Row over the shoal not new

Let me first attend to phoned-in messages from readers without whom only members of my family read me:

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Tony Arnaldo, one-time TF stringer in Talisay City, complained about a neighbors’ dog “who barks and barks at night for no reason at all.”

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Ms. Evelyn Janite, schoolteacher in Mandaue City, said, “some PUJ drivers are reluctant to accept the reduced fare.”

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Ben Ypil, my good friend and media colleague, texted: “Our PLDT phone has been in state of disrepair for days now but despite our constant followups no lineman has showed up…” That was last week. Maybe by this time the lineman has showed up already.

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Felix Hingco, Mandaue City, e-mailed: “The standoff between the Philippines and China will continue until the two get tired standing off.”

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The row between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea is not new. During Erap’s time the two countries quarrelled over the Mischief Reef.

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I remember someone quoting Erap as telling Chinese topgun then, Jiang Zemin: “Mischief Reef is ours.” God Jing replied: “You can have Mischief, we’ll keep the Reef.”

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There’s a saying that goes: “What is done cannot be undone.” Rep. Bongbong Marcos has another way of putting it: “You cannot unring the bell.” Heard him say that on TV.

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It says here that Napoleon Bonaparte has been chosen the “World’s Top Lover Boy” of his time. This, even if some naughty guys say, Nap has got a short arm or ‘armas’ in Cebuano just good enough for his diminutive size.

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There was a report that Napoleon Bonaparte got mad at reports where he was quoted as saying: “Not tonight Josephine.” What he said, he claimed, was: “Not Josephine tonight.”

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I make this humble column as simple as I ever can but it’s always shot through with typographical errors. I used to get hot and bothered but not anymore. It’s bad for the health. So I now just let the typos go believing that my readers, especially the 5th graders, would understand.

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OVERHEARD. Last Mother’s Day a reader said she heard someone say: “Greet ko happy mother’s day ni papa … siya may among mama sukad namatay si mama.”