The king and the frog

1991, Cotabato City

He walked along side of the stream driving two frogs into the water in the process.

“They won’t go far,” he whispered almost to himself trying to convince it was just a great pretension of the amphibians.

They kicked up the mud as to deceive and blind my father as to their real hiding place.

My father waited a few moments allowing the mud to settle. Then near the shore of the pond, he saw a suspicious lump and no doubt that the frog has doubled his track to mislead him. From the lump of mud two bulging eyes appeared. He quietly slipped his hands into the mud and with quick motion he grasped the mud and the frog was in his.

ngiti

At napapangiti ako

hanggang ngayon

ayaw maalis sa isip ko

nakadikit (parang bubble gum sa buhok)

basta …

ang saya ng puso ko

kulang yong oras

pero hindi ang damdamin,

ang emosyon

na nakabalot sa isa’t isa

ewan ko sa’yo

pero yun ang naramdaman ko

napapangiti ako

hanggang ngayon

hindi lang ang labi

kundi ang buo kong pagkatao

mahal na mahal kita

sigurado ako

- tochi3 -

15 years more

Aging hands tie the knot at Ill. senior center

TINLEY PARK, Ill. - A suburban Chicago couple really believes it’s never too late for love. Dorothy Taylor, 84, and Duane Williams, 82, were married Saturday at a Tinley Park independent living center after what family members describe as a “whirlwind” courtship.

The octogenarians have been friends and bridge partners for about a year, but the romance started to bloom around Christmas, according to 84-year-old best man Walter Urbanik.

That was when Williams got the nerve to kiss Taylor. The two decided to marry within the week.

News of the engagement came as a pleasant surprise to family.

“The courtship was very whirlwind and very unexpected,” said Debbie Laneve, one of Taylor’s five children. “But we’re very happy for her.”

Her husband Mike Laneve agreed.

“When you’re 84 and 82, you don’t need a long engagement,” he said.

Williams has not been an impulsive man, but was inspired by “the spark of love,” said his son Tom Williams.

About 100 people attended the ceremony at Hanover Place, an independent living center for seniors.

Taylor, who wore a light brown satin gown with a jacket, was walked down the aisle by her 16-year-old grandson Vince Laneve of Chicago.

“It was kinda fun to walk her down and see everybody,” he said.

Source:   http://ph.news.yahoo.com/ap/20090113/tod-odd-octogenarians-wed-45981ec.html

Fifteen years na lang.

Sana, sa time na ito, they would say “We’re very happy for you!”

Street child

 Bigla akong napahinto at natigilan. Hindi ko akalain na isang buhay at humihingang bata ang pakalat-kalat sa isang abalang kalye sa Iloilo City. Hindi na bago ang mga aeta sa lungsod pero nakakalungkot pa ring isipin ang kalagayan ng mga ito.

Sabi sa aking ng isang kausap na tagapamahala ng SOS Children’s Villages sa Iloilo, wala silang magagawa para sa maga batang ito. Walang aetang magulang ang namimigay ng kanilang anak. Kahit anong mangyari, kahit anong hirap sama-sama ang buong mag-anak.

Akala ko, wala siyang kasama habang pagapang-gapang sa maruming kalye, naruon pala ang kanyang ate. Inaantay daw nila ang pagbabalik ng kanilang magulang mula sa pagbebenta ng walis tingting. Hindi pala siya nag-iisa.

Hindi tulad ko.

Hindi ako nakatiis, pagkatapos kong kunan ng litrato, inabot ko ang pack lunch na ibinigay lang rin sa akin. Kinalong siya ng ate nya at sinubuan. Mukhang wala pa silang kain.

TO ALL FOLKS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1950’s, 60′ s, 70’s and early 80’s !!!

First, some of us   survived being born to mothers who did not have an OB-Gyne and drank San Miguel Beer while they carried us.

While pregnant, they took cold or cough medicine,  Linunod, balikutsa, bukhayo  and didn’t worry about diabetes.

Then after all that trauma, our baby cribs were made of hard wood covered with lead-based paints, ang uban kay duyan nga habol gihigtan ug pisi nga inigtabyog ug kusog ma pakong intawon ta sa bongbong.

We had no soft cushy cribs that play music, no disposable diapers (lampin lang sa General Milling nga naa’y faded picture nga nag-salute), and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, no kneepads, wala pa gyu’y break ang bisikleta.

As children, we would ride in hot un-airconditioned buses with wooden seats (Bisaya Bus nga pultahan puros ang kilid, Corominas Bus nga senimana ang brake), or cars with no airconditioning & no seat belts   (karon kay Minibus na nga nindot kaayo ug sounds or Ceres Bus nga bugnaw ug aircon)

Riding on the back of a carabao  on a breezy summer day was considered a treat. (karon; ang mga bata wala na kaila ug Kabaw)

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT bottled mineral water sa Nature Spring or Viva, or Absolute Mineral water (usahay gani, straight from the faucet or poso or Tabay!)

