By the time this June 16-31, 2019 issue of your favorite Balita hits the streets, Jurassic Park has closed.
The wining and whining will have long ended. Toronto’s downtown core is back to its usual self.
However, the city does not forget summer, which will usher in itself in a few days. Toronto is a city of more than 1,500 parks, gardens and beaches. Add to these the three Ontario provincial parks and three federal parks.
Most Torontonians will surely find that perfect spot near them to have that much-needed summer respite.
Joining in? Let’s go!
*****
Great weekends came lately, when the cool breeze wedded with the warmth of a friendly sun.
One of these near ideal moments was enough for the family to pack up and wheel to a hotdog and hamburger treat in a park; and later, to spend a leisurely stroll through a very welcoming Toronto botanical spectacle, the Edwards Gardens.
It is not every day that people have the time and pleasure to commune with nature.
The chance was there for nearly a dozen family members to share a moment of togetherness. It had been a long time since that last one, so we grabbed it.
At the park, we searched for, found and moved an empty park table under the shade of a big tree. That was not exercise enough! Very soon, we had to move the table again, after the shade shifted with the westward path of a setting sun.
While the ladies of the home dressed the park table for the eats, I knew that the all-time Filipino joke “kakain tayo sa labas” was no longer a far-fetched and unfulfilled notion, figuratively and literally.
Prepared meats lounged on a portable grill, sweating it out over the red-orange glow of charcoal. Sweet smoke invaded excited nasal tissues, as expectant palates and taste buds of young and old alike waited in anxiety.
Meanwhile, my four grandkids dug into their play box, extracted two sets of badminton rackets and a shuttlecock, paired into teams and tirelessly hit thin air as the light gust blew their targets away from them. They simply laughed at their misfires and moved on. Badminton, then baseball catching, then races across the green.
I recalled that time in another park when the grandkids tried to keep a DIY kite afloat by running in circles. Gasping for dear breath, they would stop and the kite would gently glide down. Tutuo nga pala: “Iwasan ang habol hininga; nang sa lupa’y walang humiga.”
More exercise? Nope! The third time the shade over the park table went further awry and farther away, we’ve had our fill and stayed put.
Sunny, after all, will soon settle down. Oh! Mom Nature! We are bound to comply with your order … or else! Incidentally, Happy Father’s Day on June 16! I have no idea how this could not be a non-sequitur, but anyways, a belated but cordial communal Happy Freedom Day on June 12.
Get back to the park. The well-kept greenery, the tree-lined hill at the background, the clean creek where water that winked silver, the earthly and heavenly atmosphere that we and other families embraced — they were all there for the appreciating and the taking that Saturday afternoon. Zarah asked: “Lolo, can we just keep it this way?”
So be it, Child of the Universe.
From the park, we motored off to nearby Edwards Gardens.
Quiet and serene, the atmosphere in Edwards Gardens complemented the enthralling blooms and vegetation that awed the senses, soothed the body, captured the mind and lifted the soul of every visitor who ventured into a paradise that has taken a life of its own.
More time, please. It should take at least an eternity to peacefully walk through Edwards Gardens and behold the full worth of its diverse assortment of flowers, leaves and branches etched and painted in picturesque detail with nature’s other distinguished elements – fertile soil, flowing water and blue sky.
Yes, two hours in the gardens are not enough. We will be back.
We were full. We had fun. We enjoyed.
Great memories filled our hearts and, of course, our SD cards. (Pictures attached)
Together, we did it. That was all that mattered.
*****
(This piece I wrote a long, long time ago has seen publication for a number of times. Perhaps, it still echoes its purpose to this day, even after a few days since full-blooded Filipinos and Canadians with Philippine roots in Toronto have celebrated Philippine Independence Day last June 12, 2019.)
(Aboard a Lufthansa plane, June 8, 1986.) Weary from a three-month advanced journalism course in Berlin, I simply longed to be back home — to the Philippines, my family and my PNA Cotabato bureau news desk.
The intercom boomed: “This is the captain speaking. In a short while, we will be landing at the Manila International Airport. Please extinguish your cigarettes and fasten your seat belts.”
The plane’s mid and rear, seating mostly overseas Filipino workers going home for the first time after long-term job contracts, buzzed to market-like life.
Home addies and phone numbers were passed around. “Tuloy ang ligaya. Tawagan, ha!”
Bags were inspected to make sure the pasalubong was there. “Matutuwa ang mga bata.”
Then, amid the noise and haste, a distinct voice sounded out a familiar tune … Bayang magiliw, Perlas ng Silanganan …
The noise ebbed and movements stilled as everyone … Alab ng puso … turned to look for the voice.
Sa dibdib mo’y buhay … then there were two … Lupang hinirang … three and more singing in unison … Duyan ka ng magiting.
People began to stand … Sa manlulupig … as the blonde stewardess and other cabin crew … ‘Di ka pasisiil … cajoled them to sit and put on seat belts.
Sa dagat at bundok … the chorus was infectious … Sa simoy at sa langit mong bughaw … that soon, everyone, except non-Filipinos, were singing the Philippine national anthem.
May dilag ang tula at awit … Some had the right palm on the left breast … Sa paglayang minamahal … a few saluted, others doffed baseball caps.
Ang kislap ng watawat mo’y … A lady I later learned lost her husband soldier in the Mindanao war … Tagumpay na nagniningning … pulled from her bag a Philippine tricolor, her only memoir of a dear life lost in a senseless conflict … Ang bituin at araw niya … and unfolded it for all to see … Kailan pa ma’y ‘di magdidilim … and honor.
The singing grew louder, the fervor stronger … Lupa ng araw, ng luwalhati’t pagsinta …
Tears welled in many eyes … Buhay ay langit sa piling mo … voices quivered but never wavered.
Aming ligaya, na ‘pag may mang-aapi … The plane’s wheels softly screeched as it touched Philippine soil.
Ang mamatay nang dahil sa ‘yo … Then, silence … as if in a brief prayer of thanks for having been delivered safely and soundly. A tear or two fell. After all, I am a Filipino. #####