Greg, aka Gorio is fifteen years of age. If he were a rich man’s son, he will most likely be called a special child. Because he came from a poor family however, he can only be labeled as retarded.
The first time the aging lion took notice of Greg was a week ago when the former saw him weeding out the grass together with Dante, their neighbor who, the lion tamer hired to trim the lawn and make their backyard a little more presentable to see. Worried that Gorio’s presence will entail additional cost, he called Dante whereby the latter assured the aging lion that Gorio was there helping him weed the grass gratis et amore as there was nothing else Gorio is presently doing .
Dante and Gorio are new-found friends. Both are trying their level best to eke out a living on their own. The former is a carpenter’s son from the neighboring town of Candijay who reached no further than second year in high school and was compelled to quit studying to venture as a fisherman and survive Gorio on the other hand, is a farmer’s son who was forced to leave home because his father often maltreated him apparently because he is slow understand even the simplest of instructions, that naturally often cause the misgivings of his mother. Both Dante and Gorio sought refuge at the family of Andoy, the aging lion’s neighbor and on the simplest arrangement that they will contribute their share of the rice being cooked. Their benefactor, also with the barest of means, accepted the two as hired fishermen and thus also entitled them to free shelter during the night in the benefactor’s place of abode.
The gist of this story is worth narrating because the other day Gorio approached the lion tamer asking for help. He said he has a wound at his back and would she be kind enough to treat it?, adding that he earlier asked help from Dante but because the latter was also penniless, suggested that he approach the lion tamer instead. This is how Gorio narrated his story.
Last November 1 being All Saints Day, he decided to go home to visit his mother. He arrived home however seeing his father already drunk and since there already exist animosity between the two, expletives were hurled by the father whereby the son was compelled to reply in his usual stuttering voice. The father got hold of a blunt instrument and hacked his son’s back and instinctively, he fled and returned to his adopted home.
The next day, he went to the local police station and reported the incident but beyond recording it in the police blotter and advising the boy to get to the ”Center” to have his wound treated, nothing was done. He was also told that the local police will later take action against the father should the incident be repeated. Like having a kitchen knife at the poor boy’s back?
The lion tamer was naturally infuriated upon hearing the boy’s story and her pet could only as usual shake his silvery head not certain if he is to be amused or whether he should consider the incident pathetic.
Scourging her drawer for medicines, she found a left-over from the aging lion’s “Operation Tule” project and a gauze medical material that satisfied her needs, and after applying distilled water proceeded to treat the young boy’s wounds which she fortunately found out was only superficial and therefore is expected to heal in but a few days.
But the boy’s narration on the attitude of the local police was something that worried her more! Is this the kind of police assistance that the poor folks deserve in similar cases? The aging lion could only reply: “Then call them by phone and say your piece.”
The phone call was made and the boy’s report, despite his stuttering manner of saying it was found to be accurate. Whereupon she asked for her policeman nephew who has the rank of a sergeant or something and who the aging lion addresses as “Sarge” and loudly complained about the incident. “Sarge”, upon hearing her expletive, naturally went scurrying to the lion’s den and personally attended to the matter, assuring her he will call the father to iron out things and have the complaint formally attended to.
That same afternoon “Sarge” personally took the boy to the police station on board his motorcycle but other than this fact, the aging lion no longer knew what happened next. Whether the father was finally booked on a crime that is called “slight physical injuries”, “maltreatment to minors”, or at the very least “cruelty to a retardate”, the aging lion no longer care.
But really, the aging puma considers the incident pathetic because having a son for a retardate can only mean that it must have come from his father’s genes.
And the aging lion snores!
Postscript:
As this short article was being written, a young lady entered the gate of their front yard holding in her arms a two year-old boy and a bag of bananas. After a short introduction she explained that her boy is one of the harelips whom we have helped some two years before. The lion tamer was of course glad to see the boy and her pet could only silently mutter in a whispering tone “mahimo na mangulitaw” meaning he can now chase girls!
And the bananas sure taste delicious!!!
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
HELPLESSNESS
It was a Monday morning when our tenant knocked at the door of our front gate motioning to the aging lion that the latter approach him at the roadside. The cat could only display his amputated leg and in the vernacular shout that it should be the former who should enter the premises as he still had to undergo the ceremony of either getting his crutches at the backdoor or install the prosthesis to his right leg if only to enable him to do what the farmer wanted.
Getting in with his wife, he asked for the “cartilla” and said they are delivering six sacks of palay as our share in the harvest, and when asked, replied that it was already dried and therefore can already be milled..
Soon the lion tamer arrived from church as was her habit and after reimbursing them the cost of freight and also giving the man a polo shirt, the two excused themselves and left
The lion tamer and her pet then discussed what should be done. There’s no more rice in the container and since rice had to be cooked for lunch, they decided to hire the two maids of the neighbor to dry the 8 sacks of palay that was delivered three days before and are still in the bodega, have one of the dried palay milled, and later in the afternoon, sell the remaining 13 sacks which the aging puma estimates is valued somewhere in the range of P5,000. Not a bad share as it will tide them over for the rest of the month as it can surely add to the meager pension that the limping lion monthly receives.
Soon the lion tamer hailed a pedicab and with the driver’s help went to the rice mill that the palay may be milled. The two maids of the neighbor on the other hand, went their way to dry the palay on plastic canvass that these may be dried under the heat of the sun, and after a lapse of about an hour, the lion tamer returned and the pedicab driver unloaded the rice inside the rice container. The aging cat could only watch in silence. The tasks that he previously do, like drying the palay and having it milled are now being done by another. What an irony!!.
By eleven o’clock however, clouds suddenly hovered on the horizon. The aging lion suddenly realized that at this particular season, rains come without the shortest notice. The night before, for example, rains poured worse than cats and dogs, it seemed even the carabaos came rampaging at the rooftops and so instinctively, he thought will the situation this time be different? And he shouted at the two maids to do something drastic immediately.
Hastily, the three girls (and that includes the lion tamer) gathered the grains still in the canvasses and hauled them inside the bodega, a place that formerly served as a garage and now converted as warehouse of sorts.
But the job was done by the three ladies and with them drenched in purified water courtesy of the Almighty, and with the three smiling when the task was finally over.
That night, the lion tamer broached upon the idea that instead of selling the produce as palay, she intends to convert it into rice and asked how much will she gain from it. Her pet, still endowed with mathematical skills estimated that she stands to earn P300 more than the P2,700 that she expects to receive from the 5 sacks of rice that were already dried. Smilingly, she said she will do it the next day and thereafter hit the sack and went to sleep.
The aging puma can only shake his head in silence but confident that he may still wake up the next morning still with reserve energy on his breast. The fight for survival for the limping lion is indeed tough and had to be done daily and he sure is glad the lion tamer had him for her pet!
Getting in with his wife, he asked for the “cartilla” and said they are delivering six sacks of palay as our share in the harvest, and when asked, replied that it was already dried and therefore can already be milled..
Soon the lion tamer arrived from church as was her habit and after reimbursing them the cost of freight and also giving the man a polo shirt, the two excused themselves and left
The lion tamer and her pet then discussed what should be done. There’s no more rice in the container and since rice had to be cooked for lunch, they decided to hire the two maids of the neighbor to dry the 8 sacks of palay that was delivered three days before and are still in the bodega, have one of the dried palay milled, and later in the afternoon, sell the remaining 13 sacks which the aging puma estimates is valued somewhere in the range of P5,000. Not a bad share as it will tide them over for the rest of the month as it can surely add to the meager pension that the limping lion monthly receives.
Soon the lion tamer hailed a pedicab and with the driver’s help went to the rice mill that the palay may be milled. The two maids of the neighbor on the other hand, went their way to dry the palay on plastic canvass that these may be dried under the heat of the sun, and after a lapse of about an hour, the lion tamer returned and the pedicab driver unloaded the rice inside the rice container. The aging cat could only watch in silence. The tasks that he previously do, like drying the palay and having it milled are now being done by another. What an irony!!.
By eleven o’clock however, clouds suddenly hovered on the horizon. The aging lion suddenly realized that at this particular season, rains come without the shortest notice. The night before, for example, rains poured worse than cats and dogs, it seemed even the carabaos came rampaging at the rooftops and so instinctively, he thought will the situation this time be different? And he shouted at the two maids to do something drastic immediately.
Hastily, the three girls (and that includes the lion tamer) gathered the grains still in the canvasses and hauled them inside the bodega, a place that formerly served as a garage and now converted as warehouse of sorts.
But the job was done by the three ladies and with them drenched in purified water courtesy of the Almighty, and with the three smiling when the task was finally over.
That night, the lion tamer broached upon the idea that instead of selling the produce as palay, she intends to convert it into rice and asked how much will she gain from it. Her pet, still endowed with mathematical skills estimated that she stands to earn P300 more than the P2,700 that she expects to receive from the 5 sacks of rice that were already dried. Smilingly, she said she will do it the next day and thereafter hit the sack and went to sleep.
The aging puma can only shake his head in silence but confident that he may still wake up the next morning still with reserve energy on his breast. The fight for survival for the limping lion is indeed tough and had to be done daily and he sure is glad the lion tamer had him for her pet!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
QO VADIS DOMINI??