We shared one soft drink bottle with four of our friends, and NO ONE actually died from this. Or contacted hepatitis.

We ate rice with star margarine, bahaw nga gibutangan ug asin ug mantika sa baboy, drank raw eggs straight from the shell,  and drank sofdrinks with real sugar in it (dili diet coke or Pepsi Max), but we weren’t sick or overweight kay……

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

 We would leave home in the morning and play all day, and get back when the streetlights came on. Syatong, Bato-Lata, Bagol, Dakop-Dakop, Tago-Tago, Ngita’g Kaka. 

No one was able to reach us all day ( wala pa’y uso ang cellphone) . And yes, we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our wooden trolleys (katong bearing ang ligid) or Karitong Kawayan nga karaang tsinilas ang giporma nga ligid and then ride down the street , wala ma’y gidungog nga naligsan atoh!  After hitting the sidewalk or falling into a canal (sewage channel) a few times, we learned to solve the problem ourselves with our bare & dirty hands .

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo’s, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 100 channels on cable, no DVD movies, no surround stereo, no IPOD’s,  no cell phones, no computers, no Internet, no chat rooms, and no Friendsters. …….. …WE HAD REAL FRIENDS and we went outside to actually talk and play with them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no stupid lawsuits from these accidents. The only rubbing we get is from our friends with the words..sakit bai ? pero kung kontra gani nimo ang imong kadula,,,,singgitan lang dayon ug..Mayra,Gabaan!

We played marbles (jolen) in the dirt , washed our hands just a little and ate Pan Bahug-bahug & Bagumbayan (recycled bread man diay to kay wala mahalin!) We were not afraid of getting germs in our stomachs.

We had to live with homemade guns (giporma nga kahoy, gihigtan ug garter ug lastiko) , saplong , tirador ug uban pa nga pwedeng magkasakitay. Pero lingaw gihapon kaayo ang tanan.

We made up games with sticks ( syatong ), and cans ( Bato-Lata )and although we were told they were dangerous, wala man gyud to’y actual nga nabuta bah, bukol lang nuon sa agtang naa.

We walked, rode bikes, or took tricycles to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or batoon ug gagmay nga bato ang bungbong, or just yelled for them to jump out the window!

Mini basketball teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t pass had to learn to deal with the disappointment. Wala pa nang mga childhood depression ug damaged self esteem ek-ek ra na. Ang maglagot, pildi. 

Ang mga Ginikanan naa ra sa daplin para motan-aw ra sa duwa sa mga bata, dili para manghilabot ug makig-away sa ubang parents.

That generation of ours has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, creative thinkers and successful professionals ever! They are the CEO’s, Engineers, Doctors and Military Generals of today. 

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had failure, success, and responsibility. We learned from our mistakes the hard way.

You might want to share this with others who’ve had the luck to grow up as real kids. We were lucky indeed. 

And if you like, forward it to your kids too, so they will know how brave their parents were.

It kind of makes you wanna go out and climb a tree, doesn’t it?!

PS - The big letters are because your eyes may not be able to read this if they were typed any smaller (at your age? Duh!).

Pinadala sa email ko, author unknown

happy birthday!!!

Myspace Happy Birthday Comments & Graphics

Sama-samang paglalakbay

 Waring nagdadalawang-isip kung tatawid, walang kasiguraduhan kung makamit ang nais para sa mga mahal sa buhay. Kahit hubad ang mga paa, maglalakbay at walang maaaring maging hadlang. Tatlong munting puso ang tangan, ang nagbibigay ng lakas at tiwala, ang gabay. 

(more…)

Hawak

Wag mong bitawan ang mga bagay na hindi mo kayang makitang hinahawakan ng iba.

Wag mong hawakan kung alam mong bibitawan mo lang.

Wag mo nang hawakan kung alam mong hawak ng iba.

Wag na wag kang magbalak humawak pag alam mong may hawak ka na.

Dear Love

Dear Love,

Ikaw ra’y bugtong itik nga nagkaang-kaang sa lapad kong basakan. Buot mong bukiki-on ug bulikaton ang masakit kong kagahapon.

Apan love, nganong imong gipugos pagtuli ang pisot kong pagbati? Ambi na lng ang yabi sa inyong kasilyas kay didto nako idagayday ang nagka-igit-igit kong pagmahay.

Love,

Botchok

His dance in 3-act

He wasn’t so old few weeks ago but the man captive in the bed looked like a stranger to me yet very familiar.
He was a part of my life, an important and ineradicable piece of me, now somehow washed ashore on another planet.
Watching him dozing in the antiseptic smelling room, I imagined that he would awaken, look quickly at me, spring out of the bed and asked for Greks… his beloved Greks.

Just like weeks ago…