Friday, August 31, 2007

The Eight Commandment

An Ode to Dan and Agnes D.

Our neighbor Nong Tering raises turkeys which he allows to roam across the sprawling vacant lot behind his house. The turkeys actually love to parade around the lot and even lay eggs among the bushes. But Nong Tering has a mother cow and a calf as well, and that keeps him busy sourcing for banana peels or fruit peels and grasses which he gives to the cows as additional feeds. What he does not know is that he is not the only one watching over his turkeys, especially when he is not around.

One day, as he was coming home bringing a sack of banana and nangka peels, he chanced upon a man just a few meters from his house carrying a turkey in his arms. Now the turkey looked very very familiar, while the man of course was not! In our baranggay, nobody wants to get Nong Tering’s ire. He can be a good neighbor but a hell of an enemy. I guess the thief must have known this because he threw the turkey and ran as fast as he could before Nong Tering could react. Nong Tering was lucky. He got his turkey back.

Not all of us could be as lucky enough to get back what we may have lost. I know of a lady named Shirley, who trusted a man named Dan who promised a possible job in Canada for her daughter. Her story turned out to be the usual sob story.

Dan has credentials, he is also a Pinoy, has a staffing agency in Maryland (which boasts of an infinite resources), and the trust of a friend of the family who happens to be a priest. Dan according to the priest-friend gave the assurance that if nothing will materialize with the application, the placement money will be returned. Of course, we all know how it ended. Pffftt…Shirley will never get her hard earned money back.

In the first story the thief was an ordinary man, probably hungry or lazy, and that probably propelled him to steal. But Dan on the other hand, gave the deed a more sophisticated touch which made it more grave. In the society that he moves around, he pretends to be this nice man who supports church projects and other good causes. How pathetic! Hey! Be a MAN and find a fair match, not old ladies who could not fend for themselves.

"Sakit man gud palandongon nga isig ka Pilipino ra sab ang mounay ug ilad sa iyang isig ka Pilipino." Although it is something that has happened to many Filipinos. It is a sad fact that it is still happening to a lot more (one can not say we have learned our lessons). Sadder still is that , eventually it is still going to happen over and over again.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Must Have Been 3 Months...

Must have been 3 months since I posted my last entry. And I think that's quite a long time really. Yeah, I truly missed tinkering with my blog. The feeling is like leaving home for a little while, and coming back. And you are greeted with mixed feelings of familiarity and unfamiliarity, of a certain sadness and a little joy, and a whole lot more... The feeling I guess is more like coming back from a vacation and wanting to clean your room so it will go back to that state you left it in... crazy? I hope not. Okay then, let's rock and roll! Start things rolling once more...