“Streetlife” bids farewell

As we always often say, there is always a time for everything. The Bible said, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 1:1). There is always a beginning as well as an end, and King Solomon fully acknowledges that. For this column, the beginning was more than a decade ago and now must come to an end. This writer is moving on to another chapter in life which may restrain expressing personal opinions.

Streetlife was essentially hatched with only one thing in mind --to look at life on the street. After all, the more exciting part of our daily lives are the ones we see there. For most, at least, especially those having regular work schedules and students, our streets are the most visible part of the city we see. We realize that most of our 24 hours are spent at home and either at work or school. Unlike the PUJ drivers and some who work in public areas, we spend less time outdoors.

And when we are, we are always on the streets, which offer us a panoramic view of the city and its places and people. Of course we go to other places sometimes, the mall or the market and other such public places. But every morning and afternoon or evening, and any time in between, we are on the street, commuting. That is the public place for us, where we see people and where we see our city. And usually we judge our city, as well as other cities as well, through what we see on the streets.

That was the rationale for the title of this column. This corner wished to provide a reflection of what we see in our city, its public places, its nooks and crannies, the orderly traffic or jams as well, the cacophony of Cebuanos milling around in the grind of daily life --the slow evolution of a city from its infancy in the past the kind of bustling metropolis it has become. We have gone a long way, we have extended and expanded our streets, building expressways and the like. We have grown.

But the streets quietly remain the reflection of the city that we live in. So far, over the last decade, this writer can conclude that we did not do bad. In fact, we have indeed done comparably better that our neighbors. I am bold enough to say we have done better than any other place in the Philippines. I am proud of Cebu and of the Cebuanos. We excel and we lead. And I hope we will continue to do so. Our street life is a clear testimony to that.

But oftentimes things must end, and this column, too. This writer is moving on to not only write about street life, but actually do something about it. And for that, I need your support and prayers. I hope I can serve you well, because like you, I, too, want a better city in the future. Not only for us, but for our children and our children’s children.

With this, “Streetlife” bids farewell…