I first met Blackie eight months ago outside my home high up on the mountain. Back then the tiny, flee bitten, haggard, starving creature growled and barked while doing a sad impersonation of a vicious dog. But now we are friends. Her owner, who lives nearby, cares nothing for her. He never feeds her, and allows her pups to die horribly. Blackie was in constant pain and discomfort from constantly scratching at fleas and other insects who live on her, until recently, emaciated body. A month ago I began to feed her and so, recognizing a good opportunity, Blackie began appearing each morning outside my door. Her frantic barking announced her presence. She now spends a few hours inside my home each day. After feeding, she runs with tail wildly wagging to her favorite spot in the living room, and lays down. Then she stretches enthusiastically usually accompanied by a loud fart, before falling into a deep, contented sleep.
A crewel expression from my Irish childhood says “She was so ugly only her mother could have loved her.” Such is the case with Blackie. Through no fault of hers, she’s uglier than a plateful of mortal sins. She even has fang like teeth that give her a sinister, vampire look. She’s such a mess it was only last week I realized she was female. As a trial, I’d left her to sleep the night downstairs. Next morning a dead, premature puppy lay motionless beside it’s mother.
This unfortunate creature reminds me of humans I’ve met on my life journey. Nobody ever cared for or loved them. They’ve been cast aside unto the scrapheap of society. Blackie is simply a four legged reflection on this sad reality.
Yesterday I brought a very confused and annoyed Blackie down the mountainside to a vet’s office in Dumaguete. After a lengthy inspection followed by three injections, we left with several medications.
The white man has contributed much to world’s development. Unfortunately he has also been a scourge on the planet through colonization with the subsequent destruction of cultures, civilizations and the environment. Therefore, it saddens me that on my world travels, while living in Central America, South America and now the Philippines, that a desire to look and act white is reflected in many aspects of society.
So many models on magazines and in TV advertisements from Costa Rica, Brazil and here all look WHITE. Additionally. everything I see in cosmetics promotes the promise of creating “whiteness” in skin color. Creams promise to alter skin from its natural beauty into a form of white. Right now I’m looking at Pond’s White Beauty with, wait for it, Advanced Micro Foam. It’s for facial use and promises to help change the users skin color to white. I think it’s relevant to note that, in an ironic twist, white women in America and Europe flock to the beaches in search of a tan to look darker, therefore more similar to Filipinas.
Beautiful ladies, please no not seek the vulgarity and illusions of the impoverished western myth. Instead rejoice in and embrace your unique, natural beauty. Remember there are compelling reasons why Filipinas consistently win world titles for beauty. Perhaps in the future, Filipinas should be barred from all international beauty competitions in order to allow other countries a chance to win?
Last week, while wandering alone in the vicinity of Balamban on Cebu island, I had a simple but beautiful experience. I won’t be able to adequately describe it, but I’ll hopefully give you a glimpse of the experience.
There are few places like the Philippines where people so easily find an excuse to have a fiesta and party. My fellow Rotarian, Dodo Bustamonte, occasionally laments the challenge of getting members to attend meetings. But mention a party with food also being provided and they are guaranteed to arrive by the busload along with long dead relatives, distant cousins, and occasionally, total strangers.
October is a busy month with fiestas. I attended one last week over in Balaban.
On Sunday just passed, I witnessed the joyful exuberance of several Valencian high school groups dressed up as bees as they danced their way through Valencia Proper. While the costumes and choreography was very appealing, it was the unbounded joy the participants were having that most appealed to me. They captured the Filipino joy of living in the moment, living in the now. And that’s with the light bulb finally went off in my head! I’d been struggling since I arrived here on January 1st of this year to find an answer to why people here are so happy when faced with a myriad of daily challenges. Watching the children living joyfully in the moment made me realize that’s the secret to Filipino joy! Most of the nation lives for now, not for tomorrow. The vast majority are not caught up with concerns about the volatility of the markets and how it might impact their retirement plans, or when the next bubble will arrive and devalue their investment properties. Filipinos and Filipinas have discovered that priceless gem of embracing the present moment. This is an invaluable asset that allows them live in relative peace of mind because yesterday is gone, and tomorrow will very soon become yesterday. So why worry about anything? Why indeed?
