I COULDN’T STILL see straight and decided to miss the flag-raising ceremony last Thursday, the start of a series of activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of BF Homes as a community, with love and unity as the ties that kept them one and whole in heart and soul through the years (let alone the dreadful pandemic phase). Heavy of heart, I consoled myself with the program prepared by my esteemed General Edong, he who has been headstrong and determined in engendering the communitarian spirit in the heart of the village. I convinced myself I was better off keeping track of the proceedings from home than groping my cross-eyed way among the throng that responded to his call.
The pictures gave me immense joy, in particular the ones where the PNP band played the marching hymns my little boy of long ago loved and marched to during our yearly town fiesta. Seeing the flag raised to the tune of “Lupang Hinirang” made my chest thump and me thankful I wasn’t actually there or I would have shed something as liquid as the moment. And forever, I prayed, that flagpole stands. A legacy already, should nothing as monumental follow suit. I Amened on the viber chat site.
Kuya Noel represented me in our triune (GenDong’s, his, and my) effort to push the Newsletter, SINAG, to fruition, in time for the milestone. It was a relaunch of the BF Homes Bulletin of sorts, signaling the end of a long advisory absence. I saw the fresh newsletters neatly arrayed on a table while GenDong primed the people to stand at attention before the Board’s banner and the Philippine flag. It must’ve been an awesome sight, the ascent of the red-white-and-blue to the beautiful accompaniment of the marching PNP band.
(Later, Fr. Abe’s news about my name being mentioned by my partners in prayer was comforting to carry in my guilty, truant heart. Served me right for missing history in the making.)
The error of commission behind me, I picked up the resolve to join the jamming of the young musicians the night after, or else I would have very little to write about. The jamming replaced the STG Concert proposed by GenDong probably because the sound, team, and goal components of the acronym did not strike the board as a lucrative fund-raiser. So the homegrown, albeit elderly, music ministry of BF Homes took a backseat to an amateur singing contest, which included imported contestants from outside BF. I wanted to hear my son Lex, who thought that he could lend his participative voice to the project, and I was not disappointed that he gave it his best. (I give equal credit to his friend Raimond, and Style, the son of PREX friends, who has become a surprising (small) crowd drawer, earnest in his contemporary charm and groupie genre, defying both Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth in a fangirl worthy finale. Although I had to suffer the bingo that preceded the amateur night. It was all I could do not to cringe at crowd warmer Rizza’s brave attempt to enliven the tired support of the card game. And when it was finally over, and the enthusiasts dispersed, all that was left in the covered court were a scattering of bazaar vendors and families and friends (of the board and the performers). The bingo was attended by the card holders only because of the reason as trite as the game, fast buck. You’d think, after being cooped-up by the crisis, the organizers would by now have thought up brighter ideas to mark a golden milestone as a cut above the yearly fund-raiser. It wasn’t enough to bandy bingo as a crowd-drawer (it was not) but they had to hire a pair of provocative entertainers to spice up the lackadaisical contest.
Towards the contest end, GenDong went up on stage to deliver a song (The Nearness of You) and a message (the distance of his fellow board members). While the accompanists searched for the sheet for his piece, the board members joined him onstage for the obligatory photo op and an attempt to sing along but they did not know the song so had to leave him.
Rodel was already all over the place shooting his epic pictures, filling up our glasses with Bignay, and piling up on the table pica-pica off Bing’s and Anton’s food stall. In-between his volunteered photographic task, he heeded GedDong’s instruction to pull me out of my chair and join their photo op near the stage. That was a sign that he and I were hoping to see. The focus on the night’s camaraderie. Having been blessed by a paradigm shift, I recalled Lex’s parting shot not to binge (on even mild Bignay) and begged GenDong’s leave to head home.
The Sunday community dinner was graced by Fr. Roberto Custodio’s presence and prayer. Emcees were returning Rizza and Director Dino (whose script took too long to qualify as a repartee) I wondered how the Philippine Navy Band contained its ennui. Board President Atty. Melise was in standard green, her usual composed self, but seemed held back, appreciated the groups who kept the community spirit alive during the pandemic, which the emcees echoed. I appreciated the part where they pointed out the neighborly spirit that included concern for stray dogs, were it not for a bitter taste of the guard that called our attention twice to the noise our gate repair was causing the kasambahay across our street enough to goad her employer to complain to security about it. I was almost certain it wasn’t the kind of neighborliness they were agreeing on. Especially since the repair on one of the emcees’ house is ongoing and we do not mind the racket it is causing.
Back to being communitarian, it consoles to realize that Atty. Melise appreciates my thoughts on the conduct of the golden jubilee and will keep them in mind when planning for future events. The showcased talents were there, she said, precisely to encourage more in the future which is why they did not limit the performers to a specific group. They wanted the exercise to encourage anyone interested to feel welcome.
It is a heartening insight to carry, look forward to, and incorporate in the preparation of the Jubilee Coffee Table Book. More equipped than ever with God-centeredness and the Board’s cooperation, there will no longer be any reason not to soldier on.
Amen.
Photo credit – Rodel Recio, BFQC HOA Photographer Extraordinaire
and Noel Tamase, Spiritual Wellness Ministry Coordinator
