Make a snow angel, build a snowman, engage in a snowball fight and navigate an ice rink.
Past 17 winters in Canada, these items remain on top of my seasonal to-do wish list.
I have seen my grandchildren complete them all in a matter of time. Young at 66, I’d leave it at that.
Not that I am mentally or physically unable to be up to the task, but I don’t like to bother Houston.
Besides, will there be a bed at the inn in the wake of a resurging pandemic?
*****
Mang Asyong once told me, a new immigrant then, that after five, maybe less, winters in Canada, I would learn to dislike the cold and snow.
Lolo Tasyo said that the uncompromising Arctic weather would never cease to be a Canadian reality.
Kaka Damian added that I would also soon learn to imagine flying with the geese southward. Wait! What?
Even if none came close to the Three Wise Men from the East, I agree with all three.
After all, they are friends with whom I have had memorable pre-pandemic moments together, sipping coffee and munching muffins while sharing history.
However, the child in me seeks more of what winter offers to make people happier and be full of hope.
Thus, when a major snowfall hit Scarborough on Nov. 22 after an earlier lighter preview, I couldn’t help but rush outside and immerse in winter frolic.
Unmistakably, I still felt the thrill when a snowflake fleetingly perched and quickly melted on my nose.
I nearly whispered a wish, but not this time; knowing that I just have to wait until after I see a shooting star streak across a dark sky dotted by a multitude of heavenly bodies twinkling in sheer delight.
Of course, seeing trees, fields, rooftops and the ‘asphalt jungle’ being blanketed in white was an added feature of an aesthetic winter wonderland.
But why am I still thinking of flying with the geese? Houston, is that brain freeze?
*****
My granddaughter Zarah turned ten years old on November 30.
Early on, she made it clear that her next birthday would be the 11th and not the ninth. Ayaw daw niyang mag-Tik Tok sa rocket. Masyado din daw malayo ang Mars, mahirap bumalik pauwi.
Anyways, we assured her that countdowns only happen during a Christmas Tree Lighting and New Year’s Eve.
We were mum on Cape Canaveral events. Everything went well, Houston.
*****
For several years until my knees started to wobble, my wife Evelyn and I would bring our grandchildren downtown to see the Santa Claus Parade.
Braving the mid-Fall cold temperatures, we would bundle up and mingle with the festive crowd that lined both sides of the parade’s route.
Multitudes of gleaming eyes, tuned-in ears, dropping jaws, smiling awestruck faces and warm applause would greet every passing float, a marching band and the host of street performers sharing Christmas and holiday happiness to all and sundry.
And when Santa Claus made his presence known and felt, every person in the crowd is transported back in time – to childhood memories, to nostalgia.
Who won’t? TV producer Jonathan Meath, who once portrayed Santa, aptly said: “Santa is really the only cultural icon we have who is male, does not carry a gun, and is all about peace, joy, giving, and caring for other people. That’s part of the magic for me, especially in a culture where we’ve become so commercialized and hooked into manufactured icons. Santa is much more organic, integral, connected to the past, and therefore connected to the future.”
*****
The mid-November Santa Claus Parade was always a spectacle. It was meant to be. In its 115-year history, it gathered and engaged tens of thousands of Torontonians and Canadians in the magical world of Christmas, in the spirit of joy and cheerful celebration of the Season of Faith, Hope, Love and Charity.
For a dull moment, it seemed that the pandemic had caught up with the Santa Claus Parade.
Tidings of comfort: Toronto’s 116th Santa Claus Parade will push through, going “broadcast-only this year, with a two-hour show set” on the night of December 5.
Jolly St. Nick and his timeless “Ho-Ho-Ho” and Mrs. Santa, Rudolph and the flying reindeers and the sleigh full of wrapped presents, the tireless group of North Pole workshop denizens and the host of Christmas believers in Canada and around the world are expected to hog prime time in this northern premier city.
Organizers say the show will feature more than 20 floats, music and entertainment guests and traditional “celebrity clowns.”
Virtual it will be; a technological crossover “kids from one to ninety-two” have adapted to in recent times. Moreover, Houston switchboards will most likely be silent.
*****
Did you know that the Santa Claus parade marks the unofficial start of the holiday season in Toronto?
If you don’t, then Houston has something to worry about.
