He was a writer, a real patriot and a leader.
I am not talking about Andres Bonifacio or of any other great men of history. He wasn’t as famous as them. He was only known in his little town. He wasn’t rich enough to build a mansion for his family, but he built a home which nestled and protected his wife and children.
He was well loved by his people. In his little barangay, he was quite popular even after he left. He was a man who values education so much that even when he was sick he would call his grandchildren and teaches them to read. His patriotism borders the exceptional. He was so loyal to his country that he wouldn’t eat canned goods from abroad. I remembered quiet well how his children would connive to hide the cans and labels of those imported foods and things given by their friends. It was funny to reminisce those times.
He loved books. He loved news, politics and his grandchildren. Though he never saw them grow up and reach their dreams.
Yes, he is gone now. The man who had been patient enough to teach his grandchildren their math during summer vacations. He was good enough to bring his granddaughters to their favorite fast food even if he was quiet short of cash. He was exceptional enough to influence a granddaughter at a young age. He was the best, if not better than the best grandfather in the world.
He was my Lolo and I was his favorite apo. Or so they say.
Funny, but I inherited everything from my Lolo, and it’s not just the looks. He was a writer, and I am a student journalist. He was asthmatic, and so am I. He loves news, his writings and books. Of course, so do I.
They say I am following the footsteps of my late grandfather. Among his grandchildren, I was the only one who showed interest in his craft, though they did not seem to notice the potential in one of my cousins.
My grandfather is my hero. He is my muse, so to say. Despite the fact that he died when I was still small, I could still clearly remember how he would bring me to my favorite ice cream house, teach me my math, and hear me read or do my monologue. He never gets tired of teaching us and instilling in us the value of education.
I inherited from him my writing skills, my love for books and my appreciation for knowledge. Sad to say, I never learned to love math despite the fact that he never failed to tutor us with it during summer.
The latter years of his life was spent in hospitals. I remembered visiting him the day before he died. I was the last grandchild he saw.
In a way, I hated my grandfather for leaving me. I loved him so much that all this years I would still find myself missing him. It has been nine years since he left me and I still long for the day when I would go home and he would hug me. I still long for the day when I could hear his voice again and he would hear me do my monologues, or agonize over my out of tune voice while I sing to him my favorite songs. I long for his company when I watch news broadcasts in television. I miss my grandfather so much, and no words can describe the longing that I felt.
I wish he could see me now. I wish he could see how near I am in becoming a journalist. I wish he could see my name in our weekly student newspaper and he would beam with pride. Yes, Lolo, my name is in the newspaper too. I am a writer just like you.
But all I can do now is wish. My Lolo is in a far away place now. I don’t know if he could see me cry every night. I don’t know if he misses me too. It doesn’t matter though. As long as he is alive in my heart, even death could not separate us. As long as I keep his memory alive, he will be with me.
Someday, I will become a journalist, a writer just like my Lolo. I know he will be proud of that. I hope I could see him smile each time he would see my name in the newspaper or see me in television.
Yes Lolo, I hope you are smiling now. I am still a thousand steps away from my dream, but don’t worry Lolo I can reach it. I will gladly go the thousand steps for you.
I hope you could read this in heaven Lolo, or do you have newspapers there too?
Don’t worry Lolo; I will keep all my writings so if the time comes that we would meet again you can read everything.
For now, I’d settle for the memory of your smile.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
English is a Crazy Language (Author unknown)
Let's face it -- English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.
Found this during one of my cyber wanderings...Its fun and its amazingly true...
We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one loose tooth, 2 leese teeth? One index, 2 indices?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend, that you comb through annals of history but not a single annal? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preacher praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? If you wrote a letter, perhaps you bote your tongue?
Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo or a truck by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways? Lift a thumb to thumb a lift? Table a plan in order to plan a table?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can a person be "pretty ugly?"
How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another. Have you noticed that we talk about certain things only when they are absent? Have you ever seen a horseful carriage or a strapful gown? Met a sung hero or experienced requited love? Have you ever run into someone who was combobulated, gruntled, ruly or peccable? And where are all those people who *are* spring chickens or who would actually hurt a fly?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on. Why is "crazy man" an insult, while to insert a comma and say "crazy, man!" is a compliment (as when applauding a jazz performance.)
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race at all). That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it.
Found this during one of my cyber wanderings...Its fun and its amazingly true...
We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one loose tooth, 2 leese teeth? One index, 2 indices?
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend, that you comb through annals of history but not a single annal? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preacher praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? If you wrote a letter, perhaps you bote your tongue?
Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo or a truck by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways? Lift a thumb to thumb a lift? Table a plan in order to plan a table?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can a person be "pretty ugly?"
How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another. Have you noticed that we talk about certain things only when they are absent? Have you ever seen a horseful carriage or a strapful gown? Met a sung hero or experienced requited love? Have you ever run into someone who was combobulated, gruntled, ruly or peccable? And where are all those people who *are* spring chickens or who would actually hurt a fly?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on. Why is "crazy man" an insult, while to insert a comma and say "crazy, man!" is a compliment (as when applauding a jazz performance.)
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race at all). That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Sore Thumb
For thirty nine years the Philippine government has been at war with the New People’s Army, more or less two decades with the Islamic Militant group Abu Sayyaf, and three decades with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Needless to say the Philippines has been spending years of conflict with no imminent end in sight.
The fact that the country’s problem on insurgency is not as worst as those of other countries is something that Filipinos should be thankful for; but the fact that its there is also something to be worried about.
