More Random Dump of 2006 Stuff -- Picture-perfect Scenes

I'm no Señor Enrique, who's always ready with his camera to snap a photo whenever he sees a compelling scene. I can only attempt with words to share whatever vision has graced mine eyes...

My return after five years to the Peñafrancia Fiesta was like a prodigal son of Bicol once again visiting his Mother. This mother-and-son theme were what binds the two moments I witnessed back then. I saw the first scene at the end of a pontifical mass in the honor of Inâ (that's how Bicolanos call Mama Mary). The bishop and his entourage of diocesan priests have left the altar save for one young priest. He was holding his cameraphone up, doing what every other person with a cameraphone or digicam was doing: taking a picture of Inâ enshrined at the foot of the Cross in the Naga Cathedral. Here was a showcase of how the latest technology has been integrated into an age-old Bicolano tradition.

The other scene in Bicol has a more secular and general appeal, but great nonetheless. It happened when I visited my brother and his wife's music studio cum home. My sister-in-law, by the way, was the music teacher. Tired from fiesta music engagements, she was taking a nap upstairs, so I interacted with my brother and his two children, both showing prodigious musical talent. (The mathematician in me also saw their talent in numbers when they demonstrated some mental arithmetic and when I gave each a P500 bill--I grinned ear-to-ear when they discussed how many 20s were there in 500. Too bad I couldn't be there to nurture it. Oh well, they can't have it all, a bromide said so.) A while later, the younger one went upstairs and started playing his violin. I also went upstairs and saw him playing to his mother who was probably half-awake by then but still laying on the sofa with her eyes closed. I watched inconspicuously, hoping to prolong this poignant vision of a son serenading his mother.

The third scene I want to share was during the first few days of darkness after the typhoon Milenyo. The night sky was still overcast with low cloud cover while I was walking home from work. The sound of a 737 taking off from NAIA made me look upwards. From my vantage point, I watched as it climbed seemingly straight up into the clouds. In doing so, I noticed a strange illumination effect its headlights were making on the wispy clouds. With the plane at the center, most of the light beam spread out downwards, bearing an appearance of a long white skirt or tunic. At the same time, the light illuminated an area emanating from both wings of the plane, appearing like white wings of a bird. Taken together, it was like the wings and clothing of an angel! I thought it was the one comforting sight for me in the aftermath of the typhoon.

Too bad for all cases, I cannot collect photographic evidence for sharing with others. I hope words can suffice.


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