Happy, Gay and Successful

(This column appears in today's edition of the Leyte-Samar Daily Express)

Hi there! It’s another weekend. Surely in a few days’ time, the whole country will be “united” and “at peace” once again as they get glued on TV to watch Manny on the ring. Ahh, such an irony, it takes a bloody sport to “unite” the Filipinos. On the other hand, it’s not how Manny will fare in the fight that I am excited about, it’s on who will sing the Lupang Hinirang and what flimflam will that performer do this time.

At last, the country was given a respite from the onslaught of typhoons. And I think it’s working, I mean during a talk show at the height (literally and figuratively) of the flooding, somebody made an appeal on TV, calling the authorities, officials and all concerned to observe a moratorium on the blame game. Hmm, they must have heeded that call, or it’s just that I have not watched or read the news lately.

Talking about typhoons. The floods came and went. I’m wondering if the legislators will call for an investigation (should we count in the one on the dams in Luzon?); or if some priests will blame politicians for yes, the floods?

It’s a known fact that the Philippines is a record holder when it comes to the number of typhoon visitations (oops, sorry for the term). So what about it? Wala lang. In the States, when a hurricane warning is raised, you see CNN and other news networks report about people evacuating. No need to mention what happens in the land of Juan de la Cruz, well at least until Ondoy. On the other hand, I agree with what one Dr. Arcilla said on TV. It’s a sociological question, I mean the issue on people living in areas which are considered “doormats” of typhoons.

So, the recent flooding and the havoc it wrought, was it an act of God? I don’t think so, act of man is more like it.

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Tomorrow is Alay-Lakad day for Calbayog. This yearly activity is being spearheaded by the City Government thru the City Social Welfare and Development Office. Other private agencies involved in the preparations are SOS Children Village Calbayog and Bugto Association. This yearly event is being to raise fund for projects for the out-of-school youth of Calbayog.

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Also tomorrow, the City of Calbayog will be giving out certificates of commendation to Calbayog PNP Chief PSupt Lito Bigoy and seven Police Officers who members of PNP Calbayog TRACKER Team namely, PO1 Bernadine Valenzuela, SP04 Edgardo Advincula, PO3 Charles Copada, PO1 Ricson Paghunasan, PO1 Maximo Repol, PO1 Marvin Rosco and PO1 Kim Santiago. The team will be cited for their “exemplary performance and invaluable support which greatly contributed to the immediate apprehension of the suspects and solution of a robbery incident last November 1, 2009 in Brgy. Balud”. The awarding of the citations will be part of the Alay-Lakad program which will be held at the Calbayog City Sports Complex grounds.

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And what’s with today’s title? I already had it in one of my columns a few years ago. And it’s the same line that came to mind after watching a segment of that popular Sunday variety show on TV. It was the first time I was able to catch a production in the said show.

It was that portion where the mega-star sang “Aray” and on the side there was the comedian Chocolate making pa-sweet tweetums with a male hunk. No need to elaborate the message or storyline there. Anyway, to make it short it was a story of smile and tears for the bading. Meaning, the bading did have some “happy” moments with the hunk, at what price? No need to elaborate on that. But in the end, that bading becomes a second class citizen and had to be “thrown away” by the hunk because he had a girlfriend to attend to. Moral of the story? On top of being poked fun at, gays are always on the losing end. Question: does it always have to be that way? Your guess is as good as mine. But please did I mention the word successful in today’s title?

It’s ironic, gays are called just that gays, when it’s not a totally happy life. Yes, relations give joy or at least some moments when you think life is truly exciting. But at the end of the day, or at least on Christmas, Valentines and other important events, more often than not, it’s a case of being by yourself, feeling lonely (not necessarily alone) and oftentimes, crying in rivers. But hey, it’s the coping mechanism (which many people do not see) that makes gay life, well, gay.

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This is it for now. Have a nice weekend everyone! Ciao!