WHEN I write, I usually sit facing the high fence defining the boundary between my parents’ property and our Filipino-Chinese neighbor’s. The fence is overgrown with vines, cadena de amor, and all sorts of plants indicating how old the fence is.
As I scribble on my laptop, I see birds picking on the ripe papaya invitingly sticking out from its trunk, or as birds are wont to do, leisurely collecting food from the overgrown grass, darting from one log to another, on our side yard. Birds are very tenacious creatures and from my vantage point, they come in varied species, sizes, and colors!
When it rains, I see raindrops from my little corner; when it’s breezy, I see plants and their leaves swaying in rhythm. What a life huh!
Since the house has old jalousie windows courtesy of the seventy’s era and all walls of the sala (living room) and dining area are jalousie windows, I can see everything that moves around me. Like momentarily, a white butterfly is flitting from one leaf to another. Sometimes, a pair comes in brown, sometimes black, sometimes polka dot. And there are smaller flying things that capture my vision as well!
When I redirect my sight towards the side door and look on the right, the fishpond that my mother developed many summers ago is filled with frogs in varying sizes and boy, don’t they just own the place!
They say writers are observant beings. Oh yes, we are a creature with keen senses. We notice the brags, the hypocrites, the liars, the shrewd, and all the stuff villains are made of, haha. Kidding. But seriously, even if one isn’t a writer, you easily notice these types when you develop and sharpen your instincts and discernment over time. It’s a gift.
Back to my environs, obliquely facing me, right above the high fence, I see coconut fronds, and farther away, an acacia trunk. They are all green and like they all say, green is cool for the eyes.
This relaxing scenery is punctuated (I think this is the precise word!) by the loud barks of our Filipino-Chinese neighbor’s dogs, and the ubiquitous sound of all modes of vehicles cruising along the national highway where our parents’ house is located since the early seventies when neighbors were scarce. How I missed those lonely days, aha!
The loudest sound would come from ambulance cars, big trucks with their music blaring, and motorcycles with owners trying their utmost to impress us with the powerful noise they create! I thought I had heard the last of these brags when I was in college, but nah, it never dies. Bragging never dies. It just passes from one generation to another.
Today is a Monday and quite too early to write for a Thursday deadline but the “delivery guy” yelled on top of his voice at around 7 o’clock this morning, waking me up, and blast it, I couldn’t recover my lost sleep.
So, as groggy as I am, I must prepare breakfast, and sip my coffee to give me a kick and begin my day. Way to go delivery guy! You are such a hero!
In ending, I drove to Valencia over the weekend. I passed by #AsinTibuok, the statue itself, and made a mental note to drop by the area on my way back to the city by Sunday. I also planned to visit Garcia Hernandez (GaHer), check the plaza and church, and take lots of photos. Alas, my companion didn’t feel very well Sunday morning, and by afternoon, lightning, thunder, followed by rain disrupted my plans. I had to abandon the GaHer la cuacha and the Asin Tibuok visita. I figured there’s another time.
The drive back to the city was relaxing. It drizzled all the way and since the radio stations I picked didn’t provide the music I liked I kept changing stations which didn’t do justice to my chill driving.
I usually drive fast but this time I decided that I would drive at 50 kph all the way to the city. It was intentional and many vehicles overtook me but it’s all good because I get to do what I intended to do.
PS: This is a random article. Blame the delivery guy haha!
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The writer hosts Woman Talk with Belinda Sales at 91.1 Balita FM Tagbilaran City every Saturday, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. She can be reached at belindabelsales@gmail.com. Twitter @ShilohRuthie./PN
