ANGEL THOUGHTS

“If there is righteousness in every heart There will be beauty in every character. If there is beauty in every character There will be harmony in every home. If there is harmony in every home, There will be order in every nation. If there is order in every nation, There will be peace throughout the world.”

- Lao-tse

First off, from across the miles, I blow a kiss for my grandson Ramon Julian or "Monchu" on his 8th birthday. He was excited, according to his dad, Junie, about celebrating at his Day Care with a cake and a piñata filled with goodies.

This grandma (and his other grandma, Cora Barte) is crazy about him and during the almost two months I stayed in Vancouver, I think I brought him a strong sense of family. He got to know my classmates who came to visit from San Fancisco and they quickly became his Lola Rito and Lola Ofelia! That gave him three lolas!

With Monchu and me enjoying bonding time, I had this sense of security and comfort that his lolo Sonny was still taking care of us from "up there."

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Now, tomorrow’s Paquiao-De la Hoya face-off will hopefully bring a temporary ceasefire in Mindanao and in the political arena for a few hours.

Each time Manny Paquiao (even if this time it's not for a title but is strictly for the fat purse) the People’s Champ, fights, crime rates drop as criminals stay glued to free TV in public places. Such is Manny’s charisma with the people, from the Palace to the slums, from plush country clubs