Saturday, June 13, 2015

A Thousand Summers (Episode 13)



Saturday Evening Posts
June 13-19 Edition

A Thousand Summers

Episode 13

Our RORO bus entered the mystical province of Quezon. I saw a poignant scene of an elderly man walking up to a small house on a hill, his dog following him. That was in Candelaria, home of the world-famous lambanog, the Filipino liquor made from coconut.

There was a woman reading in a bamboo terrace, like those in Zamboanga, built on stilts over a clear, flowing river in Atimonan. I was mesmerized as we came to Gumaca, the stars were so alive; it's like being in outer space. By the time I was in Lopez,

I already had four friends monitoring my trip through text messages; that's also a metaphor for a greater reality.

I only realized I've fallen asleep when I woke up, exhausted. I looked out the window. There was no dramatic entrance, no sense of arrival, but finally I was in Bicol.

From Sorsogon, our bus boarded the inter-island cargo ferry.

To Be Continued Next Saturday


Jonathan Aquino's Journals

March 20, 2015, Friday

I got together with some of my friends from my previous job for breakfast yesterday. We went to a restaurant called Ekit's in Mabolo district in Cebu.

There was an enlarged and framed copy of a Manila Bulletin food column on the entrance praising its pork pochero which really is delicious beyond compare. 

I'd rather be a Buddhist monk, even as I joked that I'm such a useless vegetarian, that a manager in my new office shindig which starts next week.  What I really want is to be a Jedi. 

It is nearly midnight as I write this and I just finished reading another Star Wars novel which I bought earlier around six in the evening. My two-month self-imposed vacation is coming to an end. I'm beginning a new episode in my semi-charmed kind of life.

The Jedi Master Luke Skywalker "walked down the steps with a gliding stride," says Anderson, "quickly enough that the others would not lose patience, but with enough grace to imply his own strength of character." 

Star Wars
The Top 10 Star Wars Moments




3 comments:

Jonathan Aquino said...

I made my way to my rented room carrying my usual steamed rice breakfast, side stepping the mud puddles from the rain last night. A blue sky is being born on the gray dome of the earth. I realized that my early morning walks from the office has become a form of meditation and prayer ~ Diaries, June 9, 2015, Tuesday

Jonathan Aquino said...

One moment I was in my workstation and the next I was gone. I quickly got out of the office at my shift's end at four in the morning on the dot. But I was not rushing. The paradox was my awareness of my every action. I glided smoothly as my breath drew in the prana in the and into the solar plexus. ~ Diaries, June 11, 2015, Thursday

Jonathan Aquino said...

I stood under the large tree as birds began to sing to welcome the dawn. I smiled up at the little sparrows flitting from branch. It was a fine moment. It had been raining earlier, but I was on dry concrete, looking at the glistening pavement. I cradled my take-out breakfast, munching on hot french fries while waiting for a ride. ~ Gratitude Journals, June 8, 2015, Monday