Sunday, November 30, 2014

Mean Meanings


"What does extinct mean, papa? What are extinct animals?"

"Animals that lived many, many, many years ago and are no longer around today." I explained.

"Oh, I see," she seemed to understand. "So papa, what dinosaurs were alive when you were a kid?"

Mahiwagang Sinigang


Pati ba naman sa pagsulat ng tula 
Ito ang napili mong paksa
Ano ba talaga ang hiwaga ng sinigang, anak?
E kulang na lang tumayo ka't pumalakpak

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Mom


It's truly a day for thanksgiving. It's my mom's birthday!

Thank you, Monina Mercado, for showering us all these years with your love and support. You've always had our back. And this we truly appreciate.

You had a stellar school record - accelerated twice, valedictorian and magna cum laude. You were already a successful journalist. You were working for a newspaper in San Francisco, even covered the funeral of JFK, when Dad called and asked you to marry him.

And you did! You gave up a promising career, came back to the Philippines, married the man you loved, and began building a family and raising seven kids.

You stood quietly behind Dad's back, supporting him in his career, providing for his needs, keeping his house in order. You definitely took the back seat, which I am sure was difficult at times, but you embraced this new life with love. This was your vocation and you learned to live and love it.

And even if from the very beginning Dad asked you not to take on a regular job, you managed on your spare time to build a great career as a writer, editor and publisher. Up to now you continue to work. I so look forward to your book on Lucban!

You took charge of us kids, making sure we always had what we needed. You chose schools where you thought we would flourish and involved yourself actively in the schools' development and growth.

This you always did quietly, without fanfare. (Although I do remember the time you stormed into our school to complain about the corporal punishments we boys were subjected to. A practice that was instantly stopped after your visit.)

I thank you, mom, for always being there behind all of us. Your example, love and quiet support is what keeps us all standing.

My wish is that we, your kids and grandchildren, can now give you the love and support you have given us. Let us take better care of you, mom. It's your turn to be up front. We've got your back.

Love you, mom!


Thursday, November 6, 2014

HGO


On this ThrowbackThursday, I honor a great man, Herminio G. Ordoñez, who passed away early this morning.

Minyong Ordoñez or HGO as he was fondly called, was my late father, Tony Mercado's partner for many years in Basic Advertising and all its subsequent permutations.

He was a great man, a creative genius who was responsible for so many successful advertising and marketing milestones. But I will remember him most as a simple, caring, down to earth man whose smile and snicker always put people around him at ease.

He stood as my godfather during my confirmation almost four decades ago. As the ceremony was winding down, he bent over my shoulder and snickered, "O, sasampalin ko na ba ikaw? Yun ang inaantay ko e."

Once in the early 2000s, when I had already left the industry and was stationed in Forest Club in Laguna, a staff member came up to me and said: "Sir, may tao sa gate, malaking tao na may magarang motorsiklo. Kung puede daw siyang mag swimming. Kahit ten minutes lang daw ho."

It was HGO. He took a joy ride on his bike from Majayjay to take a dip in the pool. So we swam, just the two of us, and just talked about anything and everything. After about an hour, he got out of the pool and quickly said goodbye.

"Oh sige, babalik na ako. Baka hanapin na ako ng asawa ko?"

"Hindi ka ba nagpaalam?" I was horrified.

"Hindi na. Ikaw naman ang kasama ko e," he snickered.

The last time I got to chat in length with HGO was sometime in 2013. We both arrived early for a meeting and took advantage of the time waiting for the others to arrive by catching up on each other's lives.

"May picture ka ba ng mga anak mo?" he asked.

"Uy, ang gwapo at ang ganda nila!" he said as I showed him photos of my kids. Then he smiled, and snickered. "But na lang talaga maganda ang asawa mo."

In his 27 October 2013 Gut Feel column that appears in the Inquirer, HGO spoke about watching Tita Tinette, mother of Karen and Claudine, die in his arms in 1984:

"I told the doctors I wanted my wife all to myself. I wanted my wife to die in my arms. I hugged her and put my head on her chest and stayed glued there, listening to her heartbeat—beating, beating slowly, beating weakly, beating faintly until it stopped.

"Then I looked at her face, and I saw the tension and suffering in her countenance disappear in slow motion. I saw her face clear up slowly, gradually regaining her youthfulness and beauty, until what I saw finally was the beautiful face on our wedding day.

"That facial transformation was, for me, the most beautiful and haunting visual experience I’ve ever had in my life. It was a face that dwelt in heaven."

As HGO passed away at 3:17 am this morning, surrounded by the love of his family, I am so sure he too had that face that dwelt in heaven. And perhaps with a smile and a snicker to boot.