Loneliness is a deadly germ bomb

There are people who take pleasure in hurting others. There are people who indiscriminately embarrass other people just for the heck of it. There are people who are consumed with envy and jealousy because others are happy and successful. There are people who cannot see any good in anyone or anything. There are people who hate people for no reason at all. These people say nasty things about people 26 hours a day. And we say, Magbago na kayo! Sige, kayo rin…

Essentially, these are people who hate themselves.

Here’s a story:

Loneliness is a deadly germ bomb. Cesar was extremely lonely. He was a teacher in one of the universities of Manila. He had very few friends and people avoided him. He was difficult, bitchy and painfully negative.

He liked watching movies alone and he would write occasional reviews which he would submit to a number of papers. He never liked the movies he watched. But he took joy in lambasting everyone and everything in the movies he saw.

Cesar would get into fights with fellow teachers. He shouted at an English teacher who wrote him a note with a grammatical error. He condescended at everyone in sight. He really had a bad habit for everyone for every occasion. He flaunted his superiority (in truth, his inferiority) to everyone. He said, he was the best. He knew everything. Everything was mediocre but him.

Until one day, a young lady professor of good manners and right conduct, whom he humiliated a couple of weeks earlier because he hated the color of her dress, could not contain her manners and her anger anymore, challenged him to a fist fight. Suntukan nalang tayo! fumed the lady teacher. Arrogant Cesar retreated. But did this stop him from berating everyone insight? No. Although he would avoid the tigress of the teacher who challenged him to a fistfight, he continued to make life for many people painful.

One day, Cesar suffered from a heart attack in the faculty room. He died. The story was there was another teacher in the room who could have saved him. The teacher just looked at him and walked away.

Moral of the story: It’s actually easier to be nice than difficult. Try it. Or suffer the fate of lonely, bitter, bitchy Cesar.

Look around, there a few Cesars around. Let’s pray for them. Just as we pray for Cesar’s departed soul.

To all the negas, God bless you!

Let’s stay awake

During this time last year, some friendships were strained and some relationships were severed because of political differences. The movement to constitutionally remove Erap had gained momentum. It was hellish to stay in the middle of the political see-saw. You either had to be for or against Erap. Staying neutral was political cowardice. Civil society said that there was an avalanche of overwhelming evidence of despicable corruption. There was moral decay. "Erap Resign" prevailed and a new day did begin.

As we start the year 2002, it’s good to see and assess where we have all gone. And what we have done to this country and to ourselves. I think we owe this to our children and the next generation of Filipinos. I mean, let’s stay awake!

Return to sender

During the Christmas season of year 2000, the story goes that boxes of gifts were delivered to some TV and radio networks. Nothing strange. It was Christmas. But inside those boxes were P300,000 in cold, crispy cash.

Others were said to have contained more, obviously for people with more influence. Perhaps some boxes had less than P300,000 for people with less influence. These gifts were delivered to the networks and received by security guards who probably thought they were boxes of fruitcake.

Most of the boxes were returned to the sender who at that time represented a powerful political figure. Some boxes are said to have found their way to big, practical and bribable hands.