Back to our old songs

It saddened me to hear from our friend, Louie Ledesma, that his beautiful radio program "Among My Souvenirs" might soon play its "Requiem" because its carrying station RJ rate is a bit expensive.

"Souvenirs" will be on its 25th year by August. And all these years that has been the popular Saturday fare of those who love good, soulful, haunting, yet romantic music of an old era.

Will some kindred souls come forward to help?

Give me a heart that is not touched by good music and I will tell you an unfeeling heart, loveless and uncaring.

"There's nothing left for me, of days that used to be,/ I live in memory among my souvenirs;/ Some letters tied with blue, a photograph or two,/ I saw a rose from you, among my souvenirs.

"A few more tokens rest, within my treasure chest,/ And though they give me their consolation;/ I count them all apart and as the teardrops start,/ I found a broken heart, among my souvenirs."

Touching, isn't it? Louie, don't give up that program. It is already an institution like you. Yes, 25 years in August.

If we can't find help, let's have it on cable television. I will help look for song lovers, people who love good songs to sponsor it. One hour on a Saturday or Sunday night to sing with you. This can help stop ageing and ease tensions.

* * *

I am happy with the thrust of the provincial government on organic farming.

This morning, La Castellana Mayor Enrico Elumba will have his farmers there in a seminar on organic farming with speakers from Taiwan.

Tuesday night we sat down with businessman Enrique Dy with his friends, Rafael P. Cresencia, Ph. D. (in Agriculture) and a cooperative consultant Nelson Demegillo to discuss farming.
But the week was spent with two Belgian friends, organic farming expert Stan de Baere and rice farmer Andre de Heartog.

Stan was pressing me on producing rice without a drop of commercial fertilizer or chemical pesticide. I said, I would believe him if I saw it. He offered to experiment on a hectare.

I have not harvested yet but I am now convinced. I believe it's going to be good although not perfect.

The idea is now we know, with just organic materials, we can produce food by doing away with commercial fertilizer and chemical pesticide.

* * *

But this is not conclusive yet. I still have to see it in the first crop after correcting some errors I and Andre de Heartog made.

Not only we. Many others are studying how to cut down expense and at the same time improve the soil. The advantage here is soil conditioning.

All over the world, this is the trend now, organic farming. It improves the environment. Stan de Baere is an environment engineer from Bruseels, Belgium. Andre de Hartog is an electronics engineer and expert in operation of electric plants.

* * *

And we need our people to be entrepreneurial.

Edyll Tan, formerly with the staff of Sen. Richard Gordon texted me yesterday to encourage people to develop entrepreneurial skill.

True! Our young people are honed to the idea of getting employment. It's good that in many colleges, entrepreneurship is being taught.

That is why in many business schools, typing and stenography are no longer taught. These are subjects that teach young people to be clerks. They should be taught how to think. How to be leaders.

That is why business schools emphasized on teaching case studies developed at Harvard and Wharton. This teaches students in problem solving.

Tan is now in business starting with home made food products. It's difficult, he said, but with perseverance, patience, and determination, it paid off.

Edyll said he learned plenty from Sen. Richard Gordon. But, he advised those who want to go into it to always remember in business trustworthiness and credibility are also very important.

* * *

Was it intentional that DILG Undersecretary for Peace and Order Marius Corpus had to say what he said. He was quoted to have said that people in the "Wowowee" Ultra Stampede were "exploited, manipulated, and treated like animals."

Corpus said "offering a few tickets to so many people can be likened to throwing a small slice of meat to a pack of hungry wolves," This triggered the stampede, he added.

I cannot see any reason, given his rank and position in government Corpus can be so reckless in his statement.

This got an outraged response from the ABS-CBN chairman and chief executive officer Eugenio "Gabby" Lopez III whose statement, though it seethed with anger, was very subdued unlike the recklessness of Corpus.

I believe it was unfair to use the word "treated like animals." It was good Corpus owned it because it could not reflect the thinking of government.

He also said, those words were not in the report but they were his alone.

* * *

There is a growing protest all over the world by Muslims on what they called an insult made by a Denmark newspaper. The other day, some 5,000 Muslims staged a protest in Cotabato.

The controversial caricature appeared in a Denmark newspaper that showed Mohammed having as a turban a lighted bomb.

There may be some wayward Muslims but to insult Mohammed is like insulting Jesus Christ for what some of the Christians are doing.

Just fight the Muslims the best you can if you don't like them. But, don't insult Mohammed, their Prophet.*

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