One good thing about using a Latin title is that it lures readers to open their emails expecting they will read something exciting or at the least sensible. But what does the phrase “Quo Vadis Domini” really means except the translation of the local quizzical greeting that says: “Asa ka man do?!”. And if that phrase still is Greek to you, then how about the English words “Just where the heck are you going?!”
Readers must have read by now the three articles that the aging lion transmitted through the Internet in wild succession and must have also digested the succeeding events that caused the loss of his right foot, lower limb and all. But he is not one who would worry over spilt milk. Well, if it is brandy or cognac, he might have, but milk? Never!!.
Kidding aside, two major dilemmas plague an amputee- the physical and the mental concerns that otherwise are called the brains and the brawns that he must face. So let him tackle the easier one first.
1.THE PHYSICAL ASPECT
How to grapple with the loss of one leg is the first worry that an amputee must hurdle. He is no different from a one-year-old boy who is barely struggling how to walk. To visualize the problem, watch a year-old toddler on a crib grasping the bars and observe him slowly and painstakingly rising, and then slowly moving his legs with the aide of his two arms. Soon you’ll see him standing on his own two feet balancing his whole body, and after some painstaking efforts boldly releasing his hold.. Until he finally learns to stand on his own and then walk!
The amputee works pretty much the same way. He’ll slowly get up carefully balancing his movements and with determined efforts learn to move around but since he could no longer perform the same procedures the way a young toddler would, must substitute inborn talents with man-made tools. In moving around the house these tools are desirable:
1. A wheelchair equipped with four (4) six-inch wheels. With the aid of this gadget, he can freely move around wheezing his way for as long as nothing stands his way on the floor. He is no different from a young boy riding the bump car at any SM Mall.
2. A computer chair with a five-wheeler blade. This is most useful inside the bathroom to enable the amputee to transfer from the wheelchair to the computer chair and then to the toilet bowl. To take a bath, he will need a 6-inch-height wooden stool wherewith to sit and wet himself with the use of a “tabo” or water dispenser with a handle. Taking a bath using the sprinkler is taboo as he’ll wet all things within sprinkling distance.
3. In the meantime the amputee has not yet accustomed himself to the use of the prosthesis, the use of crutches is mandatory to move outside the house. The major problem here, however, is the difficulty of carrying the things he buy, like fish or what-nots. The lion tamer therefore had to tag around each time.
Another peculiar thing that the amputee must learn is that he should plan out well on what he must do before executing his movements. Imagine to one’s chagrin if wanting to take a bath, he founds out that he brought along sando, briefs, short pants and all but forgot to bring the towel when he is already inside the bathroom!! Oh, well.
And the efficient use of crutches?? But my boy, in about three weeks’ time the limping lion enjoyed moving around imagining himself using stilts (you know, the two pieces of bamboos with a bar to stand on at the middle) while still a young boy balancing himself as he moves around.
But it is not all fun, he still distinctly recalls the time MW Rody Herrera and Sis. Ching invited them to a dinner at a plush restaurant at the second floor of the SM Mall of Asia last July. Imagine the dogged efforts he made to climb the stairs as his youngest son Ivan worryingly stood behind his back lest he might miss hopping up the stairs and tumble down!
II THE MENTAL PART
But if the readers believe the physical dilemma is already Herculean, then better listen to the mental tests that must be hurdled. Remember that an amputee whose lose of the leg was caused by diabetes is as sick as a vomiting cat. He has a weak heart, weak kidney, weak lungs and his blood sugar is wildly fluctuating so that if it is not effectively monitored can lure the ants to hound you wherever you may be because of the sweet taste of the urine the you periodically discharge. And should you have a wound somewhere, then the more you’ll see the ants by your side enjoying the sweet smell of the wound’s excretions. .
To top it all, the price of medicines to ward off the ailments from getting worse do cost a lot.
But solving these problems are not insurmountable. Here are a few tips.
1. You must have a strong will to live; that it is not yet the end of the world.
2. You must accept realities; there are simply some things that you could no longer do, like replacing a busted light bulb, for how can you stand on a chair with only one leg to stand on?!
3. Learn to accept that the radius of your physical influence has become limited to where your crutches or prosthesis can carry you; The aging lion recalls the time his daughter brought him and the lion tamer to Trinoma for dinner. He did enjoy the food but watching the lights and the modern mall no longer excited him.
4. Console yourself with the thought that you are not alone in this ailment and that even during the time of Julius Caesar this malady already existed. Find out some of the diabetics in your circle of friends and talk about your experiences. It helps in getting that consoling feeling that all is not lost except perhaps that virility that robs you of your macho feeling. Ha’ay naku!
5. Scrimp on your financial resources. What you want and what you need are two entirely different things.
6. Learn to live and be thankful for your daily bread and also the daily breadth of your life. Each time before bedtime, give thanks to the Lord, your God, that should you no longer wake up to enable you to tinker with the computer keys when the morrow comes and instead your soul is gathered to commune with your ancestors, then say Amen, and hope that you and those you love may one eon meet again sometime.
And the aging lion snores.
Note: Comments by readers, wise or otherwise, are welcome.
Readers must have read by now the three articles that the aging lion transmitted through the Internet in wild succession and must have also digested the succeeding events that caused the loss of his right foot, lower limb and all. But he is not one who would worry over spilt milk. Well, if it is brandy or cognac, he might have, but milk? Never!!.
Kidding aside, two major dilemmas plague an amputee- the physical and the mental concerns that otherwise are called the brains and the brawns that he must face. So let him tackle the easier one first.
1.THE PHYSICAL ASPECT
How to grapple with the loss of one leg is the first worry that an amputee must hurdle. He is no different from a one-year-old boy who is barely struggling how to walk. To visualize the problem, watch a year-old toddler on a crib grasping the bars and observe him slowly and painstakingly rising, and then slowly moving his legs with the aide of his two arms. Soon you’ll see him standing on his own two feet balancing his whole body, and after some painstaking efforts boldly releasing his hold.. Until he finally learns to stand on his own and then walk!
The amputee works pretty much the same way. He’ll slowly get up carefully balancing his movements and with determined efforts learn to move around but since he could no longer perform the same procedures the way a young toddler would, must substitute inborn talents with man-made tools. In moving around the house these tools are desirable:
1. A wheelchair equipped with four (4) six-inch wheels. With the aid of this gadget, he can freely move around wheezing his way for as long as nothing stands his way on the floor. He is no different from a young boy riding the bump car at any SM Mall.
2. A computer chair with a five-wheeler blade. This is most useful inside the bathroom to enable the amputee to transfer from the wheelchair to the computer chair and then to the toilet bowl. To take a bath, he will need a 6-inch-height wooden stool wherewith to sit and wet himself with the use of a “tabo” or water dispenser with a handle. Taking a bath using the sprinkler is taboo as he’ll wet all things within sprinkling distance.
3. In the meantime the amputee has not yet accustomed himself to the use of the prosthesis, the use of crutches is mandatory to move outside the house. The major problem here, however, is the difficulty of carrying the things he buy, like fish or what-nots. The lion tamer therefore had to tag around each time.
Another peculiar thing that the amputee must learn is that he should plan out well on what he must do before executing his movements. Imagine to one’s chagrin if wanting to take a bath, he founds out that he brought along sando, briefs, short pants and all but forgot to bring the towel when he is already inside the bathroom!! Oh, well.
And the efficient use of crutches?? But my boy, in about three weeks’ time the limping lion enjoyed moving around imagining himself using stilts (you know, the two pieces of bamboos with a bar to stand on at the middle) while still a young boy balancing himself as he moves around.
But it is not all fun, he still distinctly recalls the time MW Rody Herrera and Sis. Ching invited them to a dinner at a plush restaurant at the second floor of the SM Mall of Asia last July. Imagine the dogged efforts he made to climb the stairs as his youngest son Ivan worryingly stood behind his back lest he might miss hopping up the stairs and tumble down!
II THE MENTAL PART
But if the readers believe the physical dilemma is already Herculean, then better listen to the mental tests that must be hurdled. Remember that an amputee whose lose of the leg was caused by diabetes is as sick as a vomiting cat. He has a weak heart, weak kidney, weak lungs and his blood sugar is wildly fluctuating so that if it is not effectively monitored can lure the ants to hound you wherever you may be because of the sweet taste of the urine the you periodically discharge. And should you have a wound somewhere, then the more you’ll see the ants by your side enjoying the sweet smell of the wound’s excretions. .
To top it all, the price of medicines to ward off the ailments from getting worse do cost a lot.
But solving these problems are not insurmountable. Here are a few tips.
1. You must have a strong will to live; that it is not yet the end of the world.
2. You must accept realities; there are simply some things that you could no longer do, like replacing a busted light bulb, for how can you stand on a chair with only one leg to stand on?!
3. Learn to accept that the radius of your physical influence has become limited to where your crutches or prosthesis can carry you; The aging lion recalls the time his daughter brought him and the lion tamer to Trinoma for dinner. He did enjoy the food but watching the lights and the modern mall no longer excited him.
