I remembered when we still lived in our previous neighborhood we had a neighbor who was a drug addict. Of course I did not see him use drugs or anything but you hear whispers and rumors. It’s so sad when people become addicted to drugs, alcohol, sex, etc. He was a nice person who fell in with a bad crowd. Maybe their family situation contributed something to it with a very strict father and very little money. I don’t know if addiction treatment would have helped him but I’m sure it was something their family could not afford. I remembered that he always paid my jeepney fare whenever we coincidentally rode the same jeepney together. Maybe it was because he was older that he thought he should be the one to pay. But I remember my aunt mentioning that he paid her fare also when he saw that they were in the same jeepney. There must have been something innately good in him that he was seldom able to express. As I grew older I seldom saw him in the neighborhood. When we moved away, his father died. My mom and I went to the wake but we were not able to attend the funeral. My best friend said that the guy was there but in handcuffs and escorted by the police. It’s so sad and such a tragic waste. I just hope that sometime soon he’d come to his senses and find a way to build a brighter future. It might be a cliché but as long as there is life there is chance to change for the better.
It was past 12 midnight when the Easter Vigil Mass was finished. There was no jeepney in sight so we decided to ride the tricycle on our way home. The street was empty and the tricycle was swift. It was wonderful to feel the wind in my face with what felt like less pollution. I really liked the feeling of seeing very few people on the road. We passed by the trees and streetlights lining the road. There’s something very ethereal and peaceful about empty roads during dark nights with only streetlights and the moon providing faint lighting. Of course the sidewalks could have been hiding petty and not so petty criminals lying in wait for victims. But riding along I felt safe and enchanted with the night. Maybe when I have a car in the distant future, I’ll go driving during the night just to feel its magic again.
It’s funny how sometimes the same season appears in different lives at the same time. What do I mean by this? Like this year is a season for weddings. My friends are getting married this year while some are planning their weddings now for next year. Then a couple of years ago, it was a season for pregnancies. My officemates were pregnant one after another. It was not an unusual sight to see women in maternity clothes instead of office uniforms. Weddings and pregnancies are happy events so a season for weddings and pregnancies are most welcome. Unfortunately, there is also a season for death. Sometimes it feels like everybody is dying. You see white envelopes one after the other being passed around for whatever you can contribute to the family of the officemate who died or one who has a close family member who died. Whenever this happens, I’m just thankful that as in all kinds of seasons, this too also ends.
It must be very hard to be a celebrity. All the attention and publicity and pressure you have to contend with. It’s no wonder that those not strong enough succumb to alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling and other self-destructive habits that help keep the feelings of helplessness at bay. Over the last few years, we have seen how young stars such as Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, just to name two, battle with substance addiction. They have been in and out of drug rehabs many times and all these struggles have been recorded and splashed in newspapers, tabloids and television for all to see. It’s just so sad. These things make me thankful that I’m just an ordinary person and nobody’s interested in my life. Hehehe
