Journal of December 1, 2011

BLESSINGS

The networks and the newspapers like the Philippine Daily Inquirer are counting the days before Christmas. I count my blessings-- health which has given me the luxury of this ripe old age and counting more years before crossing the Great Divide. No house built by the salaried man, no cars, no land purchased, a little pension fund, a lot of books, journals and magazines to consist a small library, 8 sons all living, the first-born more than 40 years of age, 21 grandchildren. Still, I dream of winning the Lotto, which will give us the means to embark on a tour around the world or a cruise on board the most luxurious ship in the world. And do a lot of charity work, scholarship for economically-deprived kids.

It's 1:09 am on my laptop, have been here since 11: 30pm when I woke up, roused from sleep by TV my wife has opened when she came into the room from downstairs. Have to sign off and continue sleeping. Thank you, O Lord of Hosts, for these extra minutes and hours, and days and months and more years.

Photo captions: My laptop and books in my getaway at the ancestral home in Laoag, the gate to the Universal Studios in Sentossa, Singapore through a gnarled tree. Kayanga (gumamela) in Raul-Emmanuel's garden. My apoko SLU Baguio poster girl Margarita Denden Julian. Jeric-Israel Julian's medals as most outstanding student of the Paloma Valley High School in CA.

COVER STORY

               Spent the longest hours editing the cover story of the Dec. 1-15, 2011 issue of TJ. No compensation here except the satisfaction that we fulfill the unwritten principle of making the magazine the best of its kind in Amianan and the Philippines. The story is about a Lithuanian royalty, a son of a Polish officer who emigrated to Australia and married an Ilokana from Barrio Cili in Binalonan, Pangasinan.

Were the hours wasted and could have been spent for a more fruitful endeavor like writing a short story or a poem for publication in some national magazines and journals? Can I still be creative? What should I WRITE now to befits the old fogey?

It's quarter to two in the afternoon of Nov. 30. No school classes the whole country? If there were no classes, how will the children spend the day profitably. Just relaxing their bodies and their minds?

That's right, it's a national holiday. They are celebrating the birth anniversary of Andres Bonifacio, who founded the KKK and led the armed struggle against the Spaniards. He later on was ordered killed by the faction of Emilio Aguinaldo, first president of the Republic.

SIGNS OF OLD AGE

MONDAY, Nov 28, 2011

It's 5: 15am. My bunch of keys are still missing, as usual with some of my small items like tooth brush, camera, ball pens, a pair of scissors, coins, money bills.

LAW VIOLATOR WANTS PROTECTION OF THE LAW

She violated the law with impunity. She, in the "Garci tape," allegedly instructed Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol to do away with the rules so her senatorial bets could beat the opposition, 12-0. Now under hospital arrest, she wants the protection of the law. Will it be house, hospital or a detention facility for her? Cong. Teddy Casino, an above ground communist, wants her jailed in a government facility. Once the most powerful woman in the Philippines, she is at the mercy of her enemies who are bent on imprisoning her for all the crimes she committed during her reign. Afflicted with a rare bone disease, the once imperious woman is a pitiful sight, now wheel chair-bound, a brace on her neck. You had your day, Gloria. Please bear your suffering with dignity.

Missing FB Account

Missing FB since yesterday. The account must have been sabotaged by those who perceive me as enemy.

Spent almost the whole day playing tong-it, a card game, at Ang's place. What a waste of time and I only won more than a hundred pesos.

It was already evening when I went home. Placed lotto bets on 45, my chosen number and a lucky pick costing me P20. Bought sisig, roasted pig meat, (P120) but did not eat it for dinner. Instead, I ate fried fish in slices brown. Took a bath and put on a Wagner polo.

It's now 4:03 in the morning. Have drank the usual hot water in a mug, Read and applied A Practical Guide to Self-Massage, a Reader's Digest book.

Rains pattering the rooftop. But at 7:15 a.m. the sun is hiding behind the clouds. Yesterday was a clear day, but the sun was not fully out in all its glory. Maybe, it will not be the same today,

Read Ramon Tulfo's column at online Inquirer about the meeting between long time enemies, the convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada and Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis Chavit Singson, during the birthday party of Tulfo. He, Tulfo, concluded that the secret of the good health of Erap is his forgiving nature. Chavit was the whistle-blower that exposed the corruption of Estrada and caused him to be ousted in office by a military coup. He was replaced by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, now under arrest at St. Luke's hospital, for the crimes committed during her watch.

Estrada is free, having gained Gloria's presidential pardon, while the woes of the Little Woman and her husband, have just only begun.
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Photo caption: Buos or abuos (a kind of ant with eggs) is cooked, usually fried, a delicacy among Ilokanos. For sale at the paradaan in Oscariz, Ramon, Isabela

NOTES FROM AN INFO CARAVAN WHEN GOVERNMENT SERVICE WAS TRULY FOR THE PEOPLE

They were the worst of places, the most beautiful places.
The ambiguity sums up Kapangan and Kibungan, twin towns in the Western Cordilleras near the Ilocos Sur border.

The first attribute refers for the most part to a mountain road system that needed immediate care and attention. The most expert of drivers with the most durable vehicle could experience nightmare negotiating that stretch, especially that part after the bridge at Boneng, which is rocky and narrow and a miscalculation could plunge us into the ravine.

The second attribute refers to spectacular scenery and majestic mountains. It was a sky without clouds and green was the dominant color of trees, rice terraces and vegetation. Soaking in nature at eight in the morning is good for the spirit and suddenly, we, caught in the freshness and vibrancy of new surroundings, felt new and vigorous as an overpowering sensation surged through us: it is good to be alive!

Photo caption: One of the canals of the Magat River Irrigation Systems in Aguinaldo, Ramon, Isabela

LAGLAGIP

from my album

Cigarette-smoking Blas Ople, then Labor Minister, was the guest of honor and speaker, his booming voice exhorted the writers. The young and sultry Imelda Papin was the guest singer and her husky voice, capturing the anxiety and loneliness of unrequited love, filled the office of Focus Magazine in Port Area, Manila.

It was in the evening of January 13, 1979. The cold wind from the bay wafted through the windows.It was the magazine's Sixth Annual Literary Award honoring the year's outstanding writers in poetry, essay and fiction. The winning writers included Peter La. Julian, Prescy Supnet from Narvacan, Ilocos Sur; Sammy Sta. Maria, Benjamin Afuang, Joel de los Reyes, Romeo Navarro, Enrico Enerio, Maximo Ramos, then former dean of a college in the University of the East; and Wilfredo L. Aberca.

Prescy, then 17-year old wisp of a girl, is now Chancellor of the University of the Philippines in Baguio. She won in the essay category; this mannurat, in poetry, with his Today Arrives the News of Dolorosa Dans, which was about the fall of a demi-god in the government bureaucracy. (the girl in the far left beside PLJ in the colored photo) of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, -.
Also present during the award rites were Minister Jaime Laya and a Budget Minister, I can not as yet recall the first and last name and the late Kerima Polotan, then editor of the magazine and one of the country's better essayists. Kerima's husband, Juan Tuvera, a senior journalist from San Esteban, Ilocos Sur, and a government propagandist.

The decade was ending, and Ferdinand Marcos' martial law regime was in its 8th year.

Years later in February 2010, I met Priscilla, a Ph.D holder, for the second time. It was during a Panagbenga Poetry Reading at the Audio-Visual room of UP Baguio's College of Languages, Arts and Communication, where I read Daldalliasat in Iluko and partly in its English version. It was as if that affair in Manila happened yesterday. But we have grown old and still slim, only a few pounds added to our weight since 1979.

Photo captions: a page from the Focus magazine; PLJ poses with the late Kerima Polotan (black and white photo)
The 4 of my 5-man staff of the Department of Public Information provincial office in Ilocos Sur: Elmer Peredo, Ben Pacris, Orlando Pedro (my driver and photographer) and PLJ.

to be continued