Season's blessings

For Catholics (who are also Christians), today is the official start of the Christmas season. It marks the opening of the Misa de Gallo or early morning Mass.

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I don’t want to ruin the spirit and spirituality of Misa de Gallo by citing scenes I used to see when I was still in good health and an early morning Mass attender.

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Before I forget, I would like to welcome home my good friend Leonardo “Daido” Angel who is on his annual Christmas vacation here. Daido, a true-blue Cebuano, resides in Manila. Merry Christmas, Do!

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Every time he’s home, this friend of mine, Daido, would ask me about the squatters near the NBI office. I would tell him they’re no squatters anymore. They’re now called irregular (?) settlers. He would just nod in silence as if to say: “Ok, OK, whatever...”

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There’s a classy shop at the SM City Cebu called “Forever 21.” It reminds me of a society lady of my acquaintance whose age never went beyond 21. It got stuck at 21, her age. I knew she had hit 45 but she’d just give me a wink when I told her she had forgotten her age.

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Email from Nanding Ty, a friend from Samar who got stuck in Cebu after marrying someone from my barangay: I read in your paper that the Cebu City Jail is now called that, not anymore Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center or BBRC ... I’m pleased to learn that the BBRC is now defunct ... I had been revolting against the ideas of calling a jail a rehab center, because a jail is a jail and should be called that.”

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In this connection, I recall receiving a very long handwritten letter which argued (quite angrily) against the idea of calling a prisoner “inmate” for humane reasons. The letter sender said — many times in his letter — that anyone found guilty of the crime he had committed and sent to prison must be called prisoner, not inmate.

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A domestic helper from a neighboring province went full-blast shopping in SM City in the morning last Monday and then in Ayala Center in the early evening of the same day. She said she had received a fat bonus from the boss. “Nabuotan lagi akong amo oi,” she said.

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Nabuotan si amo because it’s Christmas? The helper laughed. She later confided that she caught the boss hugging and kissing the family cook (kusinera). “Way reklamo ang kusinera kay guwapo man si Sir bisan ang tuong tiil kahoy,” the DH said. “Naaksidente si Sir didto sa Manila, naputol ang tuo niyang tiil.”

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So, what she saw in the kitchen was a blessing of sorts — a season’s blessing for her. She will be leaving for her province tomorrow bringing with her a big load of Christmas gifts for her siblings, parents and other relatives.