Come out for happiness. These were the words Cha Roque, a lesbian mom and video production professor, chose to convey her enthusiasm in a photo she submitted in support of the “Come Out for Love: Kasi Pag-ibig Pa Rin” campaign of this year’s Metro Manila Pride 20th anniversary celebration.
I knew Ana Alejandrino only from a distance. So why has her passing bereaved me so? Because I’ve lost my chance to discover her radiant spirit as only an intimate can.
You know what they say about being on the outside looking in? That was how I used to report on breast cancer and one of its most well-known organizations of survivors, the nonstock, nonprofit ICanServe Foundation, Inc.
I had to smile when I saw the joyful brouhaha made in the press over the marriage of 75-year-old lawyer King Rodrigo to 69-year-old actress Boots Anson-Roa. Similar goodwill and cheer met the press announcement of the engagement of actress Zsa Zsa Padilla and architect Conrad Onglao, both in their 50s. There was also much joy in the States last week when, after 15 years of widowhood, 57-year-old much-admired TV journalist Katie Couric married 51-year-old financier John Molner.
We’ve never seen the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena that full last Sunday—an estimated 20,000 people in a party mood for an unusual occasion: National Teachers’ Month, as President Benigno Aquino III had declared, which started Sept. 5 and culminated on Oct. 5.
Once, on my way to the house of Pipang Quema-de los Reyes in San Juan for our weekly mahjong (our brain workout) session, I noticed the presence of many pawnshops on the major streets of that town. The words “Bahay Sanglaan” were sufficient to push my memory way, way back.
Visual arts mover Annie Sarthou called it serendipity. I happened to be near the place where National Artist (Visual Arts) BenCab was giving the soon-to-open Swatch + Swatch Center a once-over, at the invitation of Virgie Ramos.
This Sunday’s Gospel ends with a very familiar statement, “Many are invited, but few are chosen.” This was often told to us in our early years in the seminary, the grace of vocation, the call to the priesthood.
“I’m diabetic,” says Chona, refusing dessert. While I do admire her straightforwardness, I wonder why I myself couldn’t quite come to terms with my own condition. I know I’m close, possibly even on the verge, but like many people I know, I’m not conceding to a condition graver than borderline diabetes.
Traditionally, it is believed that standardized intelligence tests measure intelligence accurately and meaningfully, but according to Howard Gardner, Hobbs professor of education and cognition at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, intelligence is more complex than that.
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