Among Ourselves

It’s true, it’s real, and it’s genuine!

Media colleague Jose “Joey” Baking is again eyeing Toronto City’s topmost political post in the upcoming June 26, 2023 mayoral by-elections. Will love be lovelier the second time around?

Joey is one of two journalists who have signed up (well, until candidate registration ends on May 12, 2023) with more than 40 other bets in this very interesting race. One has thrown in the towel; Joey remains firm.

All I can say is “I endorse Joey.” Rejoinder: I am Butch Galicia and I approve this message.

Disclaimer: The comments above are irrelevant to ongoing probes and reports pertaining to so-called foreign interference during Canada’s 2021 federal election.

Neither are these linked to President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will seek a second term as America’s President in 2024.

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To mark the 30^th anniversary of the declaration of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, UNESCO has reminded states and governments to respect commitments to press freedom, as it reaffirmed “press freedom in the independent, pluralistic and diverse media as key to the enjoyment of all other human rights.”

Better yet, World Press Freedom Day amplifies the need for media practitioners to reflect on, talk about and act squarely on issues and concerns that beset press freedom and professional ethics.

Reality bites. The situation on the ground seems less promising today, amid a host of crises facing peoples and countries, among which are wars and violence, social and cultural depression, economic downturns, climate change, and growing concerns on physical, mental and moral health.

Digital technology might have spurred the freer and more unrestricted flow of information.

Unfortunately, the proliferation of blatant disinformation and sheer misinformation in traditional, mainstream and Internet-based media platforms have negated  the tolerable, if not ideal, work of democratic institutions, the rule of law and human rights.

Freedom of the press, the safety of those who engage in responsible journalism and the people’s freedom to speak out and express their grievances and discontent are increasingly under fire from the guns, gold and goons of despots.

Among ourselves? With or without and regardless of CNN’s Don Lemon and Fox’s Tucker Carlson?

Oh, geez! Bataan Matamis, Balintawak Regaliz!

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Barely introduced, a stranger asked me what my column in Balita was all about.

“Pretty much hodgepodge and lots of shakes each topped with a cherry, enjoyed in fun under the bright sun of yesteryears.” I replied.

He got back: “Huh! Does it attract and interest readers?”

My answer: “In so many ways that it does not.”

Scratching his balding pate, he mumbled “Uhmm … mmm” and excused himself.

I know. I might have been a bit rude. I am sorry for engaging in flowery gobbledygook.  

But I intend to go on persuading those who are still into words and letters to hone their God-bestowed gift to think and express freely.

Gauging from a friend’s smirk, I have to abide with one of the rules of clear and effective writing: KISS – Keep It Simply Sweet (or Keep It Short, Stupid!).

Can a good read slow down or keep crazy fingers away from smart phones, keyboards and remote controls?

Likewise, can a nursery rhyme, a fable, a comic book, an article, a short story or a novel free the hooked from being imprisoned by modern-day devices?

With a pinch of positivism, yes! However, I can only patiently wait for a compromising and yielding future.

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A smart aleck dared me to write a piece on mothers. Undaunted, I set my mind and my pen to the test.

Staring at a blank wall with the still unfilled computer space staring back at me did not help.

Later realizing that embarking on this kind of mother-writing trip was no walk in the park, I raised my hands in disappointed surrender.

Shucks! How can I write about mothers? I haven’t been one; and I don’t intend to be one.

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Mothers, undoubtedly, are the epitome of humanity, owning all the virtues in the likeness of Mama Mary.

I just get confused when I hear females amusingly tell one of their kind: “You are like your mother.”

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Eve, the first Biblical mother, arrived a sixth-day runner-up in God’s amazing human race. 

Seems like there was a glitch, to think that mothers sacrifice for nine months to bear a child and a lifetime to raise it! And the only time a mother gets to sleep soundly is when she is triply sure that her children are safely tucked beneath her loving and caring wings.

Further, mothers are the first to seek that her race tops everyone else’s.

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Now, who said that I know nothing about mothers? Who does, anyway? 

You do? Okay, describe your mother without laughing!

Motherhood is no joke. To validate this, ask your mom.

Mother’s Day is on May 14. Let us honour and show our love to all moms in the family and beyond.

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Meanwhile, the Canadian geese are back, a winter vacation down south obviously over. 

Sans a tick of delay, the geese flew and covered distances without paying bus, train or plane fares or worrying about long and tiring drives and swinging gas prices.

Finally, they landed on naturally-designed and desired time and space, with nary a care about visas and border controls, baggage claims and customs inconveniences, and whatever officials debate about flight and other compensations.

Back home to nests and habitat, geese never have to worry about working hours to earn the daily bread.

Neither do geese stress to pay bills, skyrocketing rents and mortgages; nor will they suffer the pain of being in a cuckoo’s nest.

Aside, being imprinted in the Canadian loonie’s flipside makes geese big shots. 

Keeping fit, they peck and feed on healthy deli like paradise apples that fall from trees lining the streets and other manna that seem to shower from the heavens; oblivious to thinking twice before entering a grocery store.

Lake and stream water abound for them to drink and to swim on and bathe from.

They care less about branded rags, confident their feathers will protect them from the elements.

Spring’s rejuvenating air is for them to enjoy, just as they have fun during humid summers by laying comfortably and contentedly under the shade of trees or cavorting nonchalantly under pine and maple trees.

Laws let geese wobble around unmolested, left to their festive and sometimes pestering whims and caprices.

Geese will never raise an eyebrow about the planned transfer of a science centre to Ontario place or squirm at the cost of parking space there; but they may quack-out-loud when they find their homes in the greenbelt area hosting bricks and stones.

Really, these geese! They seem to be getting the ‘better deal’ of what humans call ‘life.’

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Envious of geese I’ll never be.

Literature says that man is the highest form of animal in God’s hierarchy of creation.

Perhaps, going to the Toronto Zoo and inquiring from my Darwinian kin may help.

Of course, geese cannot perform what man has been doing since time immemorial.

Geese care less for renown or infamy, wealth or destitution, power or weakness.

Truth be told, a goose has a webbed foot because it is unable to count five toes. 

Alas! Being truly bird brain, geese are missing a lot!

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Do you still prefer pretty much hodgepodge and lots of shakes each topped with a cherry, enjoyed in fun under the bright sun of yesteryears over your usual fare of fun?

Then we’ll see each other again next issue.

Eat well. Sleep well. Be incredibly well. Stay safe. #####

CAPTION FOR PHOTO BELOW

The celebration of World Press Freedom Day on May 3 amplifies the need for media practitioners to reflect on, talk about and act squarely on issues and concerns that beset press freedom and professional ethics. (Photo file taken in Ottawa in 2015)