Christmas: Hot Wings roasting on an open fire...

One of my Christmas memories has little to do with Christmas...

My parent's first assignment as missionaries in the Philippines placed our family in the remote town of Labo on the southern end of the main island. I was in first grade. That December, as a way to build relationships with the community, my parents were giving out Christmas cookies. While Mom & Dad were walking the few blocks to deliver cookies to the Post Office staff, I went across the street to play with my Filipino friends. By most accounts, if you couldn't see my skin color, you would've thought I was one of the natives. I spoke the language fluently, went to Filipino public school and had a group of Filipino friends.

One of our neighbors across the street, was a blacksmith. His shop was in front of his house. The forge was originally hand-cranked and I used to have fun cranking it for a while when I'd stop by. I happened to stop by the blacksmith's to discover that the forge was used for more than just blacksmithing - the men were preparing the Filipino rendition of hot wings. The "wings" were normally consumed with alcoholic beverage and reserved for the men, but there wasn't any of that around at the time. My parents taught me to be a polite guest, so I couldn't refuse the offer of having a taste of the "wings." So while Mom & Dad were building relationships handing out cookies, I was having "hot wings" cooked on a blacksmith's forge. One of many unique experiences.

In case you're curious, it tasted like chicken.