DANNY JAVIER

Remembering Apo Hiking Society’s Danny Javier 

Fellow Apo Hiking Society band member, Jim Paredes, visited Danny Javier in the hospital and did what a real friend would.

“I held his hand…

One press for YES, two presses for NO.

Are you okay?

Love you, Bro.

I sang a song, a line from the Beatles’ song Two of Us

‘You and I have memories

Longer than the road that stretches out ahead’

Pagod ka na? (Are you tired?)

Love you, Bro. Til we meet again.”

MLJ/02/08/2024/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j03CvjgW880 Two of Us

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBfLmkPcHUs Maraming salamat sa musika at mga alala, Danny Javier.

Bob McGrath

 https://twitter.com/HistoryMuppet/status/1599550953295790080?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Thank you, Bob, for five decades of fun learning with songs. My siblings and I learned a lot from watching Sesame Street daily after school. That's where I learned phonics. As a teacher, I use the same techniques as well as the song People in Your Neighborhood when teaching community helpers and heroes to kids. MLJ/05/12/2022 

 

"Punch buggy!"

“The Bug” or “the Käfer” in Germany or “the Coccinelle” in France. I could picture myself driving the smallest car when I retire, just like this lady behind me now.  

What the app!!! (Or when a four-year-old is smarter than moi)

“You have to say, ‘Hey, Google,’” said the four-year-old girl I was babysitting one summer day. We were leaving for the park nearby, so I was turning off all the lights but couldn’t figure out how to turn off the music when I couldn’t see any radio, stereo, smart TV or iPhone around. Just a single speaker without any buttons or cord on the corner table in the living room! So I started mumbling to myself: “How do you turn the music off?” That was when the little girl responded as she patiently waited for me at the door: “You have to say, ‘Hey, Google!’”

“And then what?”

Pause. “I don’t know.”

I thought she knew everything…

“Hey, Google! Turn off the music, please,” I finally said and it worked, of course. Jeez! I felt so technologically inept despite using computers since the 80s!

And there are smart stoves and refrigerators in other homes, too, to which my traditional self is not interested in interacting. They reminded me of a third grader who said, “My father told me that I don’t have to be smart or hardworking because there’s an app for everything.”

“So what’s the app if all power and electronics are gone one day?”

“I don’t know… What, Miss J.?”

“Your brains and your muscles. Those are the real apps, the most reliable apps that will save your life one day.” MLJ/06/10/2022/WhatTheApp!!!    

Shrinkflation

WORD of the pandemic years: shrinkflation!!! Whoever said, "We're all in this together," should talk louder to profiteering producers/manufacturers who are deaf (and blind) to what's happening around them. Now grocery shopping feels like you’ve grown into a giant because everything in your hands has shrunk into miniature dimensions. MLJ/05/10/2022/ProfiteersCareForNoOne

Every Day is World Teachers' Day

GRATEFUL to have been surrounded by the best teachers: dedicated, compassionate, caring, creative, resourceful... Now I understand why some of them would lose their temper or punish the whole class as I'd experienced in the 70s. Dealing with 30 (or 130!!!) chatty and restless children could put teachers at their wit's end, lead to miscarriages or stress leaves or high attrition rates, etc. I wish world leaders could invest in education (and reduce class sizes) more than they do in lethal weapons. Peace to all! MLJ/05/10/2022/ICan'tBelieveI'mStillStandingAndSmiling

Marito Lopez

Latino-Canadian comedian Marito Lopez talked about telling his El Salvadorian mother about calling 911 if she ever laid a finger on him. Well, he said she beat him up so bad that he stopped growing!!! LOL.

-Ber Months

 On 95.9 CHFM Radio, a caller talked about -ber months in the Philippines when Christmas songs start playing on the radio. True enough, my new neighbours from the Philippines are playing Christmas songs today. Now I'm so homesick! Happy -ber months to all! MLJ/24/09/2022 

Lockdown?

"Lockdown! Lockdown! Lockdown!" came on ten minutes before parent-teacher interviews started this morning. We teachers went out of our classrooms and wondered whether the tech team in the building was testing the system or there was a real threat. Anyway, we decided to lock ourselves in our rooms and wait for instructions. Phone lines were cut off and there was no internet. We started feeling uneasy as we continued working quietly in our rooms. A sigh of relief when the front desk explained that there was a mistake somewhere... At lunchtime, we found sweet treats in the staff room and were told that the tech team felt bad about the incident and got us the treats. An apology should be enough, but treats are appreciated, too. They reminded me of spouses who bring home flowers and chocolates if they have to apologize for something. LOL. Happy Fri-yay everyone! MLJ.23/09/2022/Lockdown

Sugar High

 I feel loaded with sugar today, Fri-yay, as our favourite sub teacher, a retired principal, came with treats for all staff and students. I feel so energized that I'm ready to tackle Monday's challenges! We're thankful for being the beneficiaries of a generous retiree with a huge pension. Did I wish I were a principal, too? Nah... Glad to be on the front line. Happy Fri-yay to all! 