4. Console yourself with the thought that you are not alone in this ailment and that even during the time of Julius Caesar this malady already existed. Find out some of the diabetics in your circle of friends and talk about your experiences. It helps in getting that consoling feeling that all is not lost except perhaps that virility that robs you of your macho feeling. Ha’ay naku!
5. Scrimp on your financial resources. What you want and what you need are two entirely different things.
6. Learn to live and be thankful for your daily bread and also the daily breadth of your life. Each time before bedtime, give thanks to the Lord, your God, that should you no longer wake up to enable you to tinker with the computer keys when the morrow comes and instead your soul is gathered to commune with your ancestors, then say Amen, and hope that you and those you love may one eon meet again sometime.
And the aging lion snores.
Note: Comments by readers, wise or otherwise, are welcome.
Friday, February 02, 2007
MAGDALEN
Joyce, not her real name, is 21. She is winsome, of light complexion, does not apply mascara on her face, and whose vital statistics place the numbers in their proper places. In a sleepy town where dusters are the daily wear of women, she often is dressed in a blouse with plunging neckline that visibly reveals the baseline of her breast as if declaring that what is in front is not a padded bra but the real thing. The shirt is often paired with shorts or miniskirt that accentuates her shapely and well-proportioned legs. Had she been in the cosmopolitan district and coated by feminine accessories, it is a cinch that the still-virile males, and on this many of the brethren are included, will blew a whistle to make a pass at her. And young as she is, she has already indulged in the ancient female spiteful vice the whole of mankind generally calls the flesh trade.
How she came to our neighborhood is a story in itself.
About a year ago while the aging lion was reading a book at the porch of their den, he saw three young girls alighting from a car in front of their house., and unaccustomed to new faces, asked the lion tamer who they are and received an obviously irritated reply that says in the local dialect: :”mga buring!”.
Not understanding what the words meant, he was astonished to hear the following amplification. The word “buring” meant prostitute and the reason the lady with the whip is mad was because the three girls are renting a space at the house of one of her male cousins barely a hundred meters away. That cousin, already separated from his wife, is alone ii his house and thought a supplementary income and a chance to cavort with the females may prove a wholesome pastime Predictably however, the lion tamer foresaw it will affect the morality of the neighborhood because of the very nature of their profession hence her revolting attitude towards the three girls.
The modus operandi of the three is hi-tech. Using the awesome powers of modern technology, transactions no longer pass through pimps but are consummated through text messages. They don’t accomplish the transactions at the rented house because it would be too vulgar even if the neighbors don’t see the actual event. A car would casually pass by the place in the morning, pick them up and bring them somewhere (most probably in cottages of beach houses since motels do not yet exist in this far off place) and in the afternoon drop them back at the same place where the driver picked them up. The slaughterhouse, I mean the actual insertion of the cylindrically-shaped blades inside the crater-shaped (no, not like Mayon that protrudes majestically but more like Pinatubo) chalice could be anywhere except near the place where the aging lion lives. And so the unwholesome connotation of prostitution being actually done in the neighborhood does not seem to exist at all.
But problems occurred later. During idle days these sex workers would while their time away in the shack at the backyard and naturally would be approached by the fishermen who are also generally idle during daytime. Consequently, amorous advances by the fishermen would result, pinching here and there, especially on the sensitive places and would be countered by pinches from the girls that would only arouse male animalistic instincts even more. And boisterous laughter would ensue to the consternation of the wives and the female residents of the neighborhood.
Naturally, the conservative members of the community considered these repulsive. One day, one of the “burings” enticed a handsome thirteen-year-old lad and lured the latter to have sex with her gratis et amore. The next day, the other young boys his age and even those older, were cajoling the newly “baptized” boy to narrate the euphoria that he enjoyed that night at the seawall and naturally also caused envy even of the adult fishermen that heard of the tale. And the lion tamer obviously was peeved!
So she made her move. She called her police officer nephew and berated him, she presented the problem to the baranggay captain and also called the town mayor to registered her complaint. The idyllic baranggay does not deserve the ignominy once suffered by places like Bocaue, Dapdap and Culi-culi of the olden days and therefore these professional sex peddlers should be shooed away from the environs and she does not give a damn where the three would ply their trade next.
But backlash ensued. The house of the lion tamer suddenly was subjected to stones being thrown at the rooftops that would rumble down the galvanized iron sheets before these fist-sized gravel would finally register its emphatic thud on the ground. Undaunted, she reported the incident again to her nephew, the baranggay captain and the town mayor and verbally hinted that the malefactor, if identified, might be picked up by a select force of the army’s battalion contingent based at the neighboring town without the need for an arrest warrant being issued. And that did it, the stone throwing ceased. All because the residents of the community still remember a previous visit by two military officers to the aging lion who were accompanied by two dozens security escorts in full battle gear as if they are bound to a whole platoon of NPA rebels!
Her effort to drive away the sex workers was successful but only partially. Two of the girls immediately disappeared but the third remained. Casual inquiry showed that the third girl hooked a live-in-partner and so decided to turn inactive in her profession. And there was no need to move away, her consort was a handsome neighbor who is a bachelor just about her age.
Initially, she is nowhere around during daytime but would return when dusk fell and leave again early the next morning. Until one day, the two decided to rent a room just beside the place where the young man resided and stayed there to the consternation of the boy’s mother. With the implied acquiescence of the boy’s grandfather who would periodically give the budding Romeo pocket money however, the two would survive daily since the boy is also jobless. On the whole, however, the life of the two may be considered similar to the pariah or outcasts who have not gained acceptance like normal couples in the conservative Catholic community. But they don’t care. Active sex in the rented room already provided some sort of psychological ecstasy that they enjoyed almost daily.
Then an unusual event happened. One early morning when dawn has not yet been broken, while the girl was sleeping alone since her live-in partner was out at sea, she was awakened by a male figure kissing her and immediately realized it was not her live-in partner. She struggled and recognized the intruder and in the morning narrated the incident to another neighbor who advised that a confrontation with the intruder’s wife would be in order. The would-be assailant however, instead of admitting his guilt berated her even more telling her to the face that she is lying all because she is a whore! Which infuriated her even more and at the suggestion of the neighbor who earlier recommended the confrontation, advised that the better recourse would be to consult the lion tamer.
So the lion tamer referred the matter to the town’s police office and a confrontation took place. After due investigation, it was found out that the incident indeed took place. Not only that! Investigation showed that he was a Peeping Tom and that has even unsuccessfully molested a neighbor’s daughter, fact that surfaced only because the would-be victim volunteered to also complain..
The girl was vindicated and a stern written reprimand was issued against the erring malefactor that should the incident happen again, the findings on the incident can be used against him to put him right into the calaboose. In addition, the girl has gained a measure of respectability from the parents of her live-in partner who also later turned kindly on her.
And so one day, the lion tamer asked her pet if it would be alright that she takes the girl to the “ukay-ukay tienda” (a place where used clothes are sold during Wednesdays and Sundays) so that superficially she can buy for the latter a piece or two but inwardly for the public to see them and thus create the impression that the young girl now has returned to normal life. The aging lion nodded and pretty soon the lady with the whip returned narrating that even the town’s first lady who was initially quizzical at her effort to help the girl to return to normal life admitted that it was indeed a good move.
Discreet inquiries on the life of Joyce revealed that she is a daughter born out of wedlock by her mother and who later delivered another baby girl eleven years later but not from the same father. The mother later married an American citizen who was already in his December years and who invested in four transportation buses that plied the island and thus the family enjoyed a life of abundance enabling her to pursue high school studies. But her stepfather contracted illness and thereafter died dwindling their resources that also resulted in the sale of the passenger buses. At this juncture the daughter-mother relationship also tumbled that ultimately led to her rebellion against what she conceived was an overly strict parental control that ultimately pushed her to prostitution.
Which just about turns into full cycle the narration of her life.
So, the question now at hand is :”will she be able to lead a normal life from hereon in the company of her live-in partner and later raise their own family?” Or will she tire of her life with her live-in partner and later seek another exciting interlude where the mystic powers of her genitalia she’ll be compelled to sink again in the quagmire where the not-so-daring daughters of Eve have ever tried before.
Ah, but only time can tell!
Note to the readers: This writer will appreciate your reactions on the substance and relevance of the foregoing article.
How she came to our neighborhood is a story in itself.
About a year ago while the aging lion was reading a book at the porch of their den, he saw three young girls alighting from a car in front of their house., and unaccustomed to new faces, asked the lion tamer who they are and received an obviously irritated reply that says in the local dialect: :”mga buring!”.
Not understanding what the words meant, he was astonished to hear the following amplification. The word “buring” meant prostitute and the reason the lady with the whip is mad was because the three girls are renting a space at the house of one of her male cousins barely a hundred meters away. That cousin, already separated from his wife, is alone ii his house and thought a supplementary income and a chance to cavort with the females may prove a wholesome pastime Predictably however, the lion tamer foresaw it will affect the morality of the neighborhood because of the very nature of their profession hence her revolting attitude towards the three girls.
