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Blogs by Paul Cuenco
Quintessential Jokes
2/24/2012 8:29:16 PM
Everytime we tell these jokes, we burst into laughter. Ate (big sister) could tell these jokes over and over and never tire of it. I would repeat the jokes and it was renewed laughter. We would tell this jokes on family gatherings, especially when mom was around; she played a small part and she was completely but innocently involved. (She played a bit part but it was terribly funny.)
Both of these jokes occurred at the San Francisco International Airport. And it was so long ago that perhaps these jokes occurred on the same day.
We were there waiting for someone. There was milling and we all were anxious. There was conversation here and there. At that time (before the proliferation of terrorism), you could enter up the ramparts of the plane. You could not enter the plane itself or the tunnel leading into the plane. But definitely, you could lounge around as if you have a ticket to fly. There was a “convention” atmosphere. We, Filipinos, were fond of bringing the entire family to the airport when one was coming or leaving. So you must know that the place got quite crowded at the terminal.
Now, there was a lady trying to get mom’s attention from behind. I did not see this woman and mom was certainly not paying attention to her. Mom went on conversing with Ate or me. We tried telling mom that someone was trying to get her attention but we were unsuccessful. The woman insisted. She initially tried to call mom’s attention first by making her voice louder and when that didn’t work, she tried poking mom. Soon, mom started turning but it was not immediate. She had this “slow motion” movie-like quality to her turn that when she saw the woman, she screamed at the top of her lungs. Indeed, she saw the woman and the woman looked like someone from the dead.
The woman looked like a skull. Surely, anyone would scream because of fright. Even I would, but because of my age, I wouldn’t. She was not ugly for skulls were not ugly, they were just frightful. And I understand why mom would scream with such ferocity. It was embarrassing to hear our mother scream but all the lady wanted was to ask for the time. Even she, the lady, laughed afterwards. Perhaps she realized how she looked like but she already must have accepted that.
Now, I was walking down the hallway. As I mentioned, it was always crowded in the International Airport. It was like a bus depot but instead of buses, planes lined up to take in passengers. We were at the International Terminal and I was walking in its hallway determined to be wherever I needed to be. There was a group of Japanese tourist heading my way that I just ignored them as they passed me by. After all, San Francisco is an international city and people all over the world visit the city. Then for a moment, I stopped. There was someone familiar in that crowd of Japanese tourists. I turned and just as I was turning, a lady was turning too. It was my sister, Ate Olive!
She too was rushing to be wherever she needed to be. And as she was walking down the hall, she noticed a gaggle of Chinese tourist. She ignored them. But as soon as they passed, she began to realize that she knew someone in that gaggle of Chinese tourist. She turned and found me! Given the circumstances of being mixed into the crowd we resemble, indeed, it was hard to tell who was who. But memory allowed us to remember. We, at the same time, turned to see who that person was. And it turned out that we are each other’s brother and sister.
Family jokes…these are two of those quintessential jokes we tell each other over and over again. It is classic and it is ever-enduring.
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