JIMBO, EBEN AND ANDOY


Jimbo, Eben and Andoy are fishermen who live on a lot adjacent to our backyard. All are married and among themselves have twelve children- six boys and an equal number of girls. Eben, the eldest, has five with three of them girls, Andoy has three with two while Jimbo, the youngest, has four with the youngest a cute little girl.

Their nipa huts are built on a lot owned by the family of Goody Bernaldez, a fifty-seven year old unemployed bachelor whose mode of subsistence came from the share of the palay and copra harvest of the properties that he and his siblings inherited from their parents, and the periodic share of the fish gathered by the said fishermen from the sea. Goody is a sports buff and apparently the village’ know-it-all who during the post 1986 EDSA Revolution was appointed the town’s OIC Vice Mayor. But let’s leave Goody for the time being as this article is not about him but of the three fishermen mentioned earlier.

Their respective wives have different characters and idiosyncrasies. The good side of Vivianne, Eben’s wife, is that she works part time as market vendor and thus augments the family’s income; the bad is that she also gambles and sometimes even her capital goes with it. Jimbo’s wife has lesser good qualities, the bad is that she committed an indiscretion some three or four years ago and while she was forgiven for this misdeed, it apparently left an indelible mark in Jimbo’s subconscious and has not permanently left his memory. Andoy’s wife, Honey, which is a very attractive sobriquet for the name Jacinta, is on the other hand, the epitome of that domineering matriarch who demands that the entire family, Andoy included, to toe the line. No if nor buts, if a child asks for a better-looking but more expensive notebook for her mother to buy and the mother says the cheaper one will work as good, then that ends the issue. One time a boxing bout was held in town and Andoy asked permission to view the game. But Honey’s sharp reply was that the baits had to be attached to the fishing gear, and that was it; the poor husband was unable to watch the boxing bout.

All three fishermen and their families live in abject squalor but doesn’t seem to mind it. Their huts do not have water connection and so they get their water needs from a neighbor by sharing with the latter the water bill. As they also have no electricity, one can well conclude that their clothes are no longer ironed when used. Even the purchase of matches or lighters are avoided, they resort to having a continually lighted kerosene lamp on hand and when it is time to cook, they simply lit the fire-stove with it thus saving on the use of a single matchstick. Also when it is time to lit the evening lamp. It’s good the barangay council installed the electric light bulb at the right end of our backyard that is at the edge of their houses for during the night, their children are able to study using the illumined light. In the not too-distant past, all the children can do is study when it is not yet dark. Which can prove a good puzzle for the children to solve arithmetically, which costs more, a single matchstick compared to the kerosene consumed by the lamp’s continuing light?! And have you ever heard of asking for fire?? (“Pahinging apoy”, in the local word??)

All three fishermen use motorized bancas called pump-boats for their occupation. These are made available for their use through sharing of the catch made. Eben’s banca is owned by the barangay captain, Jimbo’s is owned by a government retiree, while Andoy’s rig is owned by his father-in-law who resides at Ubay town.

On lucky days, they would go home from the sea at night with plentiful catch and consequently, even the ne’er-do-well good for nothings share in the marine’s bounties as bonfire would be lit and fish broiled right at the edge of the sea, with the well-off habitues buying Tanduay or tuba to make themselves merry.

But Zeus, the god of the sea, is sometimes moody. On intermittent days the three would not be able to venture to the open sea and consequently are compelled to scrimp on the day’s food by ironically buying dried fish (tuyo’) and rice at the nearby sari-sari store. Andoy’s fate is not as miserable. He also farms on a lot owned by a lesbian and therefore has several sacks of palay stored for home consumption during the lean days. The two others are unlucky; they have no other recourse but to silently absorb the exorbitant mark-up that is imposed by the sari-sari store owner for purchases made on account (utang).

The school year ended last April with their children of school age being elevated to the next higher ranks. Eben’s eldest, a girl, was promoted to third year while his other daughter graduated from the elementary grades. When Eben’s well-to-do relative visited the family during the Holy Week, she offered to take the two girls with her to Tagbilaran City so that they may be able to work at her store and at the same time study. Both girls joined her to the city but no more than two weeks later, the younger of the two returned home- she could not withstand the pangs of loneliness caused by being away from her family. The eldest, apparently bright and decidedly desirous to improve her lot did not come home but instead stuck it out, she wants to return home when she already has a computer degree to show.

Jimbo’s children’ educational needs still do not pose a problem. The eldest is a twelve-year old lad who lives with his grandparents while the two other boys are just in the first years of the primary grades. The youngest is a four-year old girl and is not yet of school age.

Andoy’s three children look promising. The eldest is a thirteen- year-old girl who just graduated “first honor” from the elementary grades and this she did despite being at Section 2 while in Grade 6!! The two other children also have impressive and credible scholastic grades.

Seeing the opportunity to be of help, the missus offered to the family that she will help defray the tuition cost and daily allowance of the girl when she gets herself enrolled in the public high school some four kilometers away. There will only be one condition for the aid, she must maintain the good grades that she has already achieved and nothing more. When the parents asked if the other school needs like school uniforms, shoes and the like will also be paid for, the tart reply of the missus was that her offer to help should not, in any way, be construed that she is absorbing all her school needs and thus relieve her parents of their mandatory obligations. In short, only a part of it. Tuition fees, daily allowance and cost of school projects if any, will be reimbursed and that’s all. All other expenses shall still be absorbed by them. Besides, the lion’s pension as a retiree is indeed miniscule. And there is also a supplementary condition on the aid, it will last only so long as the donor is able!!

But who knows? The girl who is the object the missus helping hand and who wants to be a nurse someday may just see her dream come true. A local Florence Nightingale, one might say, if this writer is allowed to borrow a name that has already immortalized herself at the other side of this globe!!