The modus operandi of the three is hi-tech. Using the awesome powers of modern technology, transactions no longer pass through pimps but are consummated through text messages. They don’t accomplish the transactions at the rented house because it would be too vulgar even if the neighbors don’t see the actual event. A car would casually pass by the place in the morning, pick them up and bring them somewhere (most probably in cottages of beach houses since motels do not yet exist in this far off place) and in the afternoon drop them back at the same place where the driver picked them up. The slaughterhouse, I mean the actual insertion of the cylindrically-shaped blades inside the crater-shaped (no, not like Mayon that protrudes majestically but more like Pinatubo) chalice could be anywhere except near the place where the aging lion lives. And so the unwholesome connotation of prostitution being actually done in the neighborhood does not seem to exist at all.
But problems occurred later. During idle days these sex workers would while their time away in the shack at the backyard and naturally would be approached by the fishermen who are also generally idle during daytime. Consequently, amorous advances by the fishermen would result, pinching here and there, especially on the sensitive places and would be countered by pinches from the girls that would only arouse male animalistic instincts even more. And boisterous laughter would ensue to the consternation of the wives and the female residents of the neighborhood.
Naturally, the conservative members of the community considered these repulsive. One day, one of the “burings” enticed a handsome thirteen-year-old lad and lured the latter to have sex with her gratis et amore. The next day, the other young boys his age and even those older, were cajoling the newly “baptized” boy to narrate the euphoria that he enjoyed that night at the seawall and naturally also caused envy even of the adult fishermen that heard of the tale. And the lion tamer obviously was peeved!
So she made her move. She called her police officer nephew and berated him, she presented the problem to the baranggay captain and also called the town mayor to registered her complaint. The idyllic baranggay does not deserve the ignominy once suffered by places like Bocaue, Dapdap and Culi-culi of the olden days and therefore these professional sex peddlers should be shooed away from the environs and she does not give a damn where the three would ply their trade next.
But backlash ensued. The house of the lion tamer suddenly was subjected to stones being thrown at the rooftops that would rumble down the galvanized iron sheets before these fist-sized gravel would finally register its emphatic thud on the ground. Undaunted, she reported the incident again to her nephew, the baranggay captain and the town mayor and verbally hinted that the malefactor, if identified, might be picked up by a select force of the army’s battalion contingent based at the neighboring town without the need for an arrest warrant being issued. And that did it, the stone throwing ceased. All because the residents of the community still remember a previous visit by two military officers to the aging lion who were accompanied by two dozens security escorts in full battle gear as if they are bound to a whole platoon of NPA rebels!
Her effort to drive away the sex workers was successful but only partially. Two of the girls immediately disappeared but the third remained. Casual inquiry showed that the third girl hooked a live-in-partner and so decided to turn inactive in her profession. And there was no need to move away, her consort was a handsome neighbor who is a bachelor just about her age.
Initially, she is nowhere around during daytime but would return when dusk fell and leave again early the next morning. Until one day, the two decided to rent a room just beside the place where the young man resided and stayed there to the consternation of the boy’s mother. With the implied acquiescence of the boy’s grandfather who would periodically give the budding Romeo pocket money however, the two would survive daily since the boy is also jobless. On the whole, however, the life of the two may be considered similar to the pariah or outcasts who have not gained acceptance like normal couples in the conservative Catholic community. But they don’t care. Active sex in the rented room already provided some sort of psychological ecstasy that they enjoyed almost daily.
Then an unusual event happened. One early morning when dawn has not yet been broken, while the girl was sleeping alone since her live-in partner was out at sea, she was awakened by a male figure kissing her and immediately realized it was not her live-in partner. She struggled and recognized the intruder and in the morning narrated the incident to another neighbor who advised that a confrontation with the intruder’s wife would be in order. The would-be assailant however, instead of admitting his guilt berated her even more telling her to the face that she is lying all because she is a whore! Which infuriated her even more and at the suggestion of the neighbor who earlier recommended the confrontation, advised that the better recourse would be to consult the lion tamer.
So the lion tamer referred the matter to the town’s police office and a confrontation took place. After due investigation, it was found out that the incident indeed took place. Not only that! Investigation showed that he was a Peeping Tom and that has even unsuccessfully molested a neighbor’s daughter, fact that surfaced only because the would-be victim volunteered to also complain..
The girl was vindicated and a stern written reprimand was issued against the erring malefactor that should the incident happen again, the findings on the incident can be used against him to put him right into the calaboose. In addition, the girl has gained a measure of respectability from the parents of her live-in partner who also later turned kindly on her.
And so one day, the lion tamer asked her pet if it would be alright that she takes the girl to the “ukay-ukay tienda” (a place where used clothes are sold during Wednesdays and Sundays) so that superficially she can buy for the latter a piece or two but inwardly for the public to see them and thus create the impression that the young girl now has returned to normal life. The aging lion nodded and pretty soon the lady with the whip returned narrating that even the town’s first lady who was initially quizzical at her effort to help the girl to return to normal life admitted that it was indeed a good move.
Discreet inquiries on the life of Joyce revealed that she is a daughter born out of wedlock by her mother and who later delivered another baby girl eleven years later but not from the same father. The mother later married an American citizen who was already in his December years and who invested in four transportation buses that plied the island and thus the family enjoyed a life of abundance enabling her to pursue high school studies. But her stepfather contracted illness and thereafter died dwindling their resources that also resulted in the sale of the passenger buses. At this juncture the daughter-mother relationship also tumbled that ultimately led to her rebellion against what she conceived was an overly strict parental control that ultimately pushed her to prostitution.
Which just about turns into full cycle the narration of her life.
So, the question now at hand is :”will she be able to lead a normal life from hereon in the company of her live-in partner and later raise their own family?” Or will she tire of her life with her live-in partner and later seek another exciting interlude where the mystic powers of her genitalia she’ll be compelled to sink again in the quagmire where the not-so-daring daughters of Eve have ever tried before.
Ah, but only time can tell!
Note to the readers: This writer will appreciate your reactions on the substance and relevance of the foregoing article.
Monday, January 22, 2007
LIGHT AND DARKNESS, THE WORLD’S
ETERNAL WAYS
As was the habit of the aging lion since the adjacent sitio of Punta was filled to the shore by shacks of squid gatherers from Surigao, he diligently locks the gate of their backyard whenever darkness sets in the horizon. The last time however, he noticed that three of the five huts (one was added to the original four) that the lion tamer help lighted with electric current since two years back were without lights and so he reported what he noticed to her upon entering the house. No sooner and the lady with the whip went out and some thirty minutes later returned and furiously remarked that the electric company cut off the current because they have not paid the loan on the materials that were used to connect the wire from the electric posts to lighten their respective houses. Only one of the original four was able to pay half the amount and therefore was spared from having his connections cut on the promise that he will make good paying the balance no more than a week later.
The aging lion could only shake his head. There was the golden opportunity dangled to these poor folks to take advantage of electric lighting, a commodity that in the past they did not have and they blew it. The lion tamer remarked it is possible they ignored the notices of their delinquency and the attendant warning that connections will be cut because their fairy godmother has strong connections with the electric company’s resident manager and that any threat of disconnection can be dismissed because all that is needed will be a call the latter that disconnection be waived or at least deferred.
But it was now water under the bridge; the aging lion was indifferent at bailing them out of their predicament, saying it was made clear to them that their respective loans that averaged a thousand pesos each must be paid in twelve monthly installments and that except for one who managed to pay about six hundred, the three never bothered paying. And as it would look very awkward for the aging cat to request the electric cooperative’s resident manager that an extension be arranged as no payment was ever made for two years, he concluded that the disconnection was well deserved, and there’s no ifs nor buts about it. And who was that balladeer who playfully sang a revised rendition of an old love song that echoed “financial obligations are not really difficult to remember, it is only that we simply chose to forget!”
On the part of the three families that were affected, it appeared they have no remorse at all that the electric connection was cut. The more vocal of the three remarked she was not able to pay the installments because her husband is always sick, a comment that only infuriated the lion tamer because while her husband has indeed been sickly the past months, he has not been sick all through the two years that their huts were lighted and therefore it is a wonder why not a single installment was ever paid. Another wryly said to another neighbor that they had been accustomed to living without lights in the past anyway and therefore getting back to the use of kerosene lamp will not be the end of their world, a comment that only irked the lion tamer even more. What was apparent however, was that paying the loan (they somehow managed to pay their monthly electric bills) was never in the order of priorities of paying their bills probably thinking that the lion tamer can come to their succor should the electric cooperative badger to cut their connections off..
The pink panther however has a slightly different theory and it has something to do with the stark reality caused by vices, laziness, the corollary effect of effectively addressing their needs, and setting up of priorities especially in the settling obligations. (This writer is currently writing another article on this hypothesis but his miniature storehouse of the English vocabulary has been all but drained already).
Take this classic need (but pardon the unhealthy connotation) for a toilet, for example.
