For a change, I’d like to meet someone who disagrees with me when I agree with him.
Or one who swiftly crosses the line and finds me eager to shake his hand because he has taken my side.
Best of all, I need to see somebody who complains and shouts so loud to later discover that his dentures flew into the pocket of an anti-riot police officer.
*****
Choose wisely. Which is noisier and very annoying: (a) Incessant Honking, (b) Blaring Sirens, (c) Biased Cable TV Hosts (d) Opinionated Kibitzers, (e) All of the Foregoing (f) All of the Outgoing (g) Snoring T-Rex?
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Diplomats blurt: “Non-starters!”
Pffttt! And the cookie crumbles.
*****
Nuong unang panahon a long time ago, nag-trending sa mga teenager at mga tatang-ager ang buntutan ng –ski ang mga palayaw, tulad ng Bongski, Mannyski, Bertski, Ikski atibapa.
Tinanong ko si Pareng Monski kung sino ang kanyang kinagigiliwang pangulo.
Ang sagot niya: “Si Lenski.”
“Kahanga-hangang pili! Topo-topo barega, walang kokontra. Pinky swear pa.”
*****
Overheard at a fast food shop: “One large ‘Selenski’, please.”
“What?”
“Fresh white cheese curds and lots of brown gravy on potato fries.”
Lately, people stop short of associating a Canadian deli to a name that may spawn indigestion.
*****
Confused child: “Is poutine that bad?”
Mom sings gleefully: “Let me tell you about the birds and the bees … and the thing called love” (Words and Music: Barry Stuart; Singer: Jewel Atkins; 1965)
Poignant and nostalgic Dad hums: “From Russia with Love” (Words and Music: Lionel Bart; Singer: Matt Monro; 1963) then shifts to Brit’s Fab Four “Back to the USSR” (Words and Music: The Beatles; 1968).
Nearby Neighbour joins in: “Party in the USA (Songwriters: Lukasz Gottwald, Claude Kelly and Jessica Cornish; Miley Cyrus, 2009).
Parties are fun. If you don’t agree, ask Boris.
*****
“There can be no rule of law … unless citizens and especially leaders are convinced that there is no freedom without truth.” Pope St. John Paul II
Need I say more?
*****
Sa kabila ng mga kasalukuyang pangyayari that make surviving in today’s landscape very complex and confusing, swaying “placidly amid the noise and haste (Desiderata, Anonymous)” in simple means and ways, as little and as obscure as these are, may at least heave sighs of relief and give a meaningful lift.
A New Year’s Resolution should have stood out since 2022 began in January. Be that as it may, I reset my clock to DST last March 13. Time an hour back provided me enough daylight to jot down the following A-Z litany for world peace, not for a piece of another’s world.
Besides, I have been blessed with a recent 68th birth anniversary that needed some self assessment.
So, here are afterthoughts.
Above all, I will look up more often. All day long, I have to praise and thank the Creator.
Burnt oil means a good fried meal. Relative to this, I wish that gas in a belly can be passed to a car. BTW, there is no biblical narrative of the Apostle John surviving a bath in a vat of boiling oil, but the story of Daniel walking unharmed out of a den of hungry lions is written.
Conflict means I will have to endure a dreamless night. No, I don’t aspire to be Bantay.
Denying what is real and happening means that I may have to do soul-searching for a long while.
Envy means “Do I have to regularly dig into a neighbour’s garbage?”
Forgiving means I will have to shed off a lot of pride; forgetting, I will have to do a lot of thinking.
Greed exists in high places. I will ignore any act of greed and step up on kindness.
Heretofore, I will respect the free expression of irrelevant and irreverent ideas, but will never waste time to even think of crap.
In the midst of lies, I will plug my ears and shut off any in-person, online and remote links with Marites.
Justice and respect is refraining from correcting people, even when knowing they are wrong. The task of being perfect as God is perfect is subjective and personal. These days, peace is more precious than perfection.
Knowing my strength means I will have to ink a pact with my weakest link. Seriously, being Atlas is far from being my cup of tea. I will empathize with the trials and tribulations of a messy heavy world. I can only help within my limits, and a brother or two in need at a time will have my shoulders and strength.
Language is like water; it seeks its own level. Language is also like a dam, it bars water from moving farther.
Malice lurks everywhere. I will have to be aware of and reject any sneaky kiss from Judas.
Not an empty promise: I will use what I have to the fullest. I will share what I can spare. I hope to do more and be the better person to family, friends, neighbours and strangers.
Owning a heart lets me spend more time to love. I will have to stop craving for more goods. I will give compliments freely and generously. For a start, I will give RP poll bets ten million imaginary sample ballots.
Parrots must never be caged because they talk, and no one wants to be a free rat too. Balk and sulk if we must, but let us walk the talk.
Quitting means I have to search for new doors and windows of opportunity. But I will never quit my personal search for truth.
Resting in peace means I have to be grounded from toxicity and negativity.
Stumbling and falling means I have weak knees meant to kneel and pray before I stand.
Trust begets trust. Respect begets respect. Call it karma, but everything begets itself.
Until the ball has air and it is round, I will have to root for the Raptors.
Verily, verily! In an unclear war, everyone is cremated equal.
Wilderness means I have to keep close to Nature.
X-Men and Avengers and Mario and Bruno are meant to inspire, not save humans. An ornate urn is never better than an earth full of challenges and risks. I will have to be real.
You are good and I am good. Together, we are better.
Zzzz means I will have to temporarily close those beautiful eyes and let God open them again for a brighter tomorrow. Thank you for the retold stories that walked me down memory lane. Thank you for the new day.
*****
Hear ye! Hear ye! We are all still in a good place, so the politicians and experts say. Many are asking what and where is “the good place.” Is it Queen’s Park and City Hall or the offices of the expert doctors? Of course, if anything bad happens, only the decision maker — not any of them — gets the finger. Confusing?
Best news ever: While health protocols are being eased or lifted, gas masks are not yet mandated. This lessens the prospects of any imminent Transformer invasion.
Conundrum shift: Doomsayers are insisting that a weird planetary occupation of zombies may be in the offing, as the number of those needing a robust diet of brains is increasing exponentially.
*****
Daig ng unggoy na sa puno’y uugoy-ugoy ang ugok na pilit sinusungkit yaring saging sa pisngi ng matsing.
Aray! Hangga’t may tulo ng langis at lupang maisasanib, todo ba pati pato kasama ang ipis? Paliparin na ang ambag mo. Bala’t bomba o ayuda ba? O dasal na laan sa sariling banal?
Totoong na kay Bathala ang awa. Habang nilikha’y patuloy ang ngawa. May kawayang nag-aabang — isa man o dalawa – na dapat tulayin mula sa pagsikat ng araw sa silangan at sa paglubog nito sa kanluran.
*****
Witness not a harvest of the mushrooms of conflict; drink not from scarlet rivers.
Instead, be nourished by the grains of good’s triumph over evil.
Sip from the fountain of happiness and longevity.
You owe it to yourself.
*****
This column honours and congratulates ten college and university, secondary and elementary school students who received the 2021 Filipino Centre Toronto’s (FCT) Rosalina C. Javier Outstanding Student Awards (RCJOSA) on March 13.