20
filipino globe
forum
May 2008
TINGINNAMIN

A fateful summer to
remember Mom by
T
he day she ran away
with a statue of the Child
NOTEBOOK
Jesus, my cousin Mary
from the publisher
Jane became the kind of person
you always remember for her
innocence – past adulthood,
motherhood and well into her
life.
Reggie
Yet, all she did was carry an
unfinished wooden sculpture and
Amigo
complain how heavy it was in
the labored, jumbled words of a
My siblings and I were home
four-year-old who had just toppled
to feather her nest, but we always
under its weight.
knew something was missing. Yet,
It’s unlikely she remembers any
none of it showed in the way she
of it. Even I have difficulty placing
went about the job of raising us
myself on that day all those years
without Father half of the time.
ago. I think it was my mother
When he died in 1983, she lost
who had direct knowledge of the
the other half of it, too.
mischief, having picked up both
But she moved on, brought us
children from the ground.
up to her fullest pride, and got her
It may have been an incident
fair share of life’s blessings as her
not worth writing home about,
grandchildren arrived one after
except for the people in it and for
another during her lifetime.
its incredible power to connect
On April 27, 1999, a day after
me to a cherished past. Because
returning home from her last
whenever I think of it, I remember
summer with us in Hong Kong, she
my mother.
moved further on.
Behind black-rimmed glasses,
pointed at the sides like that of a
mask, her eyes wore a smile that
Dragging our feet, waiting to exhale
made you look at her with fondness
Where we have been dragging our What it needed was ratification professionals in the scale and
She was a schoolteacher and the
The afternoon we buried her, the
feet, the Indonesians have apparently by the Senate, and because our dear competence that we have.
most beautiful human being that
air was the kind of hot and steamy
been moving with a single-minded legislators could not agree on how to Indonesia could be a formidable
ever stood before a class. Behind
it gets only after a serious burst of
purpose. serve certain interests, they could not competition in the health care
black-rimmed glasses, pointed at sunshine. The funeral procession
And that is to cut deals with Japan be pressed to put pen to paper that market.
the sides like that of a mask, her from home to church to cemetery
to supply nurses and caregivers to its quickly. And let us not forget China, India
eyes wore a smile that made you was a sea of umbrellas. Under
rapidly growing elderly population. So even as we have been sending and countries in the subcontinent.
look at her with fondness. them were familiar faces and many
Jakarta has stolen a march on us health workers to Japan, we are Perhaps we could continue to
A slight woman with large feet I had not seen in my life.
by acting swiftly on its Economic doing so in dribs and drabs, missing count on the fact that we are still the
and slender fingers, she was a Last month, our entire family
Partnership Agreement with Tokyo. out on the obvious benefits and world’s biggest source of top-notch
strong but reassuring presence in went home to mark her death
It is the same accord that protection that a formal treaty brings. health care professionals and decide
my third-grade class of giggly, anniversary as we had for most of
has languished for years in our Worse, we could watch the gains that we could move at our own pace,
sometimes chaotic eight-year-olds the nine years she has been gone.
legislature, more than three years from its signing disappear when on our own time.
who would snap to attention at the I still see her standing before that
after it was signed. other countries start to produce That would be a mistake.
sound of her voice. third-grade class when I was a
Hers was a kind of hush to my skinny kid with the checkered hat,
sUlATlETTERs
father’s boom. I would wake up buttoned-up polo shirt and socks
to their whispers as they sipped that raced up to the edge of my
coffee in the kitchen on countless short pants.
Sa nalalapit na pagdiriwang Marahil hindi lang ako ang
early mornings. I thought nothing As for Mary Jane, she is a mother
ng Independence Day, nag-panic sa pag-aalala sa aking
sounded sweeter than my name herself with growing children and a
sana magkaroon ng plano pamilya. being called by either of them.
blissful life.
ang organizers ng show na Kung tutuusin, hindi tayo ang They would kiss as she went off
I rarely see her now and would
magkaroon ng alternate venue unang nakaisip magpadala to school, dance to their theme
not recognize her if I bumped into
sakaling maging masungit ang ng bigas. Ang ating mga song, and walk the darkened her on the street.
panahon. kababayan sa US ay nanguna footpath to the pier when my father But I will always remember the
Ganyan ang naging problema sa pagpapadala ng balikbayan
would leave to return to work in
little girl who ran away with Jesus.
noong nakaraang taon, bagama’t boxes na may laman nito.
another part of their world.
And I will remember Mom.
inayunan yung show ng PAHK. Patunay lamang na hindi tayo
‘Yung mga sumunod na Where do we go from here? kumpiyansa sa sinasabi ng Mommy loved
selebrasyon sa open air ay After being told that we are ating gobyerno na walang krisis plants. She
inulan o di kaya’y nasapawan ng about to get a substantial raise, at may sapat tayong bigas at chose this
masungit na panahon. we’re hearing that it won’t be so. huwag mag-alala. gorgeous
Nakapanood na ako minsan Did our labor officials jump the Puwede na sana ito, kung hindi garden for
ng Independence Day show gun on Hong Kong when they tumaas ang presyo ng bigas na this photo
sa Queen Elizabeth Stadium. tipped us off on this supposed pinalala pa ng hoarding.
taken during
Alam kong mahal mag-book pay rise? Or are they as Nang inalis ng pamahalaan
a family
dito at baka di kayanin ng misinformed as the rest of us? ang subsidy sa P18.50 na NFA
holiday the
libreng palabas. Pero palagay Jamby Donaire rice, lalo tayong nag-alala na
year before
ko, malulubos ang kasiyahan Kwun Tong baka nga totoong aabot ang
she died.
natin kung wala tayong ibang presyo ng bigas sa halagang
iintindihin kundi ang mag-enjoy. Nasubukan kong magpadala ng hindi na natin kaya.
Carlo Datuin bigas sa Pilipinas sa kasagsagan Name and address
Tin Hau ng problema sa bigas. supplied
PUBLISHER Reggie Amigo EXECUTIVE EDITOR Rex Aguado PUBLISHING CONSULTANT Philip Evardone ADVISERS Therese Necio-Ortega, Prof Dr Maurice Teo
CORRESPONDENTS Eddie Alinea (Manila), Celeste Terrenal (Manila), Terrie Fucanan (Manila), Chito Manuel (Jeddah). Rick Sumallo (New Jersey), Loi Liwanag (Los Angeles)
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Bernie Domantay, AccessPoint (Philippines) Josephine Miranda (Philippines), TJ Badon-Doble (Philippines), Bob Waterfield (Hong Kong)
EDITORIAL BOARD Reggie Amigo, Rex Aguado, Philip Evardone, Prof Dr Maurice Teo CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Beting Laygo Dolor, Teo Antonio, Chito Manuel, Danny Vibas, Dante Vino
Filipino Globe is published once a month by Apex Services (HK) Ltd, Suite 1905, Lippo Centre Tower 2, Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong, telephone (852) 2918 8248, email info@filglobe.com. No part of this publication
may be reproduced without the written permission of the publishers. Printed by Premier Printing Group, Yuen Long, New Territories, Hong Kong
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