Of the four shacks, two have toilets while the two others don’t. The obvious result then is for those who don’t have it to use the facilities of the two who have. And since the number of residents of those who don’t have are almost equal in number than the users of those who have, it is normal then that when the need arise, especially in the morning before going to school, all the children do of those who don’t have toilets will look for the facility that is vacant and do their thing there. The irony is that the children of the owners must not only wait but at times even have to bear the irksome and unhealthy prospect cleaning the mess of the child who was ahead.! And it is not rare that the remark that the owner gets is “Pasagdi” or let it be! Children will be children, and no word of apology will be offered. And why don’t those who don’t have toilets build their own? Well, because why should they spend if they can use one (or better still two) for free?!
Or take the case of their water connection. Of the four, only one has his shack connected with potable water and consequently, the other three requested that they be allowed to fetch their water needs on a sharing arrangement. Fine! The only trouble is, when payment is due, one or two would renege on the deadline, thus compelling the registered user to either pay his share or else it will be subjected to penalty if it is not paid on time, but this time, the penalty will have to be burdened by the concessionaire! Alack and alas, he did not only spend more than P3,000 to have the pipeline installed, he also has to bear the share of an irresponsible neighbor who would not plan ahead and pay his share so that the penalty may be avoided!!
The subject of the lion tamer’s plan of celebrating Valentine’s Day on February 14 thus came to the fore when their connections were cut and so the lion tamer ordered her pet to arrange with the electric company’s Resident Manager that the two backyard lights that presently light the shoreline at their backyard be converted into “street lighting”. This mode of lighting will transfer the obligation of paying the cost of electric current from private account to the baranggay and thus will pave the way for lighting the area all through the night or until the time the baranggay also renege in its obligation. This the aging lion did and so she attended to the baranggay resolution that was needed finalize the arrangement because it was needed by the electric cooperative and was also successful in convincing the baranggay council..
With the approval of the “street lighting” resolution the aging lion could only half remark “if it is no longer possible to give ‘symbolic lighting’ to the adults, then perhaps providing light to children via the lighted mini-park that the lion tamer installed at their backyard can still bring cheers and enjoyment to their lives.
And the aging lion yawns!
ETERNAL WAYS
As was the habit of the aging lion since the adjacent sitio of Punta was filled to the shore by shacks of squid gatherers from Surigao, he diligently locks the gate of their backyard whenever darkness sets in the horizon. The last time however, he noticed that three of the five huts (one was added to the original four) that the lion tamer help lighted with electric current since two years back were without lights and so he reported what he noticed to her upon entering the house. No sooner and the lady with the whip went out and some thirty minutes later returned and furiously remarked that the electric company cut off the current because they have not paid the loan on the materials that were used to connect the wire from the electric posts to lighten their respective houses. Only one of the original four was able to pay half the amount and therefore was spared from having his connections cut on the promise that he will make good paying the balance no more than a week later.
The aging lion could only shake his head. There was the golden opportunity dangled to these poor folks to take advantage of electric lighting, a commodity that in the past they did not have and they blew it. The lion tamer remarked it is possible they ignored the notices of their delinquency and the attendant warning that connections will be cut because their fairy godmother has strong connections with the electric company’s resident manager and that any threat of disconnection can be dismissed because all that is needed will be a call the latter that disconnection be waived or at least deferred.
But it was now water under the bridge; the aging lion was indifferent at bailing them out of their predicament, saying it was made clear to them that their respective loans that averaged a thousand pesos each must be paid in twelve monthly installments and that except for one who managed to pay about six hundred, the three never bothered paying. And as it would look very awkward for the aging cat to request the electric cooperative’s resident manager that an extension be arranged as no payment was ever made for two years, he concluded that the disconnection was well deserved, and there’s no ifs nor buts about it. And who was that balladeer who playfully sang a revised rendition of an old love song that echoed “financial obligations are not really difficult to remember, it is only that we simply chose to forget!”
On the part of the three families that were affected, it appeared they have no remorse at all that the electric connection was cut. The more vocal of the three remarked she was not able to pay the installments because her husband is always sick, a comment that only infuriated the lion tamer because while her husband has indeed been sickly the past months, he has not been sick all through the two years that their huts were lighted and therefore it is a wonder why not a single installment was ever paid. Another wryly said to another neighbor that they had been accustomed to living without lights in the past anyway and therefore getting back to the use of kerosene lamp will not be the end of their world, a comment that only irked the lion tamer even more. What was apparent however, was that paying the loan (they somehow managed to pay their monthly electric bills) was never in the order of priorities of paying their bills probably thinking that the lion tamer can come to their succor should the electric cooperative badger to cut their connections off..
The pink panther however has a slightly different theory and it has something to do with the stark reality caused by vices, laziness, the corollary effect of effectively addressing their needs, and setting up of priorities especially in the settling obligations. (This writer is currently writing another article on this hypothesis but his miniature storehouse of the English vocabulary has been all but drained already).
Take this classic need (but pardon the unhealthy connotation) for a toilet, for example.
Of the four shacks, two have toilets while the two others don’t. The obvious result then is for those who don’t have it to use the facilities of the two who have. And since the number of residents of those who don’t have are almost equal in number than the users of those who have, it is normal then that when the need arise, especially in the morning before going to school, all the children do of those who don’t have toilets will look for the facility that is vacant and do their thing there. The irony is that the children of the owners must not only wait but at times even have to bear the irksome and unhealthy prospect cleaning the mess of the child who was ahead.! And it is not rare that the remark that the owner gets is “Pasagdi” or let it be! Children will be children, and no word of apology will be offered. And why don’t those who don’t have toilets build their own? Well, because why should they spend if they can use one (or better still two) for free?!
Or take the case of their water connection. Of the four, only one has his shack connected with potable water and consequently, the other three requested that they be allowed to fetch their water needs on a sharing arrangement. Fine! The only trouble is, when payment is due, one or two would renege on the deadline, thus compelling the registered user to either pay his share or else it will be subjected to penalty if it is not paid on time, but this time, the penalty will have to be burdened by the concessionaire! Alack and alas, he did not only spend more than P3,000 to have the pipeline installed, he also has to bear the share of an irresponsible neighbor who would not plan ahead and pay his share so that the penalty may be avoided!!
The subject of the lion tamer’s plan of celebrating Valentine’s Day on February 14 thus came to the fore when their connections were cut and so the lion tamer ordered her pet to arrange with the electric company’s Resident Manager that the two backyard lights that presently light the shoreline at their backyard be converted into “street lighting”. This mode of lighting will transfer the obligation of paying the cost of electric current from private account to the baranggay and thus will pave the way for lighting the area all through the night or until the time the baranggay also renege in its obligation. This the aging lion did and so she attended to the baranggay resolution that was needed finalize the arrangement because it was needed by the electric cooperative and was also successful in convincing the baranggay council..
With the approval of the “street lighting” resolution the aging lion could only half remark “if it is no longer possible to give ‘symbolic lighting’ to the adults, then perhaps providing light to children via the lighted mini-park that the lion tamer installed at their backyard can still bring cheers and enjoyment to their lives.
And the aging lion yawns!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
THE CHRISTMAS THAT BREEZED THROUGH THE LION’S DEN UNNOTICED
Bro. Earl Hart is an American brother who has since retired and has established residence in Spain with his Filipina wife named Estelle. Not a frequent email correspondent, the aging lion’s first impulse was to read his email first upon opening his computer on the wee hours of December 30. the contents of his email is herein copied below verbatim.
------
My dear Brother,
It would not be Christmas if I did not take a moment to wish you and your family the very best in the true sense of Christmas, and a prosperous and happy year to come.
All is reasonable well with us, although the high cost-of-living and exchange rate have caused us to modify our life style. My wife did not go to Cebu this year - the cost - but it is still my hope to go there with her some day and to come over and sit in Lodge with you.
Please let us know about your Christmas there. I miss your Christmas narratives, as well as other messages. Take care, Brother.
Earl & Estelle
-----
And below is the aging cat’s reply.
Hi Bro Earl and Sis Estelle:
----
Hello to both of you out there!
I and the lion tamer just arrived from a two-week stay at the metropolis to visit our children and grandchildren. On our way there, we took an exciting plane ride that was spiced by a typhoon that ravaged the Leyte and Samar islands while the plane was on flight, and took the land trip from Manila to our place here in Guindulman that took forty eight hours to finally reach our destination. My behind still aches from the rigors of the trip but the experience was well worth it. I’ll keep you posted through a narrative that I am presently composing to amuse the readers.
The first thing the lion tamer did upon our arrival yesterday afternoon was to call up the parish secretary to arrange for a New Year’s mass at our backyard by the beach to commemorate the advent of the New Year. She was told , however, that rain has not abated since the day we left two weeks ago and so I wonder if a mass can be arranged at this present condition. Even now as I tinker with the computer keys, rain waters are rudely pounding the galvanized roof of our house and is becoming a nuisance to my literary thoughts as I write this mail. I therefore entertain doubts if the planned mass can really be arranged at all during the New Year.
Well!!
Your mail is the first that I opened today upon our arrival and consequently my reply had to be short. More than thirty (mostly Christmas greetings) still await to be read,
Here’s my best wishes to you and Estelle this coming year.
