I started writing feature stories when I was a second year high school student. I was always serious then in my themes. Maybe I thought writing should always be serious. I had no idea yet of writing formats and style. But having a father whose sense of humor flows to the brim, I have been exposed to jokes that he himself contorted or was it copied or heard from I-don't-know-where. My Dad has a cunning ability of converting any dry or tense situation into something relaxed, fun-filled and warm occasion. He is one of those persons who can do a mockery of the powerful, the respected and the not-so-respected-but-feared individuals in our place and get away with it. Unconsciously, I was immersed in a training that I would only discover I have been trained with later in my adult life. Since then, I have been less active in writing but I have been more comfortable telling stories, especially funny stories.

I have discovered that life is funny. Yes, because life is a story. You can write it the way you want it. I would very well agree with Thomas D. Willhite when he said that a person's future is formed by the thoughts he holds most often in his mind. A person's life is what he thinks it is at the moment.

Life is defined by how you react on a given situation and how you perceive the situation to be. I cannot forget the story told by the father of Frank Avignale in the movie Catch Me If You Can. The story tells of two little mice that fell on a bucket of milk. The first mouse struggled by swimming a little bit but soon gave up and drowned - and died immediately. The second mouse struggled so hard, paddled in circles and turned the milk into cheese - and eventually pulled himself out of the bucket.

Funny is not being carefree and aimless. Funny is a state of mind, very much like being positive and happy. My Dad is a happy person - he chose to be one. And I thank him for the training that I got from him - telling funny stories. That is why I am funny - I chose to be one.  Bar Famero