Way out West there was this fella — fella I wanna tell ya about. Fella by the name of Manny. At least that was the handle his loving parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. The Manny, he called himself the Manny. Now, Manny — Manny didn’t make a whole lot of sense. And a lot about where he lived, likewise.

But then again, maybe that’s why I found the place so darned interestin’. They call Manila the Pearl of the Orient. I didn’t find it to be that, exactly. But I’ll allow there are some nice folks there. ‘Course I can’t say I’ve seen London, and I ain’t never been to France. And I ain’t never seen no queen in her damned undies, so the feller says. But I’ll tell you what — after seeing Manila, and this here story I’m about to unfold, well, I guess I seen somethin’ every bit as stupefyin’ as you’d see in any of them other places. And in English, too. So I can die with a smile on my face, without feelin’ like the good Lord gypped me.

Sometimes there’s a man — I won’t say a hero, ’cause, what’s a hero? But sometimes, there’s a man. And I’m talkin’ about Manny here. Sometimes, there’s a man, well, he’s the man for his time and place. He fits right in there. And that’s Manny, in the Philippines. And even if he’s doing too many things — and the Manny was most certainly doing that. Quite possibly the most things in Manila, which would place him high in the runnin’ for being the busiest worldwide. But sometimes there’s a man, sometimes, there’s a man. Aw. I lost my train of thought here. But — aw, hell; I’ve done introduced him enough.