Kapansin-pansin ang kagandahan ng panahon these past few weeks. Ang paligid ay mas madalas na luntian kaysa puti and it looks a lot like spring.
Welcomed are the moments when Bathala, through Haring Araw, peeks through the clouds and inspects kung maayos ang lahat sa kanyang kaharian at kinasasakupan.
May ngiti naman ng pagmamahal sa labi ni Inang Kalikasan, ngunit may dalang babala “easy at enjoy lang kayo diyan, walang siraan.”
Just have fun sa yakap ng init, lamig, niyebe at ulan. Puwera usog.
*****
Tik-tok-tik-tok, umuusad ang oras. Sa iba, time flies so fast. Please, huwag naman time stood still.
Marso na, ang unang buwan ng taon, ayon sa ancient Roman calendar ni Emperor Numa Pompilius; pangatlong buwan sa Gregorian calendar na sinusunod ngayon; at hudyat na sampung half moon pa at Pasko na.
Handa na ba tayong sumabak sa larangan ng mas ibayong pakikipagsapalaran this March?
*****
Don’t ask students. They are eagerly waiting for a weeklong break from brain stress from March 14 to 18.
Never ask me either. Para akong baterya, ever ready.
After all, March is my birth month. I will go baligtaran, tulad ng Pisces, my zodiac sign; a number five years from a Beatles song about age.
Understanding that I have continuously and confidently overcome a balancing act like Bondying and Basyang through the years is both comforting and reassuring.
*****
Reality is as morbid as it gets. My inner self, when my birth anniversary comes around, nicely whispers “take care and delight on that trip nearer to a better place.”
Then, of course, I will begin looking forward to a European cruise and, maybe, several last hurrahs to Bayang Sinilangan sa Bayang Silanganan. Yehey! Coming soon.
*****
Don’t even entertain the malicious notion that I will not honour and celebrate my own Sundate.
As soon as I wake up and rise on March 12, I will thank Bathala for the physical, mental and spiritual blessings He has gifted me for 68 years; and pray for His graces to go on for a lifetime.
Then, who knows what can happen next, but I’d like to feast on my favourite meal as a young boy – a cup of matamis na bao bought from Aling Trining’s store at the corner of Kundiman and Calamba streets in Sampaloc, Manila, and a plateful of kaning lamig — lunch or supper or both, I’ll go back in time and take it.
At my age today, I know that I’ll get scolded. No one likes a sweet lover anymore, lalo na yung may diabetes.
*****
No complaints here. I have always praised Bathala for having created good-natured and kind-hearted disciples and the ones they care about – those aged 80 to over 100 — who levelled up the standards for long life.
Utility has come of age. Technology is good, having taken human creativity and ingenuity to the apex. Why, then, is it hard to listen to and know how many seniors went through hard times when nothing was easy?
Elders today do share the enthusiasm and excitement of using modern toys and gadgets. They do so because they are happy to keep in touch and firm up familial bonds, by vein or friendship. It was never to make things easier.
Kiddos may have found and settled in their own nests and universe. However, a quick peek out, some time for a short walk and small talk, a smile and shared laughter, a caring hug and gentle back taps and a firm handshake will be very much cherished by an elder.
Memory cards and USBs help. However, seniors feel best when love is engraved in hearts that beat for them.
Aside, here’s the wish that everyone has extended Family Day observance on February 20 to every day.
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Oh, boy! I admit to being a covert emotional wreck during family gatherings.
Granddaughter: “Lolo is really getting older.”
Me: “Young girl, where’s the wiser?”
*****
Let me share what I wrote in 2016.
Grandson was curious: “Lolo, why do you keep stuff?”
As soon as the question sank in, my mind flashed vivid images of the stack of love letters, pictures, documents, prose, poetry, song lyrics and other written memorabilia, all hibernating in a shoebox; the long locks of hair and a hodgepodge of smaller things sealed in a plastic bag; the broken acoustic guitar standing on my writing desk, the antique organ that once accessorized the living room, and the electric guitar and keyboard hiding in the closet; the assortment of bouncing and deflated balls tucked in cabinets and decades-old basketball jerseys folded in a dresser; etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
Really! Why do I keep stuff? Valid or not, I have my reasons.
I live my age; and while at it, I never forget to relive the ages and eras, the ancient past that has given me the best tomorrow that is today.
Every time I open the worn-out tape-laced shoebox and pull out, hold and reread the love letters written in the early 1970’s, I feel anew that inexplicable rush of emotional bond and romantic thrill … ‘ika nga, yung ‘di mapigilang kilig … with the person I swapped missives with — girlfriend and then wife Evelyn. Fr. Emile Bolduc, OMI solemnized our vows in the hilltop novitiate chapel of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Dinaig, Maguindanao, the Philippines before sundown of December 31, 1975.
Reviewing creased pictures reassures me of the candid and sincere love and affection of family, kin and persons who believe, as I do, that we will always be there for each other through thick and thin, through sick and sin, through good and bad times, come what may each other’s way.
How elating it is to reflect on the humanity behind every significant occasion and place a camera lens captures.
A birth and a hospital bed, a christening and a church, a birthday party and a hall, a reunion and a school, a vacation and a scenic spot, a seminar and a conference room, a parade and a main street, a wedding and a garden, a holiday feast and a long table, a song, a dance, a speech and a stage, and so on and so forth … all these milestone photos have its own individual awesome story to tell and be told.
These pictures are animated by people who keep one another close to heart and memory. Posed or stolen, the shot does not matter. What counts most is the very thought that everyone shares a smile and a lot of goodwill in the joyful celebration of a phase in each other’s life.
Browsing through school, work and other documents presents the urge to seek for and renew ties with erstwhile total strangers destined to cross paths with me in this journey through life. They are classmates, schoolmates, roommates, workmates, band mates, teammates, and peers. During those fleeting moments, they helped mold me to become who and what I am.
Vanity … that is what those locks of long hair remind me of. I have always thought that if I can’t sing like a rock star, sporting long hair will at least make me look like one. Realizing that I will never be both, the barber got a job. I was glad to get a blanket of insecurity off my head.
How about that small stone my grandson picked and handed to me to throw into the lake? I kept it to remind myself that hitting any of the swans cavorting with the waves is bad. Maybe someday, the stone might be cast to create a necessary ripple on already disturbed waters.
Country pins, discolored medals, a tobacco used as a prop in a Gridiron show, old coins and bills, and more. These artifacts are priceless. These tiny mementos, except for the wayward thumbtack I knelt on, mean more a lot when I nurture the thought that people I am happy and have fun to be with gave them to me.
Great men and women who wrote great lyrics and tunes and great athletes who played great games in the spirit of teamwork and sportsmanship have primarily influenced my consciousness since childhood …
“Lolo, why do you keep stuff?” my grandson asked me again, abruptly ending my nostalgic indulgence.
“If you have been to a museum, you’ll know and understand why I keep stuff,” I replied.
“Huh?” was my grandson’s better reply.
Then I pointed to the dresser, opened it and pulled out a pair of basketball shorts I donned 30 years ago, those really good times when my teammates played to win championships while I chewed on gum and warmed the bench.
I pulled the shorts up a leg and exclaimed: “Look! With a little cutting, the waist will fit my thigh.”
“Huh?” was my grandson’s best reply.
Yes, carve and etch the love in my heart. But please let me hold on to stuff – small storable items that remind me that I am having fun with life.
*****
Faith, Hope and Love are the Reasons for all Seasons.
Eat well, sleep well and be well. Everything that begins well ends well.
Well, let’s go have birthday celebrations, pursue our good and merry ways and live who and what we need and want to be. #####