ETCETERA; Thoughts between the lines

  I was sorting books to donate for our Rotary Club’s school library project when I picked up  Tuesdays with Morrie  again. It’s a book that beautifully reminds us about kindness and what truly matters. Morrie, the kind teacher in the story, was very sick. He had a disease called ALS  (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) , which slowly weakens the muscles,    a condition that, in his time, was universally considered a death sentence. That made me wonder — is ALS still incurable today? So I looked it up. What I found amazed me! Doctors now have medicines that can slow ALS and help patients live longer. Scientists are also studying gene therapy and stem cells that might one day stop the disease or repair nerves. There is now real hope for people like Morrie. As I searched for answers, I discovered many advances that feel like shortcuts to miracles. Some are already helping people today. Others are still being tested in labs and hospitals in progressive countries...

  This post is long overdue—six months, to be exact! But our family’s adventure through Northern Vietnam was too rich and eventful not to be recorded in our treasured family chronicle. This is our story of Hanoi ’s hustle, Ha Long Bay’s serenity , and the one crucial lesson we learned high up in the misty mountains of Sapa . Day 1 – First Taste of Hanoi Our Hanoi adventure began with a very early start—up by 1 a.m. for a morning flight via Vietnam Airlines . After a smooth check-in and immigration at NAIA , we grabbed a quick Starbucks stop before boarding. The three-hour flight was on time and offered our first taste of Vietnamese cuisine: a simple but flavorful meal. My choice— beef with noodles —“pasado”. At Hanoi’s modern Terminal 2, we breezed through immigration, and our appointed van whisked us away to the Old Quarter . Our home base, Hotel Allure , greeted us with its charming French-style façade—a welcome sight after our journey. Since it was far too early for the...

  Hello from the heart of Pampanga! As a proud native of Minalin, I’ve watched our town steadily grow, and nothing symbolizes our progress and resilience quite like the magnificent Minalin Sunset Park . It’s more than just a park—it’s a living testament to Minalin’s unique spirit and a must-visit destination for anyone exploring Central Luzon. The Minalin-Sto. Tomas Tail Dike: Our New Lifeline and Gateway In a twist of fate, the very infrastructure built to protect us has become our key to growth! Before the Tail Dike, Minalin was a more isolated town. Today, the dike itself functions as the most accessible road to Minalin, connecting us to our neighbors and the wider region. Thanks to this transformed dike road, reaching Minalin is remarkably easy: From San Fernando City: You can reach Minalin in as little as 15 minutes . From Angeles City: The trip takes less than an hour . From the West (Bataan/Zambales): Visitors can now access Minalin ...

  Yesterday, I was reviewing attention-grabbing words   I habitually jotted on my CP notes. “Kintsugi” attracted me.   I remember it was mentioned in a movie dialogue.   The Japanese art of Kintsugi means "to repair with gold," highlighting the cracks of a broken object as a beautiful part of its history. This idea got me thinking: While our nation’s history is a story of layers and fractures, what if we focused on adopting practical, timeless virtues instead of the less helpful traits passed down by colonial masters? For centuries, our colonial history has left us with deep faith and vibrant family culture, but also with damaging inherited flaws. From Spanish rule, we gained reliance on the powerful ( politikos, pari, padrino ) and a deep-seated complacency (“magbabago pa kaya tayo”). The Americans brought a consumerism that equated happiness with endless buying, resulting in a political system plagued by opportunism and greedy individualism. The Japanese occupat...

  Have you noticed that every time there’s a massive mess in our country, some words are invented or even their meaning is absolutely ruined for the sake of irony or sarcasm ? This practice has a legitimate name: antiphrasis . It’s wild and intriguing how our language keeps score of our national traumas, and Pinoys are experts at it. Antiphrasis is defined as “a figure of speech or a rhetorical device where a word or phrase is used in a sense directly opposite to its literal or usual meaning, often for humorous or ironic effect.” Perhaps no word embodies the chilling inversion of meaning more profoundly than "Salvage." Originally, to "salvage" meant to save something from ruin, to recover, or to rescue. A noble act, indeed. But in the Philippines, especially during the Martial Law years and the height of the anti-insurgency campaigns, "salvage" took on a horrifying new definition: to extrajudicially kill, often by state agents, with the body then dumpe...

  In my usual Viber group chat (GC), a truly engaging and poignant message appeared. It quoted one of history's greatest minds: “The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is forgotten." – Albert Einstein. One might like to believe that Pinoy culture is inherently more attentive to elderly parents. Isn't it normal practice for us to care for our elders? Perhaps not completely, if the six painful points outlined in that message are examined. As the years advance and life takes its inevitable turns, many of our aging loved ones find themselves battling a deep, pervasive sense of loneliness . This feeling is often amplified for those who have lost a spouse. The world, once vibrant and bustling with family life, can suddenly feel vast and empty. A good friend who lost her spouse to Covid mentioned, “I've lost my sense of belonging for a year. Ako'y tuliro.” It's easy to make the basic assumption that "they're doing fine," or ...