Nothing Remote

Lolo Santi: My mate is a nag. What should I do?
Kaka Demi: Get the TV remote … and press MUTE.
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If it doesn’t work, and it won’t, here are seven worn-out tips from a really good old buddy, Kabesang Betong:
When the nagging begins, gently interrupt and remind the mate of a beautiful wedding; and zoom in on that part when the minister says: “Speak now or forever hold your peace.”
Hug and kiss the mate in the lips. The longer, the better. Just pray that later does not mean an impending court appearance.
Cotton balls, ear plugs and earphones are of no help. Better to avoid being like the Roman servant that got in the way of Simon Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Too late, the china may have flown; but still try to play the mate’s favorite 45-rpm vinyl record of Simon & Garfunkel’s Sound of Silence. Also hope the record will not fly with a jukebox.
Never ever tune in the TV to sports while the saber rattling is on. Sports involving batting, kicking, hitting with fists, throwing thereabouts, etc. can sometimes be inspirational. A mate on a diatribe means all rules of fair play and sportsmanship are suspended. If so, bend a knee or do an Usain.
Don’t even think about it! The cliché that says “the dead tell no tales.”
Best of all, follow the feisty grandma’s advice: “If you have nothing good to say, zip it”; and pick up from where the 70’s hippie theme of “Love and Peace” left off.
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When all miracles fail, simply recall the aged nursery rhyme about the three geese that opted out of the V: one flew east, one flew west, and one flew over the cuckoo’s nest. For your sake, do the thinking in silence.
Or perhaps, now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the remote – whatever that means.
Quick! Change the channel to cartoons and raise the volume.
Summer it is and the kids are on vacay and in the zone. Implore high heavens to make them come in a flash, and buy you some time to be shielded from the spitfire … ehem, the wayward saliva and the blister.
The kids may need an umbrella or two, just in case.
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Not all kids, however, stay at home. Many are seeing action and honing their skills in indoor-outdoor sports facilities or are enjoying the call of the wild in camps and other nature trips.
Well, if the younger kids are entitled to such out-of-house experiences, so do the older kids – as defined by a Christmas song that goes “… to kids from one to ninety-two …”
Thus, some 25 graduates, schoolmates and better-halves of the Class of ’70 (yes, you read it right, about 48 years ago) of the Manila-based University of Santo Tomas-Education High School (UST-EHS) will also leave their abodes for a two-day three-night reunion and adventure in Niagara Falls and Toronto from August 17 to 19.
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Most of the attendees are baby-boomers, retirees and dual citizens (if you know what I mean), and there’s no need to focus on and brag about it.
Just a word of caution: The incidence of walkers and wheelchairs going aerial, in the event of a non-politically correct comment, is nothing remote.
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In a pre-reunion video chat, my batch mates and I had a lot to share and discuss about health.
Awesome! We all could, at a finger snap, remember and correctly spell long medical terms printed on pharmaceutical capsules.
Yet, at no moment’s notice, some tend to forget to name classmates, incorrectly place time and events, or blurt out “Si kuwan,” “Duon nga,” “Ganoon na ‘yun,” and “Sabi ko na nga ba, eh.”
No defence meant, okay?
Everyone admitted that the reclamation of even little of what we once physically had and enjoyed was a continuing aspiration.
What I can’t dig is that when one claims to be as fit as a bull, chuckles follow. Is it supposed to be fat as a ball?
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But we all had one thing in common: The will power and persistence to see, talk, walk and commune with each other, even for just a short reunion time.
Just being with each could be one of the things we might not have fully accomplished during those high school years, when we were busy having fun as teenagers, writing poems and letters to crushes, visiting the botanical garden, or sleeping on closed Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry, Physics and Biology books.
That was the same will power that spurred us to breeze through and finish high school, and be what we longed for and wanted to be today.
During those three Canadian meet-up days, we would be sharing inspirational experiences, reinforcing the bonds made four decades and so ago, looking forward to celebrating the class’s 50th and Golden Anniversary Reunion in Manila in early 2020 and, above all, creating great moments and lasting memories of our time together.
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Seriously, I am very eager to show my high school batch mates how members of the Filipino-Canadian community in Toronto celebrate the homeland’s festive summer culture and tradition, by way of gracing this year’s Taste of Manila (TOM) along the lanes of Bathurst on August 18.
Alas! It’s not going to happen. The erstwhile well-attended free summer street festival had been cancelled.
Whatever the reasons are for the no-show this year, I am still hopeful that the spirit of camaraderie and hospitality, the day-long non-stop show of culture and entertainment, the palatable delight of Filipino-Canadian cuisine and deli, and all else Pinoyfest-wise will continue to thrive in the community.
Pray I will that the TOM’s 2018 absence is not a harbinger of worse circumstances to come, perhaps the festival’s demise. I know it will be sorely missed.
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Well, death is not necessarily a festival; but as everyone agrees, the end of a lifetime’s pilgrimage on earth will always be a celebration of life.
Friends Amor Gaborno and Maribel Montemayor came from Los Angeles after celebrating the life of Amor’s brother Geronimo “Gerry” Gaborno, who joined his Creator on July 22. Gerry was 77.
Gerry was laid to rest on July 28.
He is survived by wife Remedios Bernardo-Gaborno, son Ruel and daughter Gina; brother Amor and sisters Belen, Nenita Dumaliang and Victoria Acuna; grandchildren, in-laws and members of the Gaborno family.
Belated it may be, we continue to offer our deepest sympathies and condolences to the bereaved family; as we ask for more prayers for the repose of Gerry’s soul in heaven.
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Writing about the earthly journey of Tenny, who had touched the hearts and minds of many souls, is difficult.
Antero “Tenny” Soriano had all of 72 years to come full circle, from January 9, 1946 to July 22, 2018.
I only had a dozen or so years spent with Tenny, sparingly at that, as a friend and colleague in the working Filipino-Canadian community media in Toronto.
Being the proverbial open book, Tenny shared bits and pieces of those 60 years, and how those moments moulded him to be the kind of good – nay, great – person meant to be befriended, liked and loved; and be etched in everyone’s lasting memory.
Tenny has this unending zest for happiness and the best of life for his family, as a loving husband, providing father and helpful brother.
He possessed a positive attitude, yet sometimes effective irreverence, in his enduring quest for truth as a journalist, writer and opinion maker.
Untiringly, he showed this amazing ability to be a firm press club and community leader; but not hesitant to be a willing and working partner.
Candid but sincere, this peacemaker could effortlessly bring opposing sides to a handshake and a big hug.
On the sides, he could do music and sing and cook his way to longer lasting friendships.
But above all, he could smile and spread cheer and gladness all day … yeah, all day!
For many others like me, Tenny was more than a friend and more than a colleague.
Believe me, they walk and live with us – people like Tenny who are also more than human.
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Tenny is survived by wife Myrna, daughter Anagaile and spouse Rico delas Alas, son Aris and spouse Czarina, and son Alekos; sister Shoda and spouse Jesse dela Cruz, brother Gustavo and spouse Nila, brother Ike and spouse Blanche, and sister in-law Thelma, wife of brother Ed who passed last year; and members of the Soriano family. #####