“Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.” (First line of Desiderata, Max Ehrmann)
*****
When the phone rings and an annoying caller ID reads Unknown Name, Private Name and anything of that sort, the call will definitely deserve a “no reply” and, sometimes, two unprintable words.
I respect the silence and privacy of the dead.
Phantom callers should also respect my time to play, work and sleep.
Just asking: Has technology evolved into a filthy fiscal morgue of spam, scam and scum?
*****
Fall back an hour, clock! Reset timepieces from 2:00 to 1:00 a.m. on November 6.
Daylight Savings Time, which began on March 13, nears its end. Watch the fall.
Winter is silently coming. Let every peaceful reason for a new season resonate.
*****
Ballots have been counted; the votes, tallied; and victory speeches, orated.
Hopefully, the elected will soundly and silently carry out their political duties. Always was.
Voters are gripped with grief when good and honest politicians get the boot. Always is.
People also jump with joy when evil politicos go into eternal hibernation. Always will be.
*****
Kabesang Betong watched feel-good films after the polls. Ate Ming still craves for a trip to the zoo.
Unless Halloween was extended, sleep and dream of better days to come.
Reminder: Humiga ka na hangga’t gusto mo; huwag mo lang kakalimutang huminga.
Dagdag paalala: Be sure to wake up.
*****
It’s All Saints Day! It’s All Souls Day! Yes, it’s Undas!
Napapanahon na upang gawin ang tradisyong nakagawian ayon sa paniniwalang banal.
Tuparin na ang pangakong “forever” kasama ng mga dearly departed.
Magtirik ng kandila, mag-alay ng bulaklak, magdasal sa harap ng altar o katapat ng puntod ng minamahal.
Undas na naman! Huwag nang hintayin na ikaw ang dalawin.
*****
Ayon sa mga health experts, pawang kathang-isip lamang ang kapre, para i-promote ang walang kuwentang bisyo ng paninigarilyo at pananabako.
E, ang mananggal? Image ba ito ng mga baldado at naluging airline at travel companies?
Dumako naman sa mga mangkukulam. Alam ko, mas kinatatakutan ang mangkukulambo.
*****
Alulong ng aso. Balite sa kamposanto. Hukay na hinalukay. Santelmo sa dilim. Umaaligid na paru-parong itim. Kaluluwang nagliliwaliw. Kabog na nakalambitin. Alingawngaw ng kadenang kinakalawang. Sari-saring pananaghoy at pananangis. Gabi ng lagim.
Hay, naku! Sa dami ng mga kababalaghan sa mundo, hindi ko na rin malaman kung magtataasan ang aking mga balahibo (huwag na nating pag-usapan ang buhok, puwede?) o magtataas ako ng kilay.
Just asking. Totoo bang may nasasawi pa rin sa virus?
*****
Zombies were taken into custody during Halloween night, so the bad news pronounced.
They were charged with grave misconduct.
What was more petrifying? They were assigned lawyers with no brains.
*****
Are you afraid of ghosts? Let goosebumps be bygone. Bring the good vibes of Casper into your imagination. Or be amused and entertained by the Adamms Family.
Rest assured, the Blessed Sign is never complete without the Holy Ghost.
*****
Funeral parlour workers e.g. embalmers, morticians and undertakers seem unafraid of death.
Although death stares at them and keeps them company most of the time, they just have to make a living.
*****
Expiring is not necessarily inspiring.
Passing on takes your breath away; holding your breath does not help either.
Inhale. Exhale. It’s free. Repeat for as long as you can.
*****
Dark-suited Grim Reaper should be a bit friendly and less scary.
Keeping up with the times, however, does not suggest a Grin or Green Reaper with a pink sickle.
*****
Laging maging mabyuti. Sa pagyao, umani ng regalong aura, wings at halo.
Ipamigay na ang lahat ng skeleton sa closet. Ayos ang buto-buto.
*****
Advocate and fight for human rights.
How about rooting for humans left too?
Noted, the remains are to be seen
*****
Freaking noise: It happens! Recently, 433 people won and divided a huge Philippine lotto jackpot.
Regular bettor Mang Tasyo still wants to be the lone winner. Masalimuot daw ang may kahati.
Samantala, nag-uusisa si Aling Selya kung paano nga ba ang bolahan. Anak ng jueteng!
Pasintabi ni Marites: Matsakaw ay masarap; lutong makaw, masaklap.
Comfortable naman si Tatang Kosme with scratching … his head.
Ayayay! Profits drip loudly back to the zone; big wins creep silently elsewhere.
