After the Storm

A lot of things have been happening lately that I felt it was time to write again. Besides, I do have thoughts so why not share them.

Ondoy left a decidedly indelible mark to us, particularly in mega Manila. Its fury was unexpected. Its wrath was unparalleled. Its devastation was complete.

Actually, it was a weak storm. Its winds were high and hurtled themselves about at the lower end of the range of what would be considered a typhoon. What it delivered to the earth was water, tons of it. The weather bureau said there was enough rainfall to last us a normal September.


It would not have been so bad I suppose, if it was only rainwater that we encountered. What made it worse was the mud that flowed with it. Rivers overflowed lifting their silt and tossing it about like it was whipping cream. The result was mud pushed by the water through cracks and crevices allowing it to go where it was not supposed to.

Memory Lane

On Sundays, almost all the radio stations play music from bygone decades. In the afternoon, I would set the radio to dzbr on the FM band for my mother if my nephew (my brother's 2 year old son) isn't around to visit his grand Mama. They play really old pieces from her youth. I think they still use turntables, you can hear the crackle made by the needle as it traverses the grooves of the disc.

Yesterday, just as I tuned in, a guy named Barr Samson had just gotten on board and was starting his program. He mentioned the date September 9. He was saying that it was his anniversary as a radio broadcaster. This year on that day, he would have been on air for a dizzying 60 years.

He went on to discuss those who were with him on that first show, a radio drama. He was talking to one of them, Laila Hermosa who is now in a wheelchair, a few days prior. He said that of the six cast members, it seems they were the only ones left. He also said he wanted to beat Tia Dely's record of 68 years.

He could have retired some time ago but he didn't. Probably, the station just lessened his air time to give him more time to rest and relax. As long as your voice was okay, you could still work on radio.

I wonder if I could show as much dedication to my profession as he did.