Like corruption, insurgency has been like a particularly stubborn weed which simply refuses to die no matter how many times you try to trample on it. The war between government forces and various rebel groups has been on going for decades now and has claimed hundreds of lives, ruined properties, families, and the prospect of a progressive Philippines.
Mindanao is an island with strong potentials in the tourism industry as well as business potentials. But the on going conflict in various places in the island has smeared Mindanao’s reputation. It created the image of Mindanao as a war torn place that could bring danger to anybody who sets foot in it instead of an island abundant in natural resources and teeming with possibilities. These possibilities are often overshadowed by news of kidnappings, bombings, ambush and encounters.
The presence of armed groups, reinforced by stories of kidnappings and violence, scares off and discourages potential investors. The clashes between government and rebel troops have constantly displace residents of affected places, traumatized them as well as ruin their livelihoods. How can one expect progress with these?
Aside from these, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is spending millions of pesos to finance the equipment needed by the troops in Mindanao. If the war escalates, the Armed Forces would need more equipment, more troops; hence, a bigger budget. And additional budget to the defense department would mean lesser budget to the other departments.
The on-going conflict in Mindanao has been like a sore thumb, sticking out and making its presence felt no matter how you try to pretend that its not there. The on going conflict affects the business and tourism potential of Mindanao and is, therefore, impeding the chance of the country to develop and progress.
This conflict is a product of the Moros fight for self-determination as a people with distinct history and identity. A fight which gave birth to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the 1970’s and eventually to the MILF as the latter broke away from the MNLF. The ensuing conflicts that erupted between Moro and Christian paramilitary troops gave way to the war that became a burden to the country for 30 years.
For ten years now there had been peace talks between the government and the MILF. These peace talks enable negotiation between both parties for them to arrive at an agreement that would finally put the Mindanao conflict to rest.
With the presence of the NPA, Abu Sayyaf and other revolutionary and criminal groups, the war in Mindanao has never really ended. However the peace talks between the MILF and the government, at least, gave the government one less enemy to hunt.
The conflict in Mindanao, and the problem on insurgency as a whole, speaks a lot of things. It does not only symbolize the Moros struggle for autonomy but it eloquently speaks of the people’s distrust and dissatisfaction with the government.
The biggest problem that the Philippines faces is not the fact that it is geographically divided; but the fact that the people refuse to acknowledge that despite the problem on geography they are still bound under one race and must, therefore, learn to work together for good. Regardless of the differences in dialect, ethnicity and religion, they are all Filipinos who belong to one country that is presently plagued with poverty and corruption.
The Philippines is constantly facing problems that test its resolve as a country aiming for progress and development. But no matter how hard the country tries to move forward a lot of issues impede its pace. Unless these issues are properly addressed there can be no real development in the country. It is time that the sore thumb heals.
(Written October 29, 2008)
The fact that the country’s problem on insurgency is not as worst as those of other countries is something that Filipinos should be thankful for; but the fact that its there is also something to be worried about.
Like corruption, insurgency has been like a particularly stubborn weed which simply refuses to die no matter how many times you try to trample on it. The war between government forces and various rebel groups has been on going for decades now and has claimed hundreds of lives, ruined properties, families, and the prospect of a progressive Philippines.
Mindanao is an island with strong potentials in the tourism industry as well as business potentials. But the on going conflict in various places in the island has smeared Mindanao’s reputation. It created the image of Mindanao as a war torn place that could bring danger to anybody who sets foot in it instead of an island abundant in natural resources and teeming with possibilities. These possibilities are often overshadowed by news of kidnappings, bombings, ambush and encounters.
The presence of armed groups, reinforced by stories of kidnappings and violence, scares off and discourages potential investors. The clashes between government and rebel troops have constantly displace residents of affected places, traumatized them as well as ruin their livelihoods. How can one expect progress with these?
Aside from these, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is spending millions of pesos to finance the equipment needed by the troops in Mindanao. If the war escalates, the Armed Forces would need more equipment, more troops; hence, a bigger budget. And additional budget to the defense department would mean lesser budget to the other departments.
The on-going conflict in Mindanao has been like a sore thumb, sticking out and making its presence felt no matter how you try to pretend that its not there. The on going conflict affects the business and tourism potential of Mindanao and is, therefore, impeding the chance of the country to develop and progress.
This conflict is a product of the Moros fight for self-determination as a people with distinct history and identity. A fight which gave birth to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the 1970’s and eventually to the MILF as the latter broke away from the MNLF. The ensuing conflicts that erupted between Moro and Christian paramilitary troops gave way to the war that became a burden to the country for 30 years.
For ten years now there had been peace talks between the government and the MILF. These peace talks enable negotiation between both parties for them to arrive at an agreement that would finally put the Mindanao conflict to rest.
With the presence of the NPA, Abu Sayyaf and other revolutionary and criminal groups, the war in Mindanao has never really ended. However the peace talks between the MILF and the government, at least, gave the government one less enemy to hunt.
The conflict in Mindanao, and the problem on insurgency as a whole, speaks a lot of things. It does not only symbolize the Moros struggle for autonomy but it eloquently speaks of the people’s distrust and dissatisfaction with the government.
The biggest problem that the Philippines faces is not the fact that it is geographically divided; but the fact that the people refuse to acknowledge that despite the problem on geography they are still bound under one race and must, therefore, learn to work together for good. Regardless of the differences in dialect, ethnicity and religion, they are all Filipinos who belong to one country that is presently plagued with poverty and corruption.
The Philippines is constantly facing problems that test its resolve as a country aiming for progress and development. But no matter how hard the country tries to move forward a lot of issues impede its pace. Unless these issues are properly addressed there can be no real development in the country. It is time that the sore thumb heals.
(Written October 29, 2008)
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