The little mistake some people make

Two officials were heard on tv talking about the fine imposed by Citom and the tax collected by the BIR. Commenting on what the officials were talking about, Noy Temyong, my favorite sidewalk philosopher, said: “A fine is a tax you and I pay for doing wrong and a tax is a fine we pay for doing right.”

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My favorite comics character is Hagar the Horrible. He and his family are lots of fun. One day his son told Hagar that he made a little mistake in his marriage. Just a two-word mistake.

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This was the same mistake James Yap and Kris Aquino made on their wedding day that led to their separation. What was their mistake? Their saying “I do.”

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I have a friend who did not make that mistake. He is now 75. He never said “I do.” But once in a while it would occur to him that his not committing the mistake James and Kris — and Hagar the Horrible’s son made — is a mistake in itself too. Now he wants to commit that little mistake realizing, a bit too late in the day, that there would be no one to run to in times of health breakdown in his old, old age.

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There are talks about retoring the ROTC program in college. The move is running into stiff opposition particularly from the so-called militants’ sector in Congress. Me, if you ask me, I’m for the revival of ROTC.

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I completed by basic ROTC course in college and I harbor happy memories of my experience. I read my good friend Laddie Dioko’s “Straws in the Wind” column where he batted strongly for the return of the ROTC and I give him two thumbs up.

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For those who don’t seem to find any good in the ROTC, I suggest a careful reading of Laddie Dioko’s two-part column (starting Aug. 14/10) on this issue. It might give them a new perspective on this subject.

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E-mail from Daniel Labos: “I was in LA last week and I was surprised but happy to see some Pinoys sporting t-shirts printed with ‘I am Pinoy’ ... I was told that this is a project of Pinoy oldtimers who have remained Pinoy up to this day, even after years of being steeped deep in American culture.”

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Welcome to Cebu, I.V. Supakorn, a Thai journalist, who was in the same Asean journalist program with me some years ago. Have fun in my city, I.V.

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Email: [email protected]