodist Eye Clinic para magpatingin.   Nagulat ang doctor nung nakita niya ang aking salamin. ‘Ang salamin mo ay para sa taong sampung taon ang tanda sa iyo.’   Nang ikinuwento ko ito, sabi ng aking kaibigan,   ‘Dalawa ang maaari mong gawin: magpalit ng salamin o magpalit ka na ng doctor.’ Magpalit na lang kaya ako ng mata, ano sa palagay n’yo?

Pretty in Pink

When I was at the outskirts of Wenchi town, my attention was drawn to a group of chicks marching after their mother hen. They were all painted pink! ‘Why are they painted like that?’ I curiously asked the man standing nearby. ‘So that the hawk will not catch them,’ he replied. Well, how about that? Native ingenuity at work!