Our anniversary was yesterday. We didn't celebrate. Our plans to do so had to change. And at night, we were both too tired to run up the flag.
Emelie is out front washing the motorcycle with shampoo, in
the pouring rain. Me and Shane and the boys are listening to Frank Zappa belt
out “Dirty Love” on the cheap little radio that accepts my flashdrive.
A lot has happened in the past half year. We’re living in
our nearly-complete nipa house, made of wood, cement block and bamboo matting
over plywood, with a nipa (thatch) roof. Nipa is from the sac sac plant. Looks like palm
fronds and is held in place with heavy, nylon fishing line, tied to the bamboo
strips that are nailed to roof beams.
When I left for Ohio
back in February, only the footing was done. I got back last month and Emelie
and the troop had already moved in. She had acquired one dog and one boy since
I left. Joseph is Clyde’s best friend and 2 years younger, at 15. He came down from the hill behind us, for a temporary
stay. Without an exit date, it’s hard to know the length of ‘temporary’.
Anyhow, I like him and Clyde is happy to have
him living with us. I’m hoping he rubs off on Clyde
just a little. Clyde’s nature is a little
loose and carefree. He does just enough to keep himself afloat at school and
his chores are often “forgotten”. Joseph has self-discipline aplenty. He gets
up early and busies himself immediately with chores: washes the few dishes from
the night before; goes home to feed his chickens; washes his clothes and keeps
up that pace until leaving for school.
On the other hand, it’s probably good for him to be
influenced by Clyde’s wild side. I was that
age once. Kids need room to stretch their imaginations and test the limits, as
long as they stay safe and out of jail. I’m a firm believer in questioning
authority and taking risks that occasionally might lead one outside the box of
societal norms. It’s a good exercise to go against the grain once in a while
and experience the consequences, when doing so is in the interest of staying
true to oneself.
However, for the sake of having a smooth-running household and
to instill, in Clyde (hopefully), a sense of responsibility to our extended family, I made
a list of Clyde’s duties and made it clear
that his ability to stay with us is primarily dependent on carrying out his
duties, without reminders. He’s back on track and a real pleasure to live with.
I’m glad he is with us.
When I was growing up, our family had occasions when we
would laugh and sing and dance together - laugh at each other’s foolishness
until our sides ached. We’d rest up and start again. It was a strong part of
the glue that held us together, in a very healthy way. I guess I never gave
much importance to it at the time, and only realize how good it was for us, in
retrospect.
It’s a daily exercise with Emelie and Shane and me. We tickle and laugh and
kiss and hug and tease each other from the moment we wake up. Shane got caught
up in this ritual at an early age and often takes the lead. It truly sets the
tone for our day and our lives together.
I forgot to mention the dog, When I first laid eyes on him,
he was laying on the porch recuperating from the many bites on his face and
back that resulted from a scrap with another dog or dogs. Today he got hit by a
tricycle-taxi. He survived and has been resting up the last few hours. His
wounds haven’t prevented him from sitting patiently while Shane hugs him like a
wrestler and ties him up with a strap. Toytoy was the dog of Limwel, our friend
and one of the guys who helped build our new house. Toytoy followed his master
to work every day and hung around after Limwel went home. Emelie, who
admonished me once or twice in the past not to feed dogs who don’t belong to
us, started doing exactly that.
The boys and I separated the motor scooter from the side-car
yesterday. It’s the time of year to make the 190 kilometer round-trip to Car Car, a
suburb of Cebu City, to register our scooter. It is a
beautiful drive traveling north along the coast and then through the mountains
as we cross the province from west to east. It takes us between 3 and 4 hours
of driving each way.
Vehicle registration is a good example of how the Philippine
government flips the bird to its people. There are only two places to register
in this province. One is in Cebu
City and the other is
just a short distance away from the first, in Car Car. Most of the people who
own motorcycles use them daily as part of their business of transporting people
and goods to and from their homes in the mountains. Profits are very slim and
competition is great. It's a meager way to scratch out a living. The price of gas is
very high, even though we are located much closer to the oil-rich suppliers
than those who live in the United
States.
The price of traveling to the registration office is more
than a day’s wages for those who live a long way from the cities. Consequently,
most guys who depend on their bikes for a living, don’t bother to register, but
they run the risk of having their vehicles confiscated at a random road check, a
“checkpoint”. (Most of them also lack driver's licenses, for the same reasons.)
The Land Transportation Office is cluttered with confiscated
vehicles which they auction off to the public. This is a very lucrative
business for the government, but unfortunately, only a misdemeanor crime
compared to the many other ways the government robs from the poor to maintain
the "high life" living styles of the rich families who own and run the country for their
profit. The poor who are raped
by this system are mostly complacent and grateful for the pittance the
government sends them in the form of social welfare programs that do absolutely
nothing to improve the overall lot of the people. Okay, I put away the soap box, for now.