Jun
------
And so early in the morning of December 30, the lady with the whip personally went to the parish rectory to arrange for the traditional mass any day it would be feasible. December 31, being a Sunday was, however, ruled out as the priests already have their specific assignments; the next day was also declared by the church as not possible, although the secretariat did not explain why (could it be because January 1 is a pagan festivity?) and so at the suggestion of the pink panther, the date was moved to January 6, supposedly the feast of the Three Kings.
But it turned out the neighbors were lukewarm to the date. Jimbo and Liza had already finalized their plans to have their youngest son baptized on December 31 and the three other neighbors had already contributed their fair share of food on that day and therefore were no longer interested in having another gathering that will somehow add to the expenses. The other neighbors up front were also as disinterested in the planning stage of the mass gathering probably because of any additional cost that it may entail. They of course hinted that they will attend the mass if ever it will be held leaving the burden of planning and execution to the lion tamer which is not what was intended.
Faced with the obvious dilemma, the aging cat stated that under the circumstances, the traditional mass should pass unnoticed; the candies and chocolates worth more than a thousand bucks that should have been tossed on the air after the mass is held either should be given to the kids on selective basis, to her lady friends and to the employees at the Center who are her regular partners that help her in her charitable projects. The other goodies, groceries and bric-a-bracs that she usually gives as Christmas presents will have to be given to whomsoever she may desire on selective basis.
Ruefully also she returned to the parish rectory and had the planned mass on January 6 cancelled. The inclement weather, after all, has not the least abated , word has it that out there in northern Samar, more than 10 persons have died due to flooding and many more were unaccounted for.
But all was not lost. Three days after the cancellation, Gudy and Mike, two elders to the community suggested whether the mass can be reset on February 14 to coincide with Valentine’s Day. Both opined that since the funds for the purpose was not yet spent, then it may be possible to just channel it to another festive date but this time combining a mass with the festival of the hearts! This the lion tamer reported to her pet and from him came his reply that it may be possible the church did not accede to the mass being held on January 1, a Monday, because it is a pagan holiday. Combining a mass in the morning with a merrymaking in the evening celebrating Valentine may meet another stiff opposition from the conservative church although they may not explain the reason. The aging cat therefore , suggested that the better option to pursue would be to celebrate the Festival of the Hearts on February 14 and hold the mass on June 24 to coincide with St. John the Baptist Day and there the planned blessing of the pump boats that have now overwhelmed the beaches may be done with utmost solemnity. What is left of the chocolates, the goodies and the other groceries and also the still unspent fund will be put to good use on Valentine’s Day, definitely a pagan holiday.
Well, all’s well that ends well. The pink panther did not mention that Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint of the august Fraternity.
------
My dear Brother,
It would not be Christmas if I did not take a moment to wish you and your family the very best in the true sense of Christmas, and a prosperous and happy year to come.
All is reasonable well with us, although the high cost-of-living and exchange rate have caused us to modify our life style. My wife did not go to Cebu this year - the cost - but it is still my hope to go there with her some day and to come over and sit in Lodge with you.
Please let us know about your Christmas there. I miss your Christmas narratives, as well as other messages. Take care, Brother.
Earl & Estelle
-----
And below is the aging cat’s reply.
Hi Bro Earl and Sis Estelle:
----
Hello to both of you out there!
I and the lion tamer just arrived from a two-week stay at the metropolis to visit our children and grandchildren. On our way there, we took an exciting plane ride that was spiced by a typhoon that ravaged the Leyte and Samar islands while the plane was on flight, and took the land trip from Manila to our place here in Guindulman that took forty eight hours to finally reach our destination. My behind still aches from the rigors of the trip but the experience was well worth it. I’ll keep you posted through a narrative that I am presently composing to amuse the readers.
The first thing the lion tamer did upon our arrival yesterday afternoon was to call up the parish secretary to arrange for a New Year’s mass at our backyard by the beach to commemorate the advent of the New Year. She was told , however, that rain has not abated since the day we left two weeks ago and so I wonder if a mass can be arranged at this present condition. Even now as I tinker with the computer keys, rain waters are rudely pounding the galvanized roof of our house and is becoming a nuisance to my literary thoughts as I write this mail. I therefore entertain doubts if the planned mass can really be arranged at all during the New Year.
Well!!
Your mail is the first that I opened today upon our arrival and consequently my reply had to be short. More than thirty (mostly Christmas greetings) still await to be read,
Here’s my best wishes to you and Estelle this coming year.
Jun
------
And so early in the morning of December 30, the lady with the whip personally went to the parish rectory to arrange for the traditional mass any day it would be feasible. December 31, being a Sunday was, however, ruled out as the priests already have their specific assignments; the next day was also declared by the church as not possible, although the secretariat did not explain why (could it be because January 1 is a pagan festivity?) and so at the suggestion of the pink panther, the date was moved to January 6, supposedly the feast of the Three Kings.
But it turned out the neighbors were lukewarm to the date. Jimbo and Liza had already finalized their plans to have their youngest son baptized on December 31 and the three other neighbors had already contributed their fair share of food on that day and therefore were no longer interested in having another gathering that will somehow add to the expenses. The other neighbors up front were also as disinterested in the planning stage of the mass gathering probably because of any additional cost that it may entail. They of course hinted that they will attend the mass if ever it will be held leaving the burden of planning and execution to the lion tamer which is not what was intended.
Faced with the obvious dilemma, the aging cat stated that under the circumstances, the traditional mass should pass unnoticed; the candies and chocolates worth more than a thousand bucks that should have been tossed on the air after the mass is held either should be given to the kids on selective basis, to her lady friends and to the employees at the Center who are her regular partners that help her in her charitable projects. The other goodies, groceries and bric-a-bracs that she usually gives as Christmas presents will have to be given to whomsoever she may desire on selective basis.
Ruefully also she returned to the parish rectory and had the planned mass on January 6 cancelled. The inclement weather, after all, has not the least abated , word has it that out there in northern Samar, more than 10 persons have died due to flooding and many more were unaccounted for.
But all was not lost. Three days after the cancellation, Gudy and Mike, two elders to the community suggested whether the mass can be reset on February 14 to coincide with Valentine’s Day. Both opined that since the funds for the purpose was not yet spent, then it may be possible to just channel it to another festive date but this time combining a mass with the festival of the hearts! This the lion tamer reported to her pet and from him came his reply that it may be possible the church did not accede to the mass being held on January 1, a Monday, because it is a pagan holiday. Combining a mass in the morning with a merrymaking in the evening celebrating Valentine may meet another stiff opposition from the conservative church although they may not explain the reason. The aging cat therefore , suggested that the better option to pursue would be to celebrate the Festival of the Hearts on February 14 and hold the mass on June 24 to coincide with St. John the Baptist Day and there the planned blessing of the pump boats that have now overwhelmed the beaches may be done with utmost solemnity. What is left of the chocolates, the goodies and the other groceries and also the still unspent fund will be put to good use on Valentine’s Day, definitely a pagan holiday.
Well, all’s well that ends well. The pink panther did not mention that Saint John the Baptist is the patron saint of the august Fraternity.
Monday, January 08, 2007
TREKKING TO THE METROPOLIS AND BACK
To the lion tamer and her aging pet, visiting their pride composed of three children and six grandchildren at the metropolis were previously done two ways; the first is via the ocean liner Sharon Cuneta advertised in TV and in the airwaves, while the second is via air travel that since two years ago has considerably increased in volume because of the phenomenal growth of tourists that were attracted by the scenic island of Bohol and its peaceful inhabitants; a business opportunity that goaded Philippine Airlines to increase its daily flights to two while Cebu Pacific used the Airbus to equal its competitor’s increased passenger capacity. On the first, the aging cat enjoyed the thirty six hour cruising time on state room accommodation sipping the dozen cans of beer he brought along watching the islands and the dolphins merrily jumping one the high seas on a binocular, while on the second instance he would boringly let pass the one hour plane ride that is spiced only by the two hour plane’s departure check-in time before he reached their destination at Tagbilaran City and eventually to the lion’s den at Guindulman town.
There is yet another mode of travel that was established lately to transport the riding public, a type of transportation that can easily discourage the faint hearted and those with discriminating traveling tastes but can excite those whose love for adventure and rugged thrills still reside in their veins. This actually is a combination of an arduous long bus ride that spans 1,100 kilometers that can easily cause blisters on your behinds and also make you wish you deserve a good sauna bath with sexy girls (remember Maalikaya?) massaging your entire body after the unforgettable trip. Added to this are two ferry rides, one at Matnog in Sorsogon that transports the bus to Allen in Samar and another in Bato, Leyte that takes the bus to Ubay town in Bohol to complete the exciting ride from and to its final destination.
Let us now relate those three modes of transportation to the most recent experiences of the lion tamer and her aging pet.
All through the year 2006, the lady with the whip traveled to the metropolis and back five times, two of which she brought along with her the equivalent of the pink panther that David Niven popularly portrayed on one of those humorous movies. And so let this writer now summarize these trips in chronological order.
