Be inspired.. sad story

Ever since it was diagnosed that I am having a posible heart enlargement
in the last APE, I have exerted more effort to do physical exercises.

I do jogging during week days and do long - ride mountain biking every
Sunday.

But this Sunday is a special Sunday to me. While I was on my way to the
mountains of Busay (cebu)hoping to strengtened my heart by this
exercise, instead, I personally encountered a heart-breaking scene that
changed me.

I already passed the Marco Polo Plaza ( formerly Cebu Plaza Hotel) when
I decided to stop to buy bananas at a small carenderia located along the
road. I haven't taken any solid food that morning so I need fruits to
have the needed energy to get to my destination - the mountain top.

I amalmost done eating with the second banana when I noticed two
children across the street busily searching the garbage area.
"Basureros" I said to myself and quickly turn my attention away from
them to sip a small amount of water. I cared less for these kind of
children actually; to make it straight, I do not like them, and I do not
trust them evenmore.

You see, several times I have been a victim to these kind of children
who are pretending to be basureros looking for empty bottles and cans
when in fact the 'plangganas', 'kalderos', and 'hinayhays' are their
favorites.

I remember one afternoon while I was watching a Mike Tyson fight when I
noticed that the TV screen suddenly became blurred. I checked outside
and saw two young basureros running away with my newly installed
antenna.

Hatred may be a little bit stronger word to describe my feeling towards
these basureros, but I do not like them honestly not till I met these
three children.


I was about to embark on my bike again when I heard one of the two
children, a girl of about 7 or 8 of age saying aloud to the other , a
12-yr old boy , " kuya si dodong kuha-a kay nag-sige'g tan-aw sa mga
nagkaon, mauwaw ta" (kuya si dodong kunin mo kasi tumitingin sa mga
kumain, nakakahiya), only then that I noticed a small boy standing near
to me biting slightly his finger. He's a few inches shorter if compared
to my 5 years old son ( but I knew later that he's also 5 yrs. Old).
Though he
did not asked for food to anyone in the carenderia, the way he looked at
the customers who were eating , enough to convinced me that he intensely
craving for it. The older boy then quickly crossed the street and gently
pulled out the little one who politely obeyed. As I watched the two
crossing back the street to the garbage area, I heard the tindera saying
" Lo-oy kaayo nang mga bataa uy, mga buotan ra ba na" (kawawa naman yung
mga batang yun mababait pa naman). I learned further from the carenderia
owner that the children are from a good family , both parents were
working before , and that their father got a stroke 3 years ago and
became partially paralized and their mother died of heart attack while
their father was still confined at the hospital. The parents were still
in their early forties when the catastrophe happened , and the children
became basureros since then to meet their daily needs and for their
father's medication.

Deeply moved by what I heard, I went to a nearby bakery and bought 20
pesos worth of bread and gave it to the children who initially refused
including the little boy. " Sige lang noy, salamat na lang,magpalit lang
nya mi kung mahalinan na mi" (sige lang po, salamat na lang,bibili na
lang po kami mamaya kung makabenta na kami) the young girl said to me.

I explained that they need to go home because it started to rain . "
Naanad na man mi ani " (nasanay na po kami)the girl answered again.

Again, I explained that the rain can make them sick and if they'll
become

sick there's no one to take care of their father.
Upon mentioning their father,they nodded and acccept the bread but I
noticed that the older boy did not eat.

When I asked him if he does not like the kind of bread I bought for them
he smiled but as he's about to explain, the little girl, who is the more
talker of them interrupted, "Domingo man gud ron ,noy, basta Sabado ug
Domingo hapon ra siya mokaon kami ra ang mokaon ug pamahaw pero dili na
pod mi mokaon inig hapon,si kuya ra. Pero basta Lunes ngadto sa
Biyernes, kay klase man , si kuya ra sad ang seguro-on ug papamahaw,
kami hapon na sad mi moka-on Pero kung daghan mi ug halin mokaon mi
tanan." (Linggo po kasi ngayon,pag sabado at lingo hapon lang po sya
kumakain, kami lang po ang kumakain ng agahan pero di na po kami kakain
pagdating ng hapon si kuya lang po. Pero pag lunes hanggang biyernes,
kasi may pasok, si kuya lang po nag-aagahan,kami hapunan lang pero kung
marami kaming benta kami pong lahat (kumakain) she continued. "Ngano man
diay ug mokaon mong tanan, bahinon ninyo bisan ug unsa ka gamay?"
(bakit kung kumain kayong lahat,hati-hatiin nyo na lang kahit kunti lang
ang pagkain?) I countered.

The young girl reasoned out that their father wanted that her older
brother to come to school with full stomachs so he can easily catch up
the teacher's lessons. "Inig ka trabaho ni kuya mo undang na man mi ug
pamasura, first honor baya na siya " (pag nagkatrabaho si kuya, hihinto
kami sa pamamasura, first honor kasi sya) the little boy added proudly.

Maybe I was caught by surprise or I am just overly emotional that my
tears started to fall. I then quickly turned my back from them to hide
my tears and pretended to pick up my bike from the carenderia where I
left it.

I don't know how many seconds or minutes I spent just to compose myself;
pretending again this time that I was mending by bike.

Finally I get on to my bike and approached the three children to bid
goobye to them who in turn cast their grateful smiles at me. I then took
a good look at all of them specially to the small boy and pat his head
with a pinch in my heart. Though I believe that their positive look at
life can easily change their present situation, there is one thing that
they can never change; that is , their being motherless. That little boy
can no longer taste the sweet embrace, care, and most of all , the love
of his mother forever. Nobody can refill the empty gap created by that
sudden and untimely death of their mother. Every big events that will
happen to their lives will only remind them and make them wish of their
mother's presence.

I reached to my pocket and handed to them my last 100 peso bill which I
reserved for our department's bowling tournament. This time they refused
strongly but I jokingly said to the girl " sumbagon teka ron kung di
nimo dawaton" (suntukin kita dyan pag hindi mo tinanggap yan). She
smiled as she extended her hand to take the money. " Salamat noy
makapalit gyud me ron ug tambal ni papa " (salamat po, makakabili kami
nito ng gamot ni papa) she uttered. I then turned to the small boy and
though he's a few feet away from me, I still noticed that while his
right hand was holding the half - filled sack , his left hand was
holding a toy ? a worn out toy car. I waved my hands and said bye bye to
him as I drove towards the mountains again. Did he just found the toy in
the garbage area or the toy was originally his - when the misfortune did
not took place yet? - I did not bother to ask. But one thing is crystal
clear to me, that inspite of the boy's abnormal life,he did not given up
his childhood completely. I can sense it that way he hold and stare at
his toy.

My meeting with that young basureros made me poorer by 100 pesos. But
they changed me and made me more richer as to lessons of life are
concerned.

In them, I learned that life can changed suddenly and may caught me flat
footed. In them, I've learned that even the darkest side of life, cannot
change the beauty of one's heart. Those three children, who sometimes
cannot eat three times a day, still able to hold on to what they believe
was right. And what a contrast to most of us who are quick to point out
to our misfortunes when caught with our mistakes. In them, I've learned
to hope for things when things seem to go the other way.

It's All about loving

Amorous person act dim-witted in some ways

They lean to get over ahead of their emotion

But is it bad or good? Well you cannot understand

A person if you have not been into this situation

Others laugh at you, they say you’re crazy  

But I guess they don’t have any idea of what loving is all about

Defining Love:

Personally for me it’s unexplainable no definite form or actual motion

They come to you when you least expect it, when your too blind to see it

And when you’re not actually expecting it

Effects:

Good:  sometimes this brings so much bliss into your life

You can be a superman to someone or superwoman when you feel this

You can carry the whole world in your arms when you feel this

And even sometimes it’s okay to die when you feel this

Bad:  sometimes you over into this feeling you tend to falter

You drown in the sickness of mind and emotion

And sometimes you die without a funeral on this kind of situation

Who cares? : withstand we like or not it will come on our way with no exceptions

If it’s our time it is really our time to live with it, cry with it, laugh with it and even die with it

It’s okay to be crazy and stupid as long as you are happy, love to the fullest and rock on.

You choose...

Between Life and death

You must choose one

If you pick life you should be worthy on it

If you go for death make sure that you’re satisfied in dying

Life is just like this

We are born just to die later

When you are still alive make the most of it

Do good things and be a blessing to everyone

When you’re dead I am sure you will be in heaven

Nor you will be in Hell,that if this heaven and hell are true!

Well maybe I’m wrong I don’t know I wasn’t there yet.