I was carrying an Olympic sized torch for Evys, a first generation Chinese American, and was meeting her parents for the very first time during the Lunar New Year. For those who are not familiar with the tradition, family and close friends often visit each other as a sign of friendship and respect. So for them to have invited me over for dinner, it was a very big deal. There was a lot of food served through out the day and dinner was nothing short of a banquet. Evys, her mom, and her grandmother slaved away the whole day in the kitchen to prepare such a fancy feast. I saw her blush for the very first time when her grandmother commented on what a wonderful job she did in the kitchen and how great the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall turned out. I swore to Copernicus that she was just about the second most beautiful woman alive right at that moment.

After dinner and the others guests have left, Mr. Jiang requested that I stick around and enjoy a cup of tea with him in the living room. Evys brought us a very fragrant pot of Bo Lei (Cantonese for Pu'erh) tea. He told me a little about his home town, Dongguan and their story about how they managed to immigrate to the United States. As he was telling me about his first job in San Francisco, my digestive system betrayed me and I let one ripped. It was one of those loud explosive ones that would make these folks proud. I was just about to apologize when Mr. Jiang yelled out, "Loi Fook!" I couldn't believe my luck, he blamed it on his cute little Pekingese. The dog paid him no mind, so he continued with his story about working as a kitchen help at Sam Wo's (for those who are not familiar with the restaurant, be sure to read the linked article) in Chinatown.

He worked at Sam Wo for two years and learned English after his shifts at the local YMCA and was going to start his own restaurant with a partner when Evys was born. Just as he launched into the story about Evys' birth, my digestive system failed me again and ripped out another one. To my great surprise, the father of the girl of dreams once again yelled at the poor little dog. But before he continued his story, I ripped out yet another one. "Loi Fook get over here," Mr. Jiang yelled. I was just about to come clean when he added, "Loi Fook get over here now before he shits all over you."

Not a true story, but I was reminded of a variation of this joke when I read the article. I figured a little personal touch would make it that much funnier. Hopefully you found humor in it and that you learned of a town in Guangdong and that Bo Lei is Cantonese for Pu'erh.