Being true

It has been quite hot the past few days so we'd like to caution those who are actively engaged in sports to please make sure that you drink lots of liquid to prevent dehydration.

Also, make sure you put on sufficient sunscreen to protect your skin from harmful rays of the sun.

It is always best to take some precaution so we can enjoy the outdoors better. Proper equipment does not only mean having the right shoes, clothes, and gear for your sport, but also having the necessary water bottles and bottle of sunscreen handy when you play.

Some may frown at putting on sunscreen as something that seems vain. It is not. It is necessary for our protection.

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There are so many sports competitions set this school break, but there is one thing that I'd like to ask the organizers to do - make sure the games end early in the evening so not to inconvenience many people.

I believe many share my view about how some late night activities seem to be contrary to what they are supposed to promote.

Most, if not all, sporting competitions say that they are holding the event as a way to keep the youth away from drugs. That's great! But are you really keeping them away from drugs?

I'd still like to believe that the sports organizers are really serious about their anti-drug stand, but I have long doubted their sincerity.

One reason is that many events do not promote the proper discipline that comes with sports. Games do not start on time and they sometimes drag on until the wee hours when those who are already asleep are bothered by the noise.

When the people are out in the evenings, they are also prone to the dangers that lurk in the dark.

We hope that the sports organizers would coordinate closely with the law enforcement officers to help protect those who attend the activities and keep away those who use such activities to peddle their illegal goods.

I might be sounding like an old man just ranting about lacking sleep in the evenings, but this is a fact that I'd like to point out and I hope would be seriously addressed. I am not yet old and I sleep very late at night due to my line of work so late night noise do not really bother me much.

One of the things I am also seriously pushing in the sports bodies where I am a member is the conduct of regular drug tests on the participants to discourage them from doing drugs. Words alone would not do the trick, so we must do something more serious about the problem.

This summer, sports against drugs will again be emblazoned on many streamers and billboards. I hope we will all be true to it.

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MILESTONES: This will be a weekend of celebrations with the graduation season and a few birthdays.

Let me start with birthday greetings for a good friend, who turns a year older tomorrow, Wellington 'Willy' Lim of Hilton Heavy Equipment. Another person celebrating tomorrow is Jochebed Yaun, who is a 'certified' regular reader of this column.

Congratulations also to my cousins Joyce Ann Q. Miranda and Shena B. Quiñones, who are graduating from the Cebu Doctors University College of Nursing and to all my students who graduated from Mass Communications graduates at Saint Theresa's College (STC) yesterday.

More congratulations also to children of my fellow PTA board members at Sacred Heart School-Jesuit Sue Belarmino, Sandra Espina, Me-anne Alcordo-Solomon, and Sylvia Comendador, whose kids are graduating today from grade 6 and tomorrow from high school. Congratulations also to John and Jenny Cheu, whose daughter Kyna, a math wizard is graduating as the high school valedictorian of SHS-J.