Joe Wong

He was a chemistry PhD. He was also a talkshow star. How can it be related at all?

Joe and his wife moved to US about 11 years ago as the first generation of migrant. Language was a big problem at the very beginning - Joe was pursuing his PhD degree with decent English but with strong accent. His wife, could not speak nor understand English at all. So their life was pretty tough: He had to work into nights in his lab which located in Rice University and his wife worked in a small cafeteria. The life was very tight but Joe had a habit, telling jokes which helped him successfully chase his wife. One night, he was talking to his wife "There are two firebugs flying around but one is not shining. The other one asks, hey buddy, why not keep shining? The answer is, 'I forgot paying my electricity bills'. " This joke made his wife cry because that joke described exactly the situation of them just now. He felt shamed because he could not give his wife happy life. Since then, he kept telling jokes before his wife fell asleep, no stopping until she was laughing. Time flied to several years' later. They graduated simultaneously and he got a job in a genetic company and his wife got a job in an accounting company. The life had become better and better and they had a house and cars. However, something was missed - Joe was sick of repetitive works and looking for some exciting changes.