On letters and texts

I most often receive letters, e-mailed, post-mailed, or even hand carried to react to what I take up here. But I get more reaction through text messages.

I never have answered these mail, believing they did not need my answer but my written comment on the issues I bring up. Many of them I have not commented on.

Letters, e-mailed or post-mailed I receive that are not signed and even if signed, but whose identity I cannot ascertain, simply because they were to criticize or lambast somebody, I throw them into the waste basket.

Texts, I get quite a number of them.

***

It's more than a week now but I want to acknowledge the letter I got from a 92-year-old friend, Jay Robin Mercado. It was handcarried and brought to the Negros Press Club last Saturday. With the letter was red wine from Bordeaux in France which he said he personally bought there.

Once in a while I talk with Señor Mercado to learn Spanish. He speaks very good Spanish. And his hand-written letters are very impressive, very clear as if written by a high school student and, he told me, personally hand-written by him. It reveals a very good nervous system. My own handwriting I even can seldom read.

But for Señor Mercado, I thank him for that vintage wine.

We took it with members of the Press Club and NPC past president Edmund Aspero was asking me, after his last gulp, if there was still another bottle.

Señor Mercado wrote me the background of the English song, "Ring a ring O roses" which I wrote I sang with the mother of my friend Barry Swain while in London.

I also want to acknowledge that I received the e-mail letter of an American friend, Bob Clause. And also from past Rotary District Governor and Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice-President Benny Ricafort.

***

Texts? Plenty. Yesterday, Ms Gilda Puey Locsin whose texts which I printed were well received because she lambasted all the ills of society, texted me again.

She said, our columnist Ms Ivy Visitacion seldom attends her Spanish class now.

What she advised Ivy I would rather, you get it straight from Ivy herself. Gilda would not tell me. She said, it is effective in learning Spanish. But what is it? Let Ivy tell you that, believing she wants to share it with you.

If she wants to keep it to herself, then sorry.

I get many texts every day from British friend Neil Honeyman and Pol Escobia.

***

So much for letters and texts.

I just want to salute Barangay leaders who oppose the entry of small town lottery in Bacolod.

Let us heed the call of our Church leaders.

Not all the time we can be right. The best thing is if we are wrong, we are willing to own it and make amends. Change your stand on STL now.

Our congressmen passed the wage increase of P125 daily. Knowing Labor Secretary Arturo Brion is against it and said he would recommend to the President for its veto, the congressmen backtracked and recalled it, saying there was a defect in the law.

What looks funny is Sen. Jinggoy Estrada who also sponsored a bill in the Senate for an increase of P100 a day. This just shows Jinggoy does not study. Or if he has studied he did not get the meaning of a wage increase.

***

I wrote this while preparing to go to the birthday bash of retired RTC Judge Emma C. Labayen at L' Jardin at Dimasalang Street in Tangub.

This will be a night of songs, looking at her list of guests.

I like the present trend now. Let gatherings be a get-together for singing. It's good for the health. It practices the lungs and makes people happy.

Speeches? There can be problems when some people do not like what is said. Then when you get no good speakers, it also becomes boring.

But singing? If the singer and the songs are good, you will find enjoyment. If he is also not good, you have something or somebody to laugh at.

No wonder Judge Labayen does not seem to grow old. When she is with Class Forty Niners like Baby Puey and Toti Ramos, Marianing Tuvilla and Honey Galeno, she looks the youngest.

I attended her birthday last year. And Emma looks younger today than last year.*

back to top