Raise the roof?
Unless there is a wee bit of rocket science safety risk still up in the air, then the ocean plunge of a 40,000-pound space junk off Maldives should be good but erstwhile trivial news.
Bashers, however, still try to discredit the potency of China’s space race adventure.
The China Manned Space Engineering Office said that most of the rocket debris burned out when it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere; the remains splashed in the Indian Ocean.
Although debunked, the disappointed ones still muse at the idea that the Chinese Long March 5 rocket may land on someone else’s roof.
Now, back to the couch for relaxing reruns of the Disney animated film Mulan and Matt Damon’s starrer The Great Wall.
*****
Hundreds of thousands of man-made space debris orbit the earth, thanks to the pioneers of space exploration.
All these metal garbage and what-have-you trash will one day be pulled back by gravity.
Most will disintegrate in the heavens. Some will land in water. Very few will make it to the ground.
Remote as it may seem, but space rocket debris may indeed slice through a roof.
The 2003 Columbia disaster is an example of a space program that turned awry, tragic and ugly.
Over 83,000 pieces of Columbia’s debris were found and recovered in Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana.
In a rare case of property damage, a foot-long metal bracket smashed through the roof of a dental office.
Broken teeth? In the works are quick flick peeks of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li in fast and precise martial arts action.
*****
Understandably, pandemic health protocols suggest that people safely enjoy the great outdoors.
This comes after the public has religiously kept and stepped up with masking, social distancing and more protective measures against Covid-19, including being vaccinated.
Thus, it is not surprising to see people out at night scanning the skies and appreciating the wonders of comets, constellations and other heavenly bodies.
Go and get the chance to make a fervent wish upon a star.
*****
Alberta is one Canadian province where an amateur astronomer may behold the beauty and splendour of the Northern Lights, otherwise known as the Aurora Borealis.
But when Alberta’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police gets a flood of 911 calls about Unidentified Flying Object sightings and aliens breaking into homes, things do become interesting to look into.
Christmas is far off, I know. Perhaps, Santa is watching an aurora with Mrs. Claus.
The 911 callers might have spotted reindeers and the sleigh hovering above, but did Santa have a nice reason to have started his work earlier than prescribed?
Child’s observation: For lack of a key, Santa slides down chimneys. How come he never gets hurt or tired even after a glass of milk and the cookie he tried? No one has yet told me how he climbed the chimney to return to Rudolph and echo his famous Ho Ho Ho. Is Santa an alien?
*****
If you run out of Hollywood fantasies, watch the replay of NBA 2019, Buddy. Raptors won the ring!
Aside, congratulations to six-time NBA All-Star Raptor #7 Kyle Lowry for having been bestowed an honorary doctor of humanities degree by the Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
Likewise, all the best for the Toronto Raptors, its coaching staff led by Nick Nurse and its management as they face another real hardcourt championship challenge in the 2021-2022 NBA Season.
Believe it when loyal fans say “When the right time ticks, the Raptors will click.”
Here is to a few more stay-home Christmas and E.T. movies and I’ll switch to the Jurassic.
*****
Palibhasa, inggit kay Dr. Kyle, naging diplomatic si Kuya Tomas.
Kuya Tomas: Kay idol na ang diploma, akin yung atik.
Retort ni Ingkong Kiko: Mas ayos ang automatic – may auto na, may atik pa.
Advice ni Ka Betong: Ang humiling sa bituin, malamang may tililing.
*****
Earlier, smart aleck Mang Asyong dared me to write a piece on mothers. Undaunted, I set my mind and my pen to the test. Hours of staring back and forth at a wall and an unfilled computer Notepad did not help.
Inner thoughts lingered around my late mom and family matriarch Isabel, her mother Prescila, my dad’s mother Angelita, my wife and children’s mother Evelyn, my grandchildren’s mothers Lynette and Mylene, my in-law’s mother Teody.
Maybe, I could draw inspiration from the women who shaped and touched my life in a most personal way.
Perhaps, also recalling mothers I had the honour of befriending and knowing and those I never got acquainted with would be reassuring.
Oh, Geez! Embarking on this kind of mother-writing trip was no walk in the park. So, I raised my hands in disappointed surrender and told my wife: How can I write about mothers? I haven’t been one.
“Easy. Just follow me,” said Evelyn.
*****
Moms are the epitome of humankind, possessing all the virtues in the goodness and likeness of Bathala.
Now, why do I get confused when I hear members of the female specie amusingly and sometimes sarcastically tell one of their kind: You are like your mother.
*****
Have you, as a child, ever seen your mother sleeping in peaceful quietude?
Whatever the answer, I am certain that the only time a mother gets to sleep soundly is when she is triply sure that her children are safely and soundly tucked beneath her loving and caring wings.
*****
Mother! For nine months, she bravely, carefully and safely carried us in the sanctuary of her womb. When we were born, she raised us in the comfort of her arms. When we grew with time, she etched us in every beat of her heart. All that time – from womb to tomb – we were her soul.
How can that innate mystery of perpetual love and sacrifice in a mother ever be explained? I bet neither math nor science can offer an answer to the question.
The epitome of physical, emotional and mental resilience and strength – this is how I describe a mother.
*****
Siyam na Buwan
Ni sandali’y ‘di dapat kalimutan
Mga pangyayari’y may payak na dahilan.
Isanglibo’t-isa man ang mga katanungan
Siyam na buwan, sikaping maintindihan.
Anuman ang malubhang nararamdaman
O pait ng tadhana na nararanasan,
Isaisip, sa ina biyaya’y pinagkalooban
Siyam na buwan, tagla’y natatanging yaman.
Sa bawa’t hilab ng dakilang sinapupunan
May anghel na humahaplos sa kabilugan.
Gawa ni Bathala’y tiyak binabantayan
Siyam na buwan, Kanyang aantabayanan.
Ang lulan ay ikaw, at ikaw ang lulan
Ito lang ang natatanging katotohanan.
‘Di ka dadalawin ng kalungkutan
Siyam na buwan, may kasamang tinuran.
Anumang balakid sa buhay ay iharang
Nakatitiyak kang ito’y malalampasan.
Lubusin ang tiwala sa taglay na kakayahan
Siyam na buwan, umaraw man o umulan.
Hirap at pasakit, mawawaglit sa isipan
Sa iyo ay aapaw ang lubos na kaligayahan
Buuin ang pangarap sa sinapupunan
Minsa’y naging tahanan sa siyam na buwan.
*****
I doff my hat to all the moms in the universe.
I also salute the Inatays – Ina at Itay, the males who sadly lost the mother of their children and who are serving dual parental roles.
April 9 – Mother’s Day this 2021 – was a special day that had been celebrated amid a pandemic. The day’s fleeting moments and lasting memory lives on.
“For in dying we are born to eternal life. Requiescat in pace.” The flowers were laid, the candles lit. The prayers were said as family stood in respect and silence around the grave of the matriarch.
Mothers standing their ground were honoured with bouquets. Although hidden by masks, smiles teemed. Unhindered by restrictive social distancing, greetings were shared. There might have been no hugs or kisses, but the hearts of mothers knew that they had the love of their children. They could feel it, even in absence.
Wouldn’t it be apt and nice to celebrate Mother’s Day 24/7, 365/12, forever, to infinity and beyond?
Walang wakas ang wagas na pagmamahal ng isang ina!
Maraming salamat po, Dakilang Ina. Ikaw ang natatanging biyaya na ipinagkaloob sa sandaigdigan. #####