Here's my response to the query about my two favorite jokes for StoryWorth Book. My Book I titled Becoming Americans was just published into a hard-bound 435 pages with 100 B & W photographs just recently. I am very pleased with how the book turned out.
Si Malakas at Maganda- The first Pinoy couple( The Strong and the Beautiful)
This
is my own English translation of the origin of the Filipino race. It is
a story based on children's folklore written in the local dialect of
the Philippines.
In 1972, after I received my US
citizenship, I was invited by our Local Lions Club as a guest speaker
during one of their monthly meetings. They requested that I talk about
the Japanese-American War in the Philippines. This subject is one
chapter in my autobiography, so I was confident about the content of my
talk. However, I had no experience in public speaking, but had taken a
speech class in college. Our speech teacher once said that before your
speech, you have to put your audience at ease, so always tell a joke
that is related to the subject of your talk. The following is the joke I
told the group: The Origin of the Filipino Race.
Evidently,
when God created mankind, he molded the human form using clay and an
oven. The first time, he was doing this, God was so excited that he took
what he was baking too soon. The human clay was under cooked or
underdone. So it was pale and white. That was the origin of the White
Race.
God was not happy, so he started to bake another human form. This time he got a telephone call from Satan. God was upset he forgot about what he was doing and the baking was over done, the human form was overcooked, and turned black. This was the origin of the Black Race.
God
then told himself, “This time it will be perfect. I will watch it very
carefully and will not be distracted by any calls.” His baking was
perfect. The human form was golden brown, and perfectly cooked. This was
the origin of the Filipino race.
Note: The original
form of the above story was from children’s folklore in the local
dialect (Ilonggo or Hiligaynon) in the Philippines. The above article is
my own English translation of the folklore. I hope it brightens your
day! Needless to say, my talk was a success!
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