As part of my further "enjoying" an early retirement from the government service, I took time-out for 2 weeks at my hometown in Masaguisi in Oriental Mindoro from Feb. 16 to 25, 2011.
The usual serenity, slow, placid and easy life in Masaguisi remains, while the feeling of solitudes, that is the presence with mother nature, is still very evident – calm sea, lush mangrove mini-forest, cold breeze and the sounds of insects and chirping birds. A round in my rice farms usually bring me back to my boyhood memories, when I stayed there as my father’s farmhand.
Same old faces of the barrio folks mixed with the new faces of today’s generation abound in a community seemingly detached from the busy urban life; people with unique intonation in their language used, you can easily determine whether one is a native of Masaguisi through his twang and accent.
May be incidental, but this 10-day break in my far-flung hometown coincides with rare but important happenings : (1) Korean mission medical team with the guidance of ICCM president Pastor Arthur Santiago, conducted a day-long medical service in Masaguisi where over a hundred patients availed of the free services. (2) Another coincidence, our dear neighbour Mrs. Lilia Fernandez, who we fondly called Aling Lilia died in Manila hospital on the day of my arrival in Masaguisi (Feb. 16), whose children were my playmates of yesteryears. I was able to attend the nightly vigil for 5 consecutive nights, as their house was just a step away from our ancestral house.
Being one of the few highly educated (Ph.D holder) residence of Masaguisi, churchmates and old friends always invite me to speaking engagements, and whenever necessary, I accept such invitations. This time, I’ve got at least 4 speaking engagements – during the send-off fellowship for the Korean Medical Team on Feb. 17; during the Sunday worship service on Feb. 20, and twice during the week-long wake of my neighbour Aling Lilia, who is also a sister-in-Christ. I was also requested to recall and list-down names of my fellow graduates at Masaguisi Elem. School (MES), Class of 1967 (whew, good that my memory still serves me well). I guess it will be used as reference for the upcoming MES grand reunion on April 2-3, 2011.
My final day in Masaguisi was rather emotional and tear-jerking as Aling Lilia was put to her final rest. Typical of barrio funeral tradition, a crowd trooped to the chapel to pay their final respect to the beloved barriomate. Yet, I find the funeral program in the Church spiritually inspiring. Right after the Church service, her remains were moved to the nearby cemetery, the only one in the place.
People in Masaguisi just come and go. Soon, I’ll be one of its senior citizens, as I wish to stay there most of my retirement days. (JSF Blogs)
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