AN OFW FATHER'S LAMENT - THE EULOGY

Once upon a time, when snail mail was still the fad, my daughter conveyed a project which required Overseas Filipino Worker [OFW] parents to write a eulogy for their children who were enrolled in their school which, incidentally was founded by Maryknoll Sisters.  I have since forgotten what the teacher's rationale for this rather odd requirement - eulogy for the living - was, but rummaging through my files, I found the draft of what I sent her.

The Draft

I am afraid I hardly knew my daughter and therefore, consider myself less competent for this task at hand.  I don't even know what her favorite color was.

Ethel was just ten years old when I started working overseas and would only get to see her for 21 days every 6 months.  During those intervals, I would always look forward to spending quality time with her but more often than not, she would be busy with her classes in school.

And, when she's not in school, she seemed to be always asleep.  I wonder what kept her so close to her bed.  It seems to me all her life, her mind was not able to prevail over mattress.

Despite all these, being a doting daughter, as she always was, Ethel tried to bridge the necessary evil of separation by writing letters.

Those seemingly eternal, "Musta na po kayo? Sana'y lagi kayong nasa mabuting kalagayan, mahal na mahal po kita"  [How are you? Hope you're doing fine, I love you much] greetings and assurances in her letters always appeared fresh to me and were enough to make my day.  She wrote so neatly but it kept me wondering until now how her teachers were able to suffer her size 8 fonts.  If she managed to extract 3.5s and 4.0s from them, she also made me keep on upgrading the lens of my reading glasses.

She has a penchant for coming up with codes and acronyms.  I've grown very fond of her KTMD, which dictum I would admit had helped me a lot in surviving the rigors of an expatriate's life sans the family.  As long as I live, I will always cherish such compact but meaningful aphorism, "Konting Tiis, Maraming Dasal."  [Have a bit of grit, pray a lot.]

Instead of reminding me to make ingat [take care], the conya that she was, she would write CHESS.  This is the real chess from where she gleaned a lesson early in life.  She learned the rudiments of the game when she was just about 6 years old.  All the while, we thought we had a child prodigy in the making.  Such thought, however, was cut short by an overlooked enemy bishop lurking along the diagonal line leading to her queen.  She seemed to have lost her interest in the game after that.

But the lesson was deeply ingrained in her.  To her, chess is the way of life itself.  Early on she realized the dangers lurking everywhere.  That, somehow, an enemy bishop is always out there to get you if you are not careful; if you don't plan well enough and focus.  I'll never forget that.

She may no longer be with us but I will always see her smiling and laughing heartily at my oftentimes corny jokes.  I will always feel her love in every letter neatly written for a father oceans away.  I will always feel secure in her admonition for my safety - to be always on the look-out for that wayward bishop, in every step of the way.

May God bless her soul.

End of draft.

Kabao Ti Amyanan on Candidate Noynoy - 24-Mar-10

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kabao_ti_amyanan  (posted on Mar 24, 2010 08:19 AM) Member since Sep 02, 2007 “ Passenger ship, SS Pilipinas, on dry-dock, is undergoing major repairs. She is on the look-out for a new captain as well.  During the interview, shortlisted applicants were asked about their plans on how they would ensure the ship won't be on the verge of sinking like the last voyage. Candidate Acosta, before he could say anything, was sent out by the interviewer. Candidate Aquino says he would be unlike the previous captain. He will see to it all funds intended for the ship's upkeep will be spent as such. He would also recommend the investigation of the erstwhile skipper for other cases of dereliction. Candidate Estrada says he's been at the helm of this ship before and seems nothing changed. He even could not forget the secluded place at the starboard where he used to sip his JW blue. He would love to be given another chance. Candidate Gordon couldn't say much but promises to make this ship a tourist destination. Candidate Teodoro says he is a scholar and with his intellectual prowess he will make sure that ship will never sink with his idealism. He also doesn't buy the idea to make the previous captain accountable anymore as it was him who gave the recommendation to apply for this position. Candidate Villanueva beckons he would always be prayerful and would seek God's protection and blessings for calm seas ahead. Candidate Villar, in his usual low key and simple self says, he will buy another ship. „ Report abuse | Reply

...Tatang and his birthday

He would be 90 years old come 25-Feb-16.  But now, he is ageless having passed on to that place where time and age doesn't matter anymore.

...Tatang and Christmas Day

This space was created sometime 2014 and since then I have been meaning to start posting remembrances yet can't find the right time and on which stage in my life should I begin with.

But the mind was supposed to work like a RAM chip.

This being Christmas Day, I tried to dig deep into my cache and accessed early 70's and what I could remember is waiting for my father at his place of work at a barber shop somewhere in the vicinity of Araneta Center, Cubao.  It was eve of Christmas and shop closing would be around 9:00 PM.  Going back home, we would walk down Aurora Blvd and head down to where we live at Virginia Street, a secondary road, which is parallel to Highway 54, now EDSA.

Tatang was very busy that day.  If my count was right, he must have had cut hair for more than 20 customers.  That's many a head considering that Tops Barbershop in those days has about 20 full time barbers.  But it was the holidays and many a male would want to be looking more guapo.

Tops Barbershop reminds me of Mang Salong, Ninong Val, Mang Teddy, Mang Ben, Peter, Danny, Nonoy, all of them skilled haircutters.  It was considered as a first class man's hair salon at that time and would count celebrities in various fields among its customers.  From the customer's waiting section you could see Stella Maris College clearly, directly opposite ShoeMart.  Next door was Commander Drug and across was Mercury Drug.  Then, further down was Ma Mon Luk Siopao and Mami House.

On our way back that evening, I would glance at the toys and gifts being peddled by vendors along the bangketa.  I was praying hard that father would consider buying me a toy gun as my consolation for having accompanied him, but no chance.  We passed by a bakery and he bought a loaf of bread and that was it.

Despondent as I was, we reached home and the stark reality greeted me.  How would Tatang ever think of buying me that toy when we could not even afford to have electricity run into our home.  Mamang greeted us at the door of what was then called a barong-barong and along ran my 6 other siblings.  We would partake of the loaf later, sans any spread, not anything in between much less some juice to wash it down.

To us, that was to be our noche buena.