Balita

My 10-Cents Worth

Butch Galicia

Have you ever had that sudden impish impulse to sip a Sarsi worth five centavos and enjoy pan de lemon stuffed with “dirty” ice cream, also worth five centavos, from Mamang Sorbetero.
Yes, I did … five decades and plus years ago. But I did not have the ten centavos.
So, I tiptoed to where my brother hid his ceramic piggy bank, in an old cupboard near the kitchen window.
I was armed with a flat and thin blade that could easily slide through the coin slot so I could … seriously, do I have to detail out the DIY mischief?
Creepy, but the thought of Moses and his two stone slabs crossed my thoughts; having seen a rerun of the 1956 Cecille B. DeMille epic movie The Ten Commandments just a few days past.
I couldn’t help but contemplate on Commandments 7 and 10.
Going to hell for breaking two of God’s laws could wait until Judgment Day; or I could walk to the nearest church, confess and maybe get absolved after mumbling a number of memorized prayers.
What was more petrifying was to face two rusty nails on the corner while kneeling on a hill of salt, for violating school-taught Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) and for going against parental-imposed home rules; and the anger of my brother who might never let me win in chess.
So, I held back and retreated. Murphy’s Law went into motion. I unintentionally nudged the piggy bank. It fell and broke, like Humpty Dumpty.
I quickly picked up the dime and reported the “accident.”
Next, I had my snack; and the scattered treasure found a new home – a blade-proof bankbook. The sordid bank heist was forgotten.
My honest ten cents worth! I still feel guilty about the incident, perhaps a lesson so I could probably avoid being a condemned sinner.
Yet, I am shaking like a Magnitude Nine temblor since I feel that the end of days is just around a heated corner; and I’m not talking about winter.
*****
What have I done from then on till now?
No comment. My lips are sealed. The past is past. Move on.
This is to prevent you from having a hilarious relief, pump gas into your belly and pass it on.
*****
“There will always be plenty of opportunities in this world for honest men.”
Quoted above is the last sentence said in the 1934 American crime-drama movie I Am A Thief, starring Ricardo Cortez and Mary Astor, an Oscar awardee for Best Supporting Actress.
By the way, if you’re a senior like I am and you’ve got spare time to see the actors you used to idolize, relax and watch an old flick or two, courtesy of Turner Movie Classics on Channel 46.
Since semi-retirement, I took on the task of watching over and caring for my mom and my grandkids. Since becoming a senior, I afforded the couch and the TV set more attention. Nap, rest and watch in no particular order.
*****
It is 2019! In a month, calendar pages will turn on a new leaf and a new year.
At this age and time, have you ever had that sudden devilish impulse to promote self-interests to hit gold and make a name at the expense of others?
Of course, you haven’t! I believe you.
But some unscrupulous people are so obsessed with and possessed by disturbing greed to seek riches, social status and influence that they have infracted the universal unrequited reverence of God and neighbor.
Without batting an eyelash, they have also casually ignored socially accepted values of GMRC.
Notably well within the parameters, Balita publisher Tess Cusipag has laid down the newspaper’s platform to expose con persons who may have been preying on their own compatriots by committing identity theft, fraudulent financial deals, and the likes of these unlawful acts.
The allegations of domestic and “global” wrongdoing, however, have not yet been tested, validated and proven in a Canadian court or in any other juridical territory abroad.
Until then, those said to be behind scams and are subjects of social media complaints and online shaming – by law – are “presumed innocent until proven otherwise.”
The gathering and documentation of evidence is ongoing.
Many may be unable to recover the money conned from them. But if everything holds, victims may still get justice and perpetrators will have to do time.
*****
Contrary to the lyrics of the 1978 Billy Joel song, honesty prevails. Never will honesty be such a lonely word.
But of course, the lyricist may have meant something else.
*****
Withholding the truth is as vile and evil as telling a lie.
Turning the other way, promising something but doing the opposite, looking with a blind eye, hearing nothing and saying nothing are a few of the ways to withhold truth.
Bad politicians and those who put position over principle are very good at withholding truth. They who twist facts and apply deception are also keen at withholding truth.
Honesty builds trust. Transparency is honesty’s best friend.
Albert Einstein once said: “The world will never be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”
*****
When my granddaughter was born on November 30 nine years ago, I reflected on the mortal years Bathala had bestowed me.
I dismissed all thoughts of the medals, trophies, citations and recognition I have reaped during my life’s journey. Plaudits and all ego-tripping bling-blings are useless and worthless six feet under.
Recalling instead the mistakes, missteps and falls I made, and the tragic consequences that befell me and others because of my pride, fears, vanity, insecurity, inadequacy, etc. – all these gave me relief and I felt better.
I had to ask myself: Have I learned from these?
Have I refrained from committing such again?
Did I change and become a better person?
Or have I turned myself into my worst nightmare?
Maybe, that is what life is all about — a sense of beginning rooted on a better judgment of the end.
*****
Before I go, allow me to greet my brother Sonny a blessed and happy birth anniversary on December 2. Greetings too to Brod Rey and good friend Elen.
And never forget. In a matter of days, it will be Christmas Day.
Remember the reason for the season. Keep CHRIST in CHRISTMAS.
Ninong, bago manigas sa lamog ang mga palad mo, padulasin mo na ang aginaldo ko! #####