*****
Manang Tonya whispers: Hope is a virtue, neither synonymous to a vice nor stuck to fate or luck.
Ate Chayong adds: Paying for and playing on hope do not guarantee good returns.
Hugot ni Madam Cita: Hope and pray, not mope as prey.
*****
Yawyaw ng lumipas: “Ang nagwawagi ay ‘di umaayaw. Ang umaayaw ay ‘di nagwawagi.”
Tumingala’t umawit: “Ako ay may lobo, lumipad sa langit. ‘Di ko na nakita, pumutok na pala. Sayang ang pera ko na binili ng lobo. Sa pagkain sana, nabusog pa ako.”
*****
Heaven will eventually etch an ID on a tombstone. That is the reality.
Every bit of goodness in a memory is a milestone. That is the beauty.
*****
Heading Home, to where the heart is, defies logic, space and time.
Later or sooner, we will be just but soulful stories resting in peace until read in prose and recited in poetry.
Thus, be at one with the human race. Enjoy the dash between a birth day and the “best before” date.
*****
Paano ka man maka-relate, it’s Undas again.
It is also time to say goodbye, paalam.
Huwag magkamali. Hehehe. Mabuhay! Hanggang sa muli.
“With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.” (Last line of Desiderata) #####
Remember Why
(On the occasion of Remembrance Day on November 11, I am sharing an edited version of an article I have written years ago.)
Glory is neither measured by the weight and glitter of medals, nor the size and make of trophies, nor the breadth and width of plaques, nor the oratory of citations.
Rather, glory is the joy and pride one feels in one’s heart when one knows one has made a difference — no matter how insignificant others may think it to be — to make the world a better place to live in.
*****
The Great Raid. It was the movie featured on History Channel as part of the annual commemoration of Remembrance Day in Canada on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
Adapted from a true story, the film told of the courage and tenacity of American soldiers and Filipino guerillas to attack a heavily-guarded Japanese camp in Cabanatuan in the Philippines near the close of fighting in the Pacific during World War II.
Soul to soul, Filipinos and Americans were on a gallant mission to free hundreds of prisoners of war.
*****
The movie brought to mind the many stories I penned about the armed conflict in southern Philippines — to which I was exposed since working as a reporter for the then weekly Cotabato City-based The Mindanao Cross.
When I ingested the movie’s various scenes showing soldiers at peace with each other or shooting it out with a fellow soldier dressed in a different uniform, I knew I missed a lot during those war-torn storytelling days.
Most, if not all, the published tales of violence, death and destruction were simply factual musings of the whos, whats, wheres, and whens of crazy events spiced with sugar-coated quotes from protagonists, sort of a press release.
Admittedly, those stories were miserably lacking of the hows and whys that often, if not always, speak of heart and humanity.
I missed telling readers how and why a soldier is the loneliest person on earth — he whose prized possessions are cramped in a small backpack; whose home is either a makeshift tent or a hole he dug; whose most loyal companions are a helmet, a pair of boots and a rifle; whose marching orders either brings him to safety or to extreme risk and danger.
I missed telling readers how a soldier’s family feels, when they learn that their son or daughter, father or mother, husband or wife will come home in a silver box draped with the national flag while some be-medalled officer eulogizes about making the supreme sacrifice for love of country, freedom and peace.
I missed telling readers the impact on the newly-born and toddlers who have yet to understand how and why they could no longer hug and kiss their dad or mom.
I missed telling readers why nobody wants a war.
*****
Perhaps, it is just fitting and proper for us to seek those who had been there and could tell us exactly and vividly the hows and whys of a war, be it either an engagement of pretentious world powers or a protracted enmity between peoples with differences.
These soldiers got home to tell a story, perhaps long, long stories. Did we care to lend them our ears?
They want to talk to let us know about the many that went but never made it back.
They want us to recall those who have fallen so that we may rise above war and conflict.
They want us to honour those who preserved freedom and gifted us with peace.
They want us to remember that in war, winners are never exalted by the quantity and quality of the death and destruction they inflicted. #####
Pictures:
Caption:
Together Moments. Although becoming fewer and less frequent, “together moments” among siblings – celebrating a family milestone — create happy and lasting memories. Sonny, Butch, Marib, Evelyn, Bong, Denise and Zad proudly welcoming son, brother and nephew Nicoy, who recently acquired Canadian citizenship. The bonding also celebrated five family birth anniversaries: Marib’s on October 9, late Daddy and Lolo Chitong’s on October 26, Nicoy’s on October 30, late matriarch Isabel and late brother Gie on November 14. (Galicia Photo Archives)