 

Just cleaning

Dental Clinic Receptionist: Would you like Dr. O. to check your kids’ teeth?

Parents: Oh, no, no, no! Just cleaning, please.

Dental Clinic Receptionist: Would you like fluoride?

Parents: Oh, no, no, no! Just cleaning, please.

Dental Clinic Receptionist: Would you like…

Parents: Oh, no, no, no! Just cleaning, please.

Dear me. We can hardly afford dental care for our children. For parents working for the minimum wage, each child’s prophylaxis fee could cost them about eleven hours of labour. MLJ/10/09/2023InflationHereThereAndEverywhere

Second graders!

Girl looked at teacher's photo ID: Is that you, Miss J.? You look younger... Now you look older.

Miss J.: Aw! You're hurting my feelings. 

Girl: Why?

Ahem...

Teacher: So God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge.

Girl: Yes, but Eve ate the apple given by the snake! 

Boy: But apples are good for you!

Hmm... 

When it feels like…

When it feels like you’re close to retirement but not quite. When you start asking, “Am I going to get there? Will I make it past my live-to-work years when some friends didn’t?” Then you start living a senior’s life. Maybe just for practice. Or maybe just to experience it (in case you don’t get there). See how it feels… No kidding. A friend didn’t wake up to see another day. She hasn’t even reached retirement age.

And just what the heck is a senior’s life, you ask. First, you dress as you please, not a care as to what others say. Are these clothes still in fashion or not? Are these too old or still looking like new? “It’s very old, but who cares,” said a senior colleague after I complimented him on his genuine leather jacket. I like that attitude… You wear your sombrero to protect your eyes and face from UV rays. It’s never too late for skin cancer, you know that. And you finally use that chin strap because you can’t chase that hat as fast as you used to (or literally can’t afford to lose it). Chin strap? Not cool! Not ever cool! But, indeed, who cares about fashion and being cool? You’re not a teen, you say.

Secondly, you follow your health regimen more religiously. Not missing calcium or multivitamins. Not missing your osteoporosis meds or whatever maintenance drugs your favourite doctors have prescribed for your high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes (and for their kickbacks from pharmaceuticals). Not missing daily walks, yoga or Zumba. Fact: you haven’t saved for your dream motorized wheelchair when your bones finally gone a-missing like they’re a-dissolving sugar or salt.

Thirdly, you revisit your bucket list and cross out what’s not achievable in the next ten or twenty years. You’re being more practical as you age, you see. Now you look for alternatives. You can “visit” all these touristic places or off the beaten paths as an armchair tourist, in the comfort of your living room. Explore the world without worrying about plane tickets and hotels. Without shared viruses, jet lags, backaches or knee pains after. Without feeling guilty about your carbon footprint. Nature.org says it’s an average of 16 tons per person in the USA. Now you feel better contributing less to Mother Earth’s demise.    

Finally, you stop buying or collecting non-essentials. You know the pain of moving when the time comes for downsizing or senior care. Why give yourself or your loved ones (or friends) the pain of sorting through your menagerie – books, coins, foreign currencies, stamps, jewelry, kitchenware… When you finally go, maybe reward them with something useful like cars, yard equipment or tools instead? And don’t forget to write your last will and testament. Tell your trusted executor where you keep your cash if you don’t trust banks. Some bereaved families found cash everywhere in the house: in tea kettles, in pillows or mattresses, in couches! Too late if these have been donated to thrift shops or picked up by strangers for free! And what about a living will? What are your wishes for end-of-life care? Have these written down instead of having your family guessing your treatment preferences. Let them toss a coin to decide whether or not to keep you on life support? Head or tail?

You’ve lived a successful, independent life and have had everything planned out. (However you define “success”.) Now it’s time to enjoy another phase in life. And when you get there for real, enjoy new hobbies and friends. Everything new maybe. And a bit of old… Enjoy the discounts! Better yet, share your discounts if you don’t need them. Happy retirement! MLJ/05/09/2022/LabourDayAtEllistonLake

My New Title in 2022

“Senior discount, po?” said the courteous fast food cashier behind the till. I shook my head but thought that it would be nice indeed to have a discount when I retire. Then I could treat myself to my favourite palabok in Jollibee or to bacon ‘n egg McMuffin in McDonald’s once a week even though I’ve promised myself not to hang out at fast food restaurants when I’m finally done teaching.  

“Customer service,” I told the bank security guard who was handing out counter numbers, and he gave me a number for the Senior/Express counter. Hmm… I thought it was nice to be considered a senior by how I look and get faster service wherever I go. How convenient!

These people got me thinking how I suddenly looked like a retiree after three years of absence in the country. Did the three COVID years increase or deepen my wrinkles? Of course they did! COVID or no COVID, right? However, how did they imagine my deep nasolabial folds (smile lines or laugh lines) when I was wearing a mask? How did they imagine my thinning hair when I had my wide-brimmed hat on? Maybe only senior ladies have the guts to wear hats? Maybe my eyes said it all: sunken and decorated with crow’s feet and aided with prescription lenses! Hmm…  

The next time I went out, I didn’t wear my hat but since there was no change in the treatment that I got everywhere I went, I simply resigned to the idea that I should be ready for my senior’s ID in a few years. And I’m going to have lots of fun as a “Senior Citizen”! MLJ/03/07/2022SummerInThePhilippines

We can agree to disagree with much civility.

See how Chomsky handled a hostile member of the audience. 

This Is Your Mind on Plants by Michael Pollan

At first I was afraid to finish this book and have Pollan convince me to try something new in case I’m in isolation or quarantine, in case I’m bored and have lost all means to entertain myself or make my life exciting, but it’s all good. I’m all good… Opium, caffeine and mescaline are nature’s gift, and we humans ought to be thankful for them, but then again we were not created perfect so either we give in to temptations and abuse, or the imperfect makers of OxyContin lead thousands of us to our doom each year. What are we and our leaders doing to help? MLJ/18/08/2022

Got a Dollar?

“Excuse me. Got a dollar?”

Came the soft voice behind me.

“I’m sorry, but I have no cash. What do you need?”

“Just water… and food.” A homeless teen with a backpack. My heart shrank seeing this young, innocent-looking woman, possibly just trying to make it through the day. How much longer will she last?

“Go get what you need. I’ll wait for you here.”

Soon she was back with bottled water and a pack of fresh blueberries.

“Anything else? Would you like some bread?”

“No, I’m good.”

She thanked me and left after I paid for her stuff, leaving me hurting so much with the fact that I wished I could do more but couldn’t … MLJ/17/08/2022/GettingGroceriesAtWalmartMarlborough

Noam Chomsky

As a student of Linguistics about thirty years ago, I read Chomsky, the father of Modern Linguistics, never imagining that I would be listening to him now as the world struggles with a pandemic, the truth, and climate change. 

 

Retiring from Walmart Photo Centre

“Jamison? Class photos?”

That was Susan for 13 years, printing and packing my pictures at the Centre while patiently assisting users of Kodak picture kiosks. Eventually Susan got to know me and what I do, genuinely smiling whenever she saw me coming.  

“I like your butterfly house.”

“Yup. Parents say kids are excited to come to school to check on the caterpillars.”

Then came the three-year pandemic and online classes, and I didn’t have any photos to print. Once back in the classroom later, I was also back to taking pictures for my bulletin board. I was excited to see Susan again, easily recognizable from afar with her tall and slim figure, a bit hunched over, and short blond curls. Back in Walmart, however, another lady was in the Centre, so I asked about Susan.

“She retired last year.”  

“Oh! I see…”

For a while, I was afraid to hear something like “She passed away last week. Heart attack.” This was when I inquired about Gail, the gas station attendant I saw every Saturday morning on my way to do volunteer work at a senior home. Her wavy blond hair loosely tied in a bun and her eyes lined with black eyeliner, she’d greet me with “Hi, Sweetie, how’s your day going?” When she learned what I do for a living, she told me about her daughter who was also a teacher. She was a proud mother and grandmother. Some years back in my alma mater, when I inquired about Sylvia, a librarian I roomed with in college, the staff fell silent for a moment until one found the courage to respond. “Didn’t you know? Her dormitory got burned. She went back into the building to get something. We’re so sorry about what happened to your friend.” Then I lingered for a while, reminiscing the many times I visited, seeing the huge smile on her face, hearing her voice shouting my name in great excitement. Yes, that was my ever-gleeful dear friend Sylvia.

I lingered for a while, pretending to look at the display of cameras and accessories, wondering what Susan might be doing now that she’s not printing and packing photos… MLJ/2022  

What does capital punishment solve?