Remember those cute, laborious but cowardly little ants in A Bug’s Life, who were oppressedmby those nasty gang of grasshoppers who lived off by the ants’ hard work and harvests? In the end, Flip, the bungling hero, finally summons the ants to realize they outnumber the bullies a hundred to one. And so an ant revolution finally ended the grasshoppers’ regime. Sounds so familiar. The Philippine Revolution of 1986, otherwise dubbed the People Power or EDSA Revolution finally forced the Marcos’ regime to end. Where politicking failed, people power succeeded. Where force was needed the people ultimately outnumber the oppressors - like the ants. The 1979 Iran Revolution similarly removed the Shah from power and totally abolished monarchy in the country. And then only recently the Egyptians must have realized (or maybe followed the EDSA model) and finally got rid of overstaying dictator Hosni Mubarak. And now the Libyans are following suit. The united people have done what no amount of American bombs could do to remove strongman Moammar Ghadaffi. Unlike the Philippines though, the Egyptian and Libyan uprisings have had lots of foreign help. Another Middle East hotspot - Syria - is currently on the verge of a crisis following growing discontent and protests from the people. The lesson? In the Bible, God tells us to look at the ant and follow its ways. And in Aesop’s fable “The Ant and the Grasshopper” - which was the actual inspiration for Bug’s Life - the grasshopper did nothing but enjoyed itself hopping and singing, and when winter came went to the ant for food. Real life grasshoppers like those greedy leaders and despots live off the people’s harvests using threats, intimidation, bribery and pretensious schemes like taxes. They should remember that grasshopper don’t last forever.

And here’s an important travel tip: jetlag and laundry do not mix well, and always check your pockets before washing. About a year ago, after a very long trip halfway round the globe I just couldn’t wait to clear the luggage and throw in our clothes into the washer (yes macho guys - I also do the washing most of the time). By the time I was hauling the finished laundry from the dryer I noticed two strange objects in the shape of cigars. To my absolute shock they turned out to be our passports, washed, dried and nicely curled up. I can’t remember now if I got to scream or what words came out of my mouth. All I know was that it took a few minutes for me to recover and start breathing again.

Passports must be one of the modern wonders of the world. After drying, some stretching and ironing, they looked the same - photos intact, no ink blotches or whatever - although the cover became so lame and frayed that they must have needed some starching. Anyways, it turned out still to be usable so we decided to continue using it until it expired (I only have to explain every now and then to some of the immigration folks how I cleaned our passports). Last month we finally applied for new ones as the expiry dates were nearing. It turned out that a washed passport - doesn’t matter if it’s still usable or expired - is considered damaged, and you can’t use the fast-track renewal forms (meaning you have to use the other form for a new passport, get a guarantor to sign your photos and form, and get a notarized statement.) Canada immigration will then monitor your passport until they expire again. This means that you have to be sure nothing happens to the passport until they expire normally - else getting a new one would really really be difficult. The worst thing though is I had to endure the insult and ridicule of the passport clerk, who chastised me for not checking my pockets before washing my pants. So machos guys - remember that whenever you do your laundry (or tell your wives nicely if they’re doing laundry for you - bah). You’ll never know what else you may find inside those pockets.

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