Tilt

Sunday we visited Wally's sister-in-law, Dina. Robert, Wally's brother, is dead but both the brother and Dina treated us like family, so I guess we are. She's nice, in that heterosexual-Filipino way. Dina has rheumatoid arthritis. It's really bad with her but her spirit is strong. She is just bigger than a big dog. About the same height too as a dog and with that same, happy to see you, that dogs have. There are two Filipinos who live with Dina both nice, both Catholic, very, there's statues of Jesus and Mary with gold crowns and gold halos. saints, crosses, rosary and something I thought I would never see, candles on the mantel over the fireplace.

Dina is terrified of candles. I gave her a candle once for Christmas and she just stared at it. I mean stared at the bloody thing like it was a ticking time bomb. Her husband at that time, Robert said, "She won't stop looking at it until you put it away. She thinks its going to catch the house on fire."
Okay, I thought, but it ain't lit. I apologized and put the candle in the car. Who the fuck knows, maybe she was in a house burnt down by a loose candle when she was a kid. And there were two candles in candle holders, never lit with Dina in the room giggling in Tagalog. I guess faith in sweet baby Jesus has done another miracle. Dina can now stay in the same room as a candle. Nothing for her rheumatoid arthritis though, fuck no, but the ability to have a candle on the mantle with Jesus and Mary next to them, probably to catch the candles and blow them out if they should ever be lit and fall.

I believe in miracles.

Here's the worse, after lunch at the Chinese restaurant down the street, the two Filipino's staying with Dina brought out a karaoke machine. I'm not fucking kidding and it gets worse. There is nothing to drink in the way of liquor. And worse, the karaoke is all for Filipinos. Made for their consumption because apparently, the two things in the Philippines that Filipinos like is basketball and Karaoke.

I looked at the clock and sat a time that we had to leave by. They recorded my voice singing Yellow Submarine. Please forgive me Ringo. The statues looked down upon us, the huge television set showed places in the Philippines with some kind of love-lost action by Filipino actors strolling and moody as you sang Bette Midler show tunes.

I don't need to see the Philippines now. They have karaoke and basketball there. And I thought they were all cannibals at one time. Now that's something to see.