I cannot remember what day it was, it has been decades ago; but I can clearly recall that eventful afternoon, our faces grimacing at the mid-afternoon sun, we held our bolos as we started to cut the grasses under the “kalubihan.” It was manualia period and everyone knows what manualia is. This is the once-a-week-nobody-likes-it chore. Each one was assigned an area to cut the grass. Myself, being an Abcede, number one in the alphabetical list, my area was always at the beginning or to be precise, at the edge of the field which is usually plenty of thorny touch-me-not grass and utot-utot vines. While I was busy attacking my assigned area, Theofanes Dumaluan, a.k.a, Jones (requescat in pace), was as busy hitting a coconut fruit with his lagaraw knife. He was in fact furious and saying invectives while hitting the coco fruit. Using his toes, he rolled the fruit in front of me and Raul Rulete saying “Rulets, imagine this is the head ni Padre.” And then, Jones took a stone as large as the size of the coconut, raised it over his head and smashed hard the fruit. The sight of the coconut was pitiful. “Nganong suko man ka kang Padre, Jones?” I asked.
Well, Jones’ father was working in Saudi Arabia as an Engineer. That particular manualia day, Papa Dumaluan was coming home from abroad. Of course, it was a big day for the Dumaluan Family and Jones asked for a permission from Padre to go home and to celebrate the coming-home of Papa Dumaluan. According to Jones, the fateful dialogue between him and Padre went this way: “Father may I go home today … “ and Padre replied “No. You can only go home on Sunday, but not today.” Jones insisted and struggled hard saying “But, Father, it is very important because my father arrives today from Saudi Arabia.” Pushing harder his luck, Jones continued “you see, Father, my Papa came from Saudi Arabia … Saudi Arabia, abroad, imagine?.” In his sarcastic brand coupled with a stoic smirk, Padre said “Jones, bisan pag gikan sa buwan ng imong tatay, dili ka mahimo mouli.”
Pity the coconut which was crushed into pieces by the sheer energy of angry Jones. RIP, Jones! (by McAbs Abcede)