I. First Trip- March 31 to May 11
She first traveled solo in March to portray the role of amah (yaya to those who cannot understand Chinese) to her two grandchildren at Valencia Hills as her only daughter had to be away from home for five weeks to attend to her one month study grant in Japan and a speaking engagement at Massachusetts in the United States. On this trip to the metropolis, she rode the plane both ways leaving alone her aging cat yawning feebly at his den.
II. Second Trip- June 7 to July 1
She next returned to the big city in June taking along with her a maid as her daughter-in-law by her youngest son was a about to deliver the cat’s sixth grandchild. Again, he opted not to join her as they already knew that the baby to be delivered is a boy; thanks, but no thanks to the scientific gadget called “ultrasound” that rob grandparents of figuring out the sex before a child is born. Staying in the big city for three weeks, she personally saw the boy and so returned home to their done again on board the airplane both ways.
III. Third Trip- September 11 to September 24
But it turned out the maid that she brought along with her also had a delivery schedule of her own. She (no, not the lion tamer, but the maid) had a tryst with her boyfriend before riding the plane accompanied by the fairy grandmother and so after three months time, was already loudly complaining of her household duties as her tummy was already showing signs of pre-natal activity. She was therefore advised to go home as it was apparent she could no longer assume her household duties and consequently a replacement had to be secured.
Having found a substitute, the lion tamer again returned to the metropolis in early September, but this time with her aging pet in tow. The latter wanted to see for himself if the boy looks like him or at least a semblance of how handsome he was during his early years. Ah, but what a wishful thinking! The young lad is a miniature replica of the father and none of the features of the aging cat appeared. After the usual amenities the lion tamer and her pet returned home after two weeks’ stay riding on the Philippine Airlines air facility.
But narration of the trip does not end with seeing and coddling the little boy. Seeing the opportunity at maximizing expenses and calculating that the cost of plane fare for two will equal the cost of three if land transportation is availed of, boarded the bus right at their hometown and experienced the thirty six hour ride for the first time in their lives. There they cruised not only several towns in Bohol, places they have never seen before, enjoyed the four your ferry ride from Ubay to Bato in Leyte, saw for themselves the well paved road of Leyte island and was mesmerized by the famed San Juanico bridge that the aging cat estimates spanned no less than a kilometer long. In addition, they also weathered the bumpy ride of the whole Samar stretch because it has been kept un-repaired probably since the road was installed, saw the majestic Mayon Volcano gently spewing out ashes when they passed Albay province and in fine enjoyed the entire trip like high school students witnessing for the first time an educational tour that life’s teachers have planned for them. In this trip, it also gave him the opportunity to see the still pristine and rural scenery that has managed to elude the raging and abusive debris that modern civilization usually expose to rural environment in the guise of economic growth..
IV. Fourth Trip October 26 to November 11
Her next trip occurred during the last week of October by again land as the young boy, it turned out had a congenital defect. Although definitely robust in physical appearance, he was suffering from intermittent fever every now and then and so was periodically being brought to the hospital where the attending physician diagnosed a kidney defect and advised that he be subjected to the knife. The problem was being relayed to the lion tamer almost on a daily basis and faced with the dilemma, prompted the lion tamer to return so that she may be of help. After several other tests and a trip to another doctor for a second opinion, the medical experts advised for a continued dosage of antibiotics to last for about a year and thereafter a decision whether to undergo the knife will have to be resolved. The cost of the planned operation, by the way, is expected to be no less than 200 Grand. Whew, from where shall his parents and grandparents get the amount?!
The lion tamer returned November 11 and for the first time in 36 years celebrated her birthday on November 6 without her aging pet at her side. But he was not missed at all; her three children saw to it that she celebrated her birthday better and more memorable than all her other birthday celebrations combined all together.
On this trip she rode the bus going to the metropolis and although the trip took a full 44 hours travel, she did not mind it at all and even have quite a number of interesting anecdotes to tell.. Going back, she again rode the plane.
V. The Fifth Trip- December 10- December 29.
The trip to the metropolis during the advent of the Christmas season became mandatory for a number of reasons. First was the desire to see their youngest cub and see for themselves how he had progressed on his medical treatment. Second was the traditional gathering of the entire brood at the ancestral house during this special event and the side trips to the lodge to fraternize with the brethren. But what made the decision final was the offer of our daughter that she will foot the airplane ticket! And here’s the start of the narration of the trip.
It was on December 10 at 11:15 in the morning that we boarded the PAL plane at Tagbilaran. Already one hour and fifteen minutes late when compared with the scheduled departure time, the lion tamer was restlessly fidgeting on her seat as the plane took off the runway. And with good reason, for at that very moment, typhoon Seniang was mercilessly lashing at the Panay island which is at the very path of the airplane’s route. Silently, the cat, who was seated right beside the window noted that the plane, instead of flying straight (remember the maxim the nearest route is via a straight line?) made a right turn thus making visible below the towns of Maribojoc, Loon and Talibon of the island of Bohol. Presumably, the pilots are veering away from the typhoon’s wrathful path by flying at the airline’s route somewhere near the Pacific ocean. And then as suddenly, nothing can be seen outside the window except white clouds. In addition, the airplane’s motors where humming noisier than normal, which made the lion tamer ask: “What is that?” and to which she received the classical reply from her pet that “the airplane has not yet reached the desired altitude and therefore had to exert more power than is normally needed .”
The plane finally landed after one hour and thirty five minutes aloft, which is longer by thirty minutes when compared with normal travel time and all the while , the aging cat never relayed to his tamer his observation, well, not until they were already safely on the ground waiting for their checked-in baggage at the airport. With an additional remark: “Whew!, I thought the sharks may be feasting on us and the other passengers on board later!” Reaching the house, we monitored the news broadcast on the ongoing onslaught of typhoon Seniang over the airwaves and could only conclude, they are still lucky, the plane landed in the same specifications and condition as when it was made airborne at Tagbilaran City earlier that morning.
Unlike their previous visits however, their schedules in the big city became different. Their two grand daughters who by now are already conversant with the use of cell phones would ask (read as demand) that we stay with them for the night, and consequently will alter their own schedules. The aging cat was, however, able to attend the stated meeting of Rafael Palma Lodge No 147 at the Capitol Masonic Temple and thus was able to fraternize with the brethren in attendance gulping several rounds of beer. In addition, he was able to honor a lunch invitation offered by Bro. Tony Limpoco, the president of the Travelers’ Tribe of Bahrain and together with Sis. Edith, his charming wife, and daughters Nicole and Hannah, enjoyed a sumptuous lunch at SM North EDSA on December 26, the aging cat of which is also accompanied by the lion tamer and her favorite grandson Mika. Bro. Tony by the way just remitted P5,000 early December to the lion tamer’s charity assistance projects.
And so save for the thought that the lion’s pride again celebrated their traditional gathering at the ancestral house in Project 8 with the newest addition being treated as teddy bear by the five older grandchildren , the other events will no longer be narrated as it might bore the readers to death and so will proceed immediately to their trip home to the lion’s den.
Not having purchased a plane ticket and deciding that going home via the Super Ferry ocean liner would not be as exciting, the two decided that taking the land trip will be worth another experience and so sent a text message to the bus business coordinator at Guindulman that the VIP seat that is generally reserved for the bus conductor be used by them. This was done and so on the 27th of December
The two promptly rode the half-filled bus at Cubao and from there it inched its way to Pasay. Which made the aging lion muse that they are in for a leisurely ride as the conveyance is half empty. To his consternation however, an equal number of passengers clambered up the bus but not after the baggage boy has neatly tucked their seemingly innumerable cartons of baggage inside. To maximize space, the passengers who were supposed to seat at the backseat willingly vacated the space allotted to them and sat on the aisle that were likewise stacked with cartons so that more baggage may be accommodated. When asked, the conductor lamely explained that technically, the bus cannot be declared as “overloaded” as indeed the number of passengers did not exceed capacity. The fact that there are more cartons of baggage that the bus carry could not be helped, it happens every Yuletide season when homecoming provincianos would take along with them old clothes and other things that can still be used by awaiting relatives. And when asked what will happen should the engine burns and putting the bus in flames replied “Oh, well, let’s hope it doesn’t!”
The bus finally arrived home delayed by no less than ten hours because of the accumulated delays at Pasay, at deciding to take the Camarines Norte route that elongated the distance by some seventy kilometers and the consequential delays at the ferry rides at Matnog in Sorsogon and Bato in Leyte before finally crossing the ferry and finally docking at Ubay that earned blisters on the aging lion’s behind.
But the trip was still worth it all. It gave us a glimpse of how travel drastically differed when compared with the usually unexciting plane ride.
But not the plane ride that was just discussed above!
There is yet another mode of travel that was established lately to transport the riding public, a type of transportation that can easily discourage the faint hearted and those with discriminating traveling tastes but can excite those whose love for adventure and rugged thrills still reside in their veins. This actually is a combination of an arduous long bus ride that spans 1,100 kilometers that can easily cause blisters on your behinds and also make you wish you deserve a good sauna bath with sexy girls (remember Maalikaya?) massaging your entire body after the unforgettable trip. Added to this are two ferry rides, one at Matnog in Sorsogon that transports the bus to Allen in Samar and another in Bato, Leyte that takes the bus to Ubay town in Bohol to complete the exciting ride from and to its final destination.