Meanwhile, Toronto cancelled the city’s popular Christmas market.
Also cancelled is the annual Nathan Phillips Square New Year’s Eve countdown.
Hmmm. No need to call Houston.
*****
“A celebration of Roger’s life will be held once the pandemic is over. In the meantime, please share fond memories of Roger and let’s keep his memory alive!”
That was how the bereaved family of Rogelio Franco Gatbonton — June 26, 1937 to November 7, 2020 – thanked all who cared for and loved Roger during his physical pilgrimage on earth, all who expressed their sympathy and condolences during the family’s moments of grief, who attended the viewing, funeral Mass and burial at the Pine Hills Cemetery on November 12.
Roger, 83, was born in Manila, the Philippines and immigrated to Canada in 1968. He worked as a mechanic for nearly 15 years with the Toronto Transit Commission and nine years at Greyhound Canada where he retired.
He is survived and will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 46 years, Julieta O. Gatbonton and his children Michael (Michelle) and Mary Ann (Glenn); grandchildren Jared, A.J, Daniel, Dylan, and Justin; siblings Danilo (Cora) Lamila, Elenita Araneta, Elvira (Edgar) Bauza, Ramon (Cindy) Franco, Elsa Franco and sister-in-law Magdelena Lamila; nephews, nieces, extended family and dear friends.
Roger was predeceased by his mom, Veronica Franco and brother Conrado Lamila.
Till we meet again, Sir Roger.
*****
I will also take this opportunity to say goodbye to a sibling in the print and broadcast journalism profession, Malu Cadeliña-Manar, who passed on November 15, 2020. She was 52.
Manar was a public affairs anchor of Ronda FM in Kidapawan City, southern Philippines. She also wrote for the online news portal Mindanews and for the national broadsheet Manila Bulletin.
She had been with the Notre Dame Broadcasting Corp. (NDBC), run by the religious Oblates of Mary Immaculate, for many years, receiving numerous awards as a radio personality.
Till we meet again, Malu.
*****
It is December 2020, and the pandemic seems to be enjoying its crazy and deadly stay in the planet.
Still I’d like to seek the advice of the health experts on this lingering question in my mind: If I get homesick, do I have to stay home?
Indeed, Houston, we have a problem!
*****
Whatever happens, hold on. They said that the safe and efficacious vaccines are coming.
Question for the doc: If I have trypanophobia, will I be allowed to faint in your arms?
By the way, trypanophobia is an extreme fear of medical procedures involving injections or hypodermic needles.
Friendly suggestion: Have the flu shot first. It might help calm things down.
*****
Be safe. Be healthy. WYH. WAM. FSD. Here’s to a warm and happy December ahead of us. #####
PHOTOS & CAPTIONS
LONG WISTFUL WAIT. It was eerily cold – the bench, the breeze and the white landscape. But it was a moment worth the long wistful wait. It was my first brush with snow – at the Viktoria Park in Kreuzberg, West Berlin, West Germany in 1986. Coming from a tropical country in the Far East – the Philippines, I can only fantasize about snow, after seeing Christmas cards and magazine images that tell of its seasonal poetic beauty. Indeed, nothing epitomizes purity and serenity than a fresh snowfall. Photo Archives of Butch Galicia
DONE WITH THE SHOVEL. A few days after my family and I landed in Canada in November 2003, a heavy snowfall hit Toronto. My aunt called on the boys to clear the snow on the car path. I took the shovel and went to work. After a few shovelfuls of snow, a neighbour yelled at me to stop. With a friendly smile on his face, he said I was doing it the wrong way and that I could hurt my back. Of course, I stopped and told myself: Good idea! I went in, flopped on the couch and watched a figure skating competition. I’m done with shovelling snow. Past 17 winters now, navigating an ice rink, without a shovel, is still on my winter to-do list. Photo Archives of Butch Galicia
SANTA CLAUS AND NOSTALGIA. Gleaming eyes, tuned-in ears, dropping jaws, smiling awestruck faces and warm applause greet every passing float, a marching band and the host of performers sharing Christmas and holiday happiness to all. And when Santa Claus makes his presence known and felt, every person in the crowd is transported back in time – to childhood memories, to nostalgia. Photo Archives of Butch Galicia
