The Little Boy

I saw that young boy of about six or seven again.  He climbed the tricycle with his grandpa.  He was made to sit on an improvised little seat inside the tricycle.

He looked at me again with that same look he had when we first met.  But this time there were mixed emotions as he stared at my face.  As he stared, I stared back.  I did not really stare in a rude manner. I tried to paint a smile on my face.   I watched him intently, how his brows met each other, and how he pouted his lips.  He looked at me straight in the eye as if to challenge me with the game ‘who’s going to last staring’.

Then I began to wonder what he will be in the future.  Will he be an architect?  Will he be a doctor? Will he be a lawyer, or an engineer?  Or will he be a problem child?  Will he grow defiant of rules and regulations, and of laws?

His face is so innocent and precious.  As he struggled to explain to his grandpa the set of stickers he got in his hand, he sounded determined as he reminded him to take care of his little treasure.  Maybe he was afraid his grandpa will accidentally loose the set of stickers.

Then I was reminded of the other children in this road, the ones that roam along, night and day, hot or cold weather, barefooted and most of the time naked.  In that same road I traverse each day, the two brothers practically grew there.  Their house is just nearby – a shanty that can only hold about two people.  And they were nine in the family, excluding their parents.

Though these two little brothers were just children, there was another form of innocence in their faces.  It was very different from the boy in the tricycle.  They looked like they have many questions etched in their faces and they can only smile about the answers.

How will the boy in the tricycle react when he sees these children in the streets?  I wonder if he had already seen them.  If he had, how did he react?  What could have gone in his mind?

Karaoke Again!!??

There was a celebration the other day  in the neighborhood that included karaoke singing again.  I said to myself, “Karaoke again!!??”

Filipinos are very fond of karaoke singing.  Is that the reason for the brand “happy people”? Not a problem at all because everybody has a right to express but everybody has a right for a good night sleep, too.   These people seem to think that their voices are from the heavens that bring people to wonderful sleep.

Not a problem at all if they sing with karaoke in a sound proof place.  But in a country where most people belong to the average and lower than the average bracket of people,  that is not an option.  The problem is they seem to think that it is always okay to listen to karaoke singing until the wee hours of the morning.

If you are the one who will get pissed off and report the incident to the barangay, you will be the bad guy.  Ironic, isn’t it?

Christmas’s for the children, what about New Year?

Though the celebration of Christmas is for everybody, I personally feel that it is a day for the children.  It is a feeling of joy that has no equivalent.  If we adults feel the thrill of receiving gifts, the more it is for the little children.

I had witnessed first hand the joy that my two children showed and expressed when they were young. It is so precious to see them filled with happiness.  It really does not matter what price we intend for the gifts.  The children wanted gifts that will be unwrapped by their own little hands and be thrilled while they were doing the process.

What about the New Year celebration?  I believe that though we involve the children in the event, it is an event for the adults.  It is time for all of us to reflect.

It is time for us to really think if what we do and say to our fellow human beings will help.  There is a saying that if we have nothing good to say about another person, do not say it anymore.  Something to that effect.  I truly cannot recall the exact quote.  And that goes especially to people who have done nothing wrong against you.  Even those who were wronged still does not have the license to have a demolition team against a person, or character assassinate a person, what more if the person you were blabbering about with nasty things had not done anything wrong against you?

Well, maybe everybody is guilty about it for one reason or another.  But we all can try to be ‘honest’ with ourselves.  Stay focused is what we have to do.  Do the things we do, like keeping watch of what other people do and say all the time, gives you direction?  If not, then one who is guilty is a masochist who likes to hurt self with things that they interpret as hurtful when others do not really care at all.