Let us now relate those three modes of transportation to the most recent experiences of the lion tamer and her aging pet.
All through the year 2006, the lady with the whip traveled to the metropolis and back five times, two of which she brought along with her the equivalent of the pink panther that David Niven popularly portrayed on one of those humorous movies. And so let this writer now summarize these trips in chronological order.
I. First Trip- March 31 to May 11
She first traveled solo in March to portray the role of amah (yaya to those who cannot understand Chinese) to her two grandchildren at Valencia Hills as her only daughter had to be away from home for five weeks to attend to her one month study grant in Japan and a speaking engagement at Massachusetts in the United States. On this trip to the metropolis, she rode the plane both ways leaving alone her aging cat yawning feebly at his den.
II. Second Trip- June 7 to July 1
She next returned to the big city in June taking along with her a maid as her daughter-in-law by her youngest son was a about to deliver the cat’s sixth grandchild. Again, he opted not to join her as they already knew that the baby to be delivered is a boy; thanks, but no thanks to the scientific gadget called “ultrasound” that rob grandparents of figuring out the sex before a child is born. Staying in the big city for three weeks, she personally saw the boy and so returned home to their done again on board the airplane both ways.
III. Third Trip- September 11 to September 24
But it turned out the maid that she brought along with her also had a delivery schedule of her own. She (no, not the lion tamer, but the maid) had a tryst with her boyfriend before riding the plane accompanied by the fairy grandmother and so after three months time, was already loudly complaining of her household duties as her tummy was already showing signs of pre-natal activity. She was therefore advised to go home as it was apparent she could no longer assume her household duties and consequently a replacement had to be secured.
Having found a substitute, the lion tamer again returned to the metropolis in early September, but this time with her aging pet in tow. The latter wanted to see for himself if the boy looks like him or at least a semblance of how handsome he was during his early years. Ah, but what a wishful thinking! The young lad is a miniature replica of the father and none of the features of the aging cat appeared. After the usual amenities the lion tamer and her pet returned home after two weeks’ stay riding on the Philippine Airlines air facility.
But narration of the trip does not end with seeing and coddling the little boy. Seeing the opportunity at maximizing expenses and calculating that the cost of plane fare for two will equal the cost of three if land transportation is availed of, boarded the bus right at their hometown and experienced the thirty six hour ride for the first time in their lives. There they cruised not only several towns in Bohol, places they have never seen before, enjoyed the four your ferry ride from Ubay to Bato in Leyte, saw for themselves the well paved road of Leyte island and was mesmerized by the famed San Juanico bridge that the aging cat estimates spanned no less than a kilometer long. In addition, they also weathered the bumpy ride of the whole Samar stretch because it has been kept un-repaired probably since the road was installed, saw the majestic Mayon Volcano gently spewing out ashes when they passed Albay province and in fine enjoyed the entire trip like high school students witnessing for the first time an educational tour that life’s teachers have planned for them. In this trip, it also gave him the opportunity to see the still pristine and rural scenery that has managed to elude the raging and abusive debris that modern civilization usually expose to rural environment in the guise of economic growth..
IV. Fourth Trip October 26 to November 11
Her next trip occurred during the last week of October by again land as the young boy, it turned out had a congenital defect. Although definitely robust in physical appearance, he was suffering from intermittent fever every now and then and so was periodically being brought to the hospital where the attending physician diagnosed a kidney defect and advised that he be subjected to the knife. The problem was being relayed to the lion tamer almost on a daily basis and faced with the dilemma, prompted the lion tamer to return so that she may be of help. After several other tests and a trip to another doctor for a second opinion, the medical experts advised for a continued dosage of antibiotics to last for about a year and thereafter a decision whether to undergo the knife will have to be resolved. The cost of the planned operation, by the way, is expected to be no less than 200 Grand. Whew, from where shall his parents and grandparents get the amount?!
The lion tamer returned November 11 and for the first time in 36 years celebrated her birthday on November 6 without her aging pet at her side. But he was not missed at all; her three children saw to it that she celebrated her birthday better and more memorable than all her other birthday celebrations combined all together.
On this trip she rode the bus going to the metropolis and although the trip took a full 44 hours travel, she did not mind it at all and even have quite a number of interesting anecdotes to tell.. Going back, she again rode the plane.
V. The Fifth Trip- December 10- December 29.
The trip to the metropolis during the advent of the Christmas season became mandatory for a number of reasons. First was the desire to see their youngest cub and see for themselves how he had progressed on his medical treatment. Second was the traditional gathering of the entire brood at the ancestral house during this special event and the side trips to the lodge to fraternize with the brethren. But what made the decision final was the offer of our daughter that she will foot the airplane ticket! And here’s the start of the narration of the trip.
It was on December 10 at 11:15 in the morning that we boarded the PAL plane at Tagbilaran. Already one hour and fifteen minutes late when compared with the scheduled departure time, the lion tamer was restlessly fidgeting on her seat as the plane took off the runway. And with good reason, for at that very moment, typhoon Seniang was mercilessly lashing at the Panay island which is at the very path of the airplane’s route. Silently, the cat, who was seated right beside the window noted that the plane, instead of flying straight (remember the maxim the nearest route is via a straight line?) made a right turn thus making visible below the towns of Maribojoc, Loon and Talibon of the island of Bohol. Presumably, the pilots are veering away from the typhoon’s wrathful path by flying at the airline’s route somewhere near the Pacific ocean. And then as suddenly, nothing can be seen outside the window except white clouds. In addition, the airplane’s motors where humming noisier than normal, which made the lion tamer ask: “What is that?” and to which she received the classical reply from her pet that “the airplane has not yet reached the desired altitude and therefore had to exert more power than is normally needed .”
The plane finally landed after one hour and thirty five minutes aloft, which is longer by thirty minutes when compared with normal travel time and all the while , the aging cat never relayed to his tamer his observation, well, not until they were already safely on the ground waiting for their checked-in baggage at the airport. With an additional remark: “Whew!, I thought the sharks may be feasting on us and the other passengers on board later!” Reaching the house, we monitored the news broadcast on the ongoing onslaught of typhoon Seniang over the airwaves and could only conclude, they are still lucky, the plane landed in the same specifications and condition as when it was made airborne at Tagbilaran City earlier that morning.
Unlike their previous visits however, their schedules in the big city became different. Their two grand daughters who by now are already conversant with the use of cell phones would ask (read as demand) that we stay with them for the night, and consequently will alter their own schedules. The aging cat was, however, able to attend the stated meeting of Rafael Palma Lodge No 147 at the Capitol Masonic Temple and thus was able to fraternize with the brethren in attendance gulping several rounds of beer. In addition, he was able to honor a lunch invitation offered by Bro. Tony Limpoco, the president of the Travelers’ Tribe of Bahrain and together with Sis. Edith, his charming wife, and daughters Nicole and Hannah, enjoyed a sumptuous lunch at SM North EDSA on December 26, the aging cat of which is also accompanied by the lion tamer and her favorite grandson Mika. Bro. Tony by the way just remitted P5,000 early December to the lion tamer’s charity assistance projects.
And so save for the thought that the lion’s pride again celebrated their traditional gathering at the ancestral house in Project 8 with the newest addition being treated as teddy bear by the five older grandchildren , the other events will no longer be narrated as it might bore the readers to death and so will proceed immediately to their trip home to the lion’s den.
Not having purchased a plane ticket and deciding that going home via the Super Ferry ocean liner would not be as exciting, the two decided that taking the land trip will be worth another experience and so sent a text message to the bus business coordinator at Guindulman that the VIP seat that is generally reserved for the bus conductor be used by them. This was done and so on the 27th of December
The two promptly rode the half-filled bus at Cubao and from there it inched its way to Pasay. Which made the aging lion muse that they are in for a leisurely ride as the conveyance is half empty. To his consternation however, an equal number of passengers clambered up the bus but not after the baggage boy has neatly tucked their seemingly innumerable cartons of baggage inside. To maximize space, the passengers who were supposed to seat at the backseat willingly vacated the space allotted to them and sat on the aisle that were likewise stacked with cartons so that more baggage may be accommodated. When asked, the conductor lamely explained that technically, the bus cannot be declared as “overloaded” as indeed the number of passengers did not exceed capacity. The fact that there are more cartons of baggage that the bus carry could not be helped, it happens every Yuletide season when homecoming provincianos would take along with them old clothes and other things that can still be used by awaiting relatives. And when asked what will happen should the engine burns and putting the bus in flames replied “Oh, well, let’s hope it doesn’t!”
The bus finally arrived home delayed by no less than ten hours because of the accumulated delays at Pasay, at deciding to take the Camarines Norte route that elongated the distance by some seventy kilometers and the consequential delays at the ferry rides at Matnog in Sorsogon and Bato in Leyte before finally crossing the ferry and finally docking at Ubay that earned blisters on the aging lion’s behind.
But the trip was still worth it all. It gave us a glimpse of how travel drastically differed when compared with the usually unexciting plane ride.
But not the plane ride that was just discussed above!
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