Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Humorous Things in Mexico #4

I've come to the conclusion that many troubling things in life can either be viewed as tragedy or as humor. The same things we cry at in a drama are a lot of the things we laugh at in a comedy. It's all about context. I've gotten to where I try to find humor in things that might otherwise bother me. I was reminded of this a couple of weeks ago in Mexico.

Carolina's dad thinks I am completely incompetent. This visit was the first time he's ever allowed me to help wash the dishes. He normally insists on doing it, not because he wants to, but because he thinks I'll break them. I have had some bad luck down there, because the one other time I tried to help, I did break a dish. And the first time I went down there, I sat on Carolina's bed, and it broke. I pulled the chain to operate her ceiling fan, and it hasn't worked since. I also break off the towel rack in the bathroom every time I use it. They had finally replaced it this year.

So perhaps he has some good reasons to think I'm incompetent, or at least clutsy. Again, that could be irritating, but I choose to find it funny. This last visit, we were in Wal-Mart, and I needed to go to the bathroom, so I told Carolina where I was heading. When I got in there and went in, Carolina's dad was just finishing up washing his hands. I said hello and went about my business. When I came out, Carolina's dad was waiting on me just outside the door. I thought nothing of it, though I noticed that he said something to Carolina when we walked back to where she was. He looked kind of stern. I asked her later what he had said...

"Why did you let him go by himself?!"

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