“Unfair,” said a grinning Mr. Turtle, as he insisted that the run between him and the hare be done in the lake.
Not that 2023 is Mr. Water Rabbit’s Chinese Lunar Year and things are kind of expected to go his way with fluids, the hare cordially replied: “As you wish, Mr. Turtle. Go swim as fast as you can. Cross the finish line. I’ll stay on land and be dry. Please wake me up when you are done.”
Off Mr. Turtle went, a bit confused why his jogging buddy would rather sleep than be in a race.
Twitching his nose in delight, Mr. Water Rabbit knows that some limits have to be respected.
Further, a long nap can help refresh and energize the body, mind and soul.
When he wakes up and rises, he will be in awe to see that the sky is the langit.
*****
Yehey! It’s February 2023. In another ten full moons and several sunrises, Pasko na naman!
I love February. I love Christmastime. What’s not to love in the Month of Love and the Season of Love, respectively? Everything else follows when love is in the air.
Love may be defined by what your leap of faith is, or by what your abundance of hope aims for.
But maybe, a little help from Baby Cupid and St. Valentine and a lot of prayers through the Christ Child in a manger and His Mama Mary may assist in keeping everyone in love.
Poems have been written: “How do I love thee, let me count the ways …”
Songs have been sung: “All we need is love!” “Fill the world with love!”
It’s been said many times, many ways: I love you.
*****
Mang Enteng: Mabuti pa ang kalendaryo, may date. Ako, wala.
Aling Ising: Saba diha! Hindi vaccine ang palaso ni Kupido. And then, mahaba-haba ang wait time.
*****
Do you feel like it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas?
Why not? The Arctic cold and the snow have begun to move and settle in, after a few T-shirt and raincoat days.
Let’s go! It is time to build snowmen, have a hillside slide, skate on the rink and do all sorts of winter fun, like staying home to read a book while listening to classical music or to immerse in video games.
Just asking: Can rabbits jump so high to be prime suspects for missing Frosty noses?
(I read that carrots are to be fed to pet rabbits only as occasional treats. Carrot tops can be a regular munch. Health wise, fruits and vegetables rich in fibre are good, like hay, broccoli and okra.)
There is really nothing to worry about. It is still winter and we are in the middle of it.
Ingkong Lauro thinks it would be nice if homes, main streets and neighbourhoods are restored to the festive atmosphere it had last Christmas.
His nephew says no, no, no: Not now, uncle. But we can get our backs and shovels ready.
No one wants a higher bill from the power firm.
Also, rousing someone on beauty rest may be a health risk.
Don’t poke the bear! Sa Tagalog, asarin na ang bagong gising, huwag lang ang humihilik na lasing.
*****
Is Mr. Turtle back yet? W8 lang, puwede? Hindi pa marunong lumipad ang pagong.
Time flies so fast. Disagree? Well, then try calculating the speed at the pace of a tortoise racing on the freeway and the rate of twitches a rabbit makes with its nose while vacationing in someone’s veggie patch.
Haste makes waste, so they say. To be safe and sure, make all that you do be worth the while.
Sa usapang pakyawan, no comment ako.
W8 tayo kay Mang Enteng, from the Chinese grocery. Balita: May kalendaryo na siya, may 365 dates pa.
*****
What else is new, walandyo? Not much that could make life easier, more comfortable and more sensible?
Remaining moments of 2023 will eventually weigh in on our common sense and resilience in making do with what we have and doing without with what we do not possess.
Keeping up with the Joneses is no longer trendy.
Getting crazy or excited over successes and disappointments that cross our way may be normal reactions, until it is realized that wins and losses and ups and downs are nothing more than mere tools and lessons that may help make life more bearable; or worse, inutile waste that must be dumped and never recycled.
*****
Chill! Cheer up! The 16-day long festivities welcoming the Chinese Lunar Year of the Rabbit will not be over until the Lantern Festival culminates on February 5.
Go on with the fun, feasts, togetherness and cultural unity.
Accordingly, the Rabbit is fourth in the Chinese animal zodiac cycle, after the Tiger and before the Dragon.
Legend spoke of Chinese moon goddess Chang’e who has a pet rabbit, the only creature lovely and lovable enough to match her regal beauty.
Believed to be the likeness of the moon goddess, the Rabbit symbolizes purity and auspiciousness; likewise gentleness, grace, and luck.
For the Chinese, the tame rabbit represents hope, long life, peace and prosperity.
Years of the Rabbit include 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011 and 2023.
Rabbit people are described as kind, witty, creative, elegant, ingenious, peaceful, vigilant and quick-minded. However, they may be cautious and timid at times.
The water element in 2023 enhances the Rabbit’s intuition, sensitivity, and adaptability; but may also breed insecurity and indecisiveness.
Suggested: To meet up with good fortune, Rabbits should wear red, purple, or blue.
Practicing charity and gratitude will also bless Rabbits with good fortune.
Above all, Rabbits who avoid conflict will gain prosperity.
(The universality of avoiding conflict is very clear. I cannot fathom why so-called leaders are so obsessed with spending for and provoking war, chaos and unrest somewhere else, instead of looking after the most basic needs of people in their backyard. I guess none of them is a Rabbit. Perhaps rabid? Paalala po: It’s tax season!)
Well, after having greeted my friends and kindred “Gong Xi Fa Cai,” “Shin Nien Kwai Leh,” “Kung Hei Fat Choy,” and “A Prosperous Bountiful Blissfull Chinese New Year” last January 22, I was glad to join them in partaking of tikoy, hopia and traditional Chinese delicacies. The red envelopes looked nice too.
*****
A politician walks the aisles of a grocery store in eerie silence. Earlier, he was loud and feisty, when he pledged to work out ways to tame inflation and dodge a looming recession.
Having just punched another hole to an already tight belt, a man shifts his eyes too often in search of grocery items on sale and cheaper substitutes to what he used to eat and use at home. Grunting, he cannot bear the thought that soon, he would have to use a hammer on a piggy bank.
Outside the grocery store, a woman stops and coldly stares at the entrance. She murmurs “I can’t. I just can’t.” She moves away, each small tedious step leading to the food bank.
*****
Under the circumstances, it would be rude and disrespectful of Bugs Bunny to face the three, chomp a carrot with an arm akimbo, and ask “What’s up, Doc?”
Bugs Bunny knows that an answer will never be immediately forthcoming.
Charles Martin Jones — an American animator, director and painter best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies — describes Bugs Bunny’s catchphrase “What’s up, Doc?” as “a perfectly legitimate question in a perfectly illogical situation.”
Film director Tex Avery wrote the iconic catchphrase, which was a common expression in Texas.
References noted that “doc” back then was synonymous with today’s “dude.”
“What’s up, doc?” “Wazzap, dude?” “Ano’ng balita, ‘pre?”
*****
Being curious and inquisitive may mean being interested in something.
However, sense and sensibility calls for the right question being asked the right person at the right time.
Lucky is the one who ever gets the full unadulterated narrative.
*****
Hindi ka masasaktan sa hindi mo alam
Buhay ni kapitbahay, huwag nang pakialaman
Sa panghihimasok, walang mapapala
Magkaka-sore eyes ka na, sunog pa ang dila
Paalala lamang, aking kaibigan
Bago lumala ang sakit, stay home na lang.
*****
Bugs Bunny who? Seriously?
Okay! He is an animated cartoon character that Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) created in the late 1930s. Mel Blanc originally lent his voice to Bugs Bunny.
Since 1940, Bugs Bunny has starred in over 160 cartoons and films.
Check it out! Hop over the Bugs Bunny star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 1996, Bugs Bunny and his Looney Tunes friends appeared with basketball superstar Michael Jordan in the live-action/animated film Space Jam.
Returning to the silver screen in 2021, Bugs and company had fun with NBA icon LeBron James in the sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy.
Bugs Bunny is described as cocky and brash but self-assured, nonchalant, imperturbable and contemplative. He treats. Clever, the cartoon rabbit avoids fights. He treats animosities as contests of fun and games.
Dared, he can ably outsmart enemies. He emerges the victor no matter what friend-enemy Elmer J. Fudd throws at him, including the petrifying sight of a ridiculous shotgun that looks more like an oversized bicycle air horn used by “pot-pot” pandesal delivery riders in the Philippines a long time ago.
(A biscuit company once claimed to have brought the Englishman to the Philippines; but the humble “pot pot” pandesal bike brought the bakery to urban and rural folks. I wonder if the pandemic helped the “pot pot” pandesal delivery system return to a profitable venture.)
Hey, Elmer! You’re the partner and the man. Whatever is up, doc, all the best and always have fun.
Like him or hate him, Bugs Bunny will always be the quintessential cartoon rabbit.
*****
Year of the Rabbit it is! Essentially, it is not the year of the rob it or rub it.
Thus, this 2023, Give a lonely bunny a hug, even after it messed up your garden.
Sniff the woods. Seek the unknown, Dare the uncertain. Like a rabbit, have no fear.
The rabbit listens, so can you. Lend a long ear, and hear, hear, hear.
Humour yourself. Munch the carrot. Laugh at corny jokes. Never jeer.
Teka nga! Ang wrapper ng White Rabbit, naisusubo kaagad. Pero yung papel na inuupuan ng special siopao, hindi. Hay naku! Ang mundo, sadyang napaka-queer.
Gamblers, I am told, sometimes carry a rabbit’s foot for luck. Humourist R. E. Shay advises: “Depend on the rabbit’s foot if you will, but remember it didn’t work for the rabbit.”
That may very well explain why rabbits prefer to be with magicians.
Pero ang sabi nila, ang mahahaba at malalaking tainga means long life. More ear swabs, please.
Kunsabagay, huli man daw at magaling, Happy Chinese New Year pa rin!
*****
“That’s all, folks!” Thanks, Bugs.
As always, stay well. Keep safe. Be blessed. #####