Dogs, Cats & Expats

What happens when your punchlines lose their punch? Why did the bear cross a busy highway during low visibility? Can you commit murder with a paperclip?

Those questions are asked and answered in this collection of 30 essays by cartoonist, comedian, and playwright Mark Saunders. In his long-awaited sequel to his humorous memoir, Nobody Knows the Spanish I Speak, which turns out not to be a sequel after all, Saunders shares his thoughts and experiences, mostly funny and a few more serious, about life as a clueless expat living in the middle of a country where he can barely speak the native language or understand the holidays. What could possibly go wrong?

Many of the events described take place in San Miguel, some occur in Oregon. The essays are largely about his time in Mexico (“The Miracle at the Car Wash”; “Still Spanglish After All these Years”), as well as about dogs (“Sleeping with the Big Dog”; “A Dingo Ate My Baby Ruth”) and cats (“Good Cats, Bad Cats”). A few of the essays are comments on aging while trying to keep at least ten thousand steps ahead of the Grim Reaper (“They Died with Their Fitbits on”; “Where Have All My Punchlines Gone?”) or other personal reflections in his life (“Free Rubber Chickens”; “A Run-in with the Amish”). In a weak moment, Saunders turned over the writing of one essay to his stomach (“Holy Pozole”). Another body organ, the remnants of a deteriorating brain, asked what the hell he was thinking? In his defense, it seemed like a good idea at the time, like trying a ghost pepper on a dare.