Post archive for ‘living & dying’
The Figurative Death Star
Everytime a loved one goes to the other side we are forced beyond our will to accept not only the loss but also the realization that in the near future, however far or close it might be, we ourselves will be crossing over to the greatest of the unknowns. We all know it’s coming, it is [...]
I Am My Father’s Son
As we walk in the town square hand in hand, I could see my father’s face beaming with joy. I think I was around four, maybe even less. I was wearing this shirt tailored to look exactly like his. I could hardly remember the details but it reminded me of pineapples because of its color [...]
Olongapo’s Due Process Gone Wild
During the term of Richard Gordon as mayor of Olongapo City, there were at least 26 cases of “salvagings” or summary executions that victimized at least 28 people. The killings were believed to have been made to cleanse the city of undesirable elements and maintain its allure as the center for the R & R [...]
A Day in a Life in Gapo Part 3
Ganito pala sa Olongapo, parang war zone. This was the surprised remark from one of the media personnel from GMA-7 who witnessed what happened that fateful day in November 1996. All the action were going on inside the SBMA where the APEC forum was being held, so it only makes sense for all the media, [...]
A Day in a Life in Gapo Part 2
In just a matter of minutes, after that quick anesthesia-less operation and humiliation inside the operating room, I was in a wheelchair being pushed by that UP volunteer all the way to the x-ray room and unto my assigned room, which was the orthopedic ward. Weird. I don’t think I had any broken bone or [...]
A Day in a Life in Gapo
It was November 1996. The APEC Summit was being held in Subic Bay, Philippines. It was a time for the country to show off its newly established Subic Bay after the former bases were left by the Americans under piles of ashes brought by the Pinatubo eruption. It was also the time for then President [...]
The Surviving
Since there are lots of places I have lived my entire life, I naturally have a lot of friends. Friends that over the years have remained my buddies, my brother, my sister. I am so lucky to have found them, and I thank them all. I am not trying to be optimistic here about friendship. [...]