The Cultural Misunderstanding about Nothing

Seinfeld is arguably the greatest American situation comedy ever. Here in Cameroon, we must keep in mind that it's American. (And our life here is often more like this episode of Lucy, anyway.)

Steve was winding up affairs at the office today, and one of those amusing little bureaucratic Catch-22 contradictions appeared out of nowhere. In mock exasperation, he stood in the middle of the office and said overemphatically, "Serenity now!"

Now, of course, any Seinfeld fan worth his weight in muffin tops knows of Frank Costanza's relaxation program, which uses the words "Serenity now" to soothe away tension and anxiety. Frank's unique reading - shouting SERENITY NOW at the top of his lungs - has the opposite effect.

But there aren't many Seinfeld fans in Cameroon. The library silence after his clever invocation immediately tipped Steve off that he had startled my staff, thrusting them somewhere between concern and fear. One had dropped into a defensive, feline crouch after the outburst. Steve tried to jot off an email assuring everyone that he was iconic, not crazy, but the damage has been done.

An American colleague offered to bring her Seinfeld DVD to work tomorrow to share with the section and prove he's not crazy. But, as another Costanza learned, sometimes it's best to know when to go out on a high note.