|
Contributed by: Glo Abaeo Tuazon
e-mail:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The whale just about emerged from the depths and swam above water, giving observers a few moments to glimpse the shy mass of hulking beauty. Then dove back down with that shrill cry only those like him could understand. Living a serene life underwater, the creature takes with him the mysteries of the depths.
A man sits in front of me, and talks about his life, about himself. A man known to most, yet unknown to them in so many ways. The soft spoken man smiles and smirks in the tiniest show of emotion that in a way can only be read by those closest to him. He says he is very friendly and I agree to that, no vestige of unfounded pride nor reclusive superiority. Just plain, real honesty that screams boldly in black.
A whale is a whale, same way as a man is a man, but I perceive the man to be almost as reclusively beautiful like the whale. He once said he preferred to be a shark, because it signifies more starkness and ferocity. Yet I cannot see him that way. Sharks are misunderstood creatures, yet by nature are still ferocious and wild mannered. They attack in miscalculated assumptions of threat too. I don’t see this man in front of me like a shark, so I christened him a whale. The gentleness he exudes I credit at par with that “massive, lumbering mammal” he does not want to be compared with. In all angles the man called Ted is not so massive, nor a lumbering, slow mammal. I compare him to that in ways that no one would. Gentle, sometimes the silence and love of “aloneness” a misunderstood issue leading to misunderstood impressions.
So the journey of the whale from the depths to surface began. It was about that time he was in high school that he realized he needed to go back to his Dad’s hometown, having lived most of his life till then in a big city called Manila. He only had a few trips to that provencal place during vacations yet something odd struck him in the complexity of city life that pushed him to go back “home”. It was an intrepid choice, young and untrained in the simple, rugged ways of old. But he stayed and later after college decided to stay there some more. He took on some jobs, once became a journalist too, at the same time an environmentalist and human rights advocate. Then he was unstoppable from that time on.
He tested the waters and run for a post as a councillor, and the lanky Ted that people first got to see and knew soon became a toast in most circles around Kiangan, Ifugao. Having had a chance to talk to one of his teachers in high school, she spoke of a reclusive teen, by far the tallest in their class and a “stranger” in the area. He used to tote a big backpack and would often stay at the back seats. In the mellee of the daily teen activities, he was all but a quiet lad. It was only later the teacher discovered he was not listening much, too busy reading all those pocket books kept in that mysterious big back pack. She could not say much, the fact that inspite of the uncooperative listening skills, Ted still excelled, a lot better than most who listened intently.
After the stint as a councillor he eventually became the Mayor, backed by visions of idealistic simplicity and good governance, something he still observes to this day. The trek to the top was not easy though. Finally getting the post of Governor, he showed the people that inspite of hard times and modernization, the place and the people can still be as good as they can get. He does not preach, Ted can be religious but not as religiously pious to become that. But he believes in the goodness of people, and the sanctity of clean living. Like the idealist that he is, he started cleaning Ifugao in ways no one ever did, earning him some ires from a lot of entities who used to benefit from those. Standing up against illegal gambling and prostitution he scoured the area with his men inspite of protests. That to me taught Ifugao a few lessons. And the past election shows people of the province to have grown, becoming “thinking voters” at that.
For now, leaving Ifugao to go back to Manila as their representative is a task he considers daunting but exciting in a way. Because now he has the ability not only to impose laws made by others but also has the voice to make one. He still would be working for the things he used to push for when he was a governor, women’s rights and reproductive health, cultural preservation and environmental protection, just that now he has to do them in a much different way. To make laws that these would be protected, in the same way that he could work for the funding of their implementation too. These he says are part of his political life, his political side.
As himself Ted is one of the simplest persons one can ever befriend. And he is a very loyal friend, caring and very committed too though admittedly he tends to have his lazy moments, and when lazy comes to really being lazy, he can be that. So many words to describe a single man, and sometimes first impressions do change, to better assumptions or vice versa. There is nothing really consistent except inconsistencies he says. By far to have known and befriend the man made me realize the gargantuan extent of responsibilities on his head and how coolly he depicts himself to exert effort and handle them all.
If not a politician he often fantisizes of guitars and a rock band, to play it out in all abandon. He may not have a really good voice but to play the instruments is as satisfying. Or he could be an athlete, a famous one. He tried to be a jack of all trades in athletics yet never really excelled too much on one. Realistically though, he would rather be back as a journalist if he was not a poll. Public service has always hounded his thoughts and he could do as much in this profession.
In all toughness and in his private silences, the man is a gentle soul. Like Lynus in the serialized cartoon series “Charlie Brown” finding comfort from a security blanket, Ted holds on to a pillow he has had since he was a teen. The soft, warm comfort of it providing the much needed rest from the woes of the world. That makes him human, like all of us too.
And the water person dunks back into the pool of life, as he usually does during the rare few moments of privacy. He swims his heart out, or goes his way and snorkels the depths to dance with the jellyfishes bellow. To come out and pass sunsets with the albatross..
The lanky kid called Ted is now back in the waters. Like a lumbering whale singing the song of the depths, he goes back to the place from where he first felt that urge to change. Deeper into the murky, mysterious place of dreams where one can make a break or be broken.
- co (07/19/2010)
|
