Just grin and bear it?

In yesterday's posting, I told one of my favourite "bull" jokes. It is only fair that I tell a "bear" joke next: This one has the bonus of having a rabbit -- given the coming auspicious year (for the Chinese) -- as one of the characters, although the bunny in the story did not come up well:

A bear and a rabbit found themselves squatting to poo, next to each other, in a clearing.

The big furry fella asked the small furry fella: "Hey, tell me, my fellow furry friend, do you mind if poo gets stuck to your fur?"

"Not at all," the bunny replied cheerily, adding in jest, "Shit happens."
Whereupon the bear, having just finished his business, picked up the rabbit and cleaned up his own furry backside.

In yesterday's posting, I also had a joke using the "Two Singaporeans..." refrain. Many jokes have been modified from the original to suit the local context, and I suppose the one below is no exception:

Two Singaporeans were travelling in Bible Belt country in the American South. It happened to be a Sunday.

Although the bus they got on had many church-goers, the two tourists found seats and started talking Singapore-style, which means their conversation is loud enough for all and sundry to hear.

Still, no one really paid much attention until one of the Singaporeans was heard saying: “Emma come first, ah. Then I come, lor. Then two asses come together. I come again. Two asses, they come together again. I come again and then pee twice. Then I come one last time.”

"Wah, so long one, ah?" the other Singaporean replied.

Silence had by now descended on the bus. You could hear a pin drop because the driver, who had heard everything, had stopped his vehicle.

"Get out! In this here part of our country, we don’t talk about our sex lives in public!”
Perplexed, the duo got off, in the middle of nowhere.

"Siow (crazy in Hokkien) driver! Who was talking about sex? I was only telling you how the river Mississippi is spelled," said one of the by now angry Singaporeans.

Moral of these two stories: It's not just about the bare/bear facts. Sometimes it's just ass luck.

Postscript: Mindef's spokesman replied today (ST, page A39) to Mr Chew Guan Sun's letter (Monday's posting), giving the usual spiel on why the 24km route march was sort of a rite of passage for the recruits. But the interesting point is that Mindef now uses "graduating parade", not "passing out parade". It had long dispensed with "Run Out Date" (ROD), using instead the albeit more unwieldy "Operationally Ready Date" (ORD). Try saying "run out date" aloud (with emphasis on the first two words) to an "RODying" national serviceman handing back all his gear to the stores -- while the camp gate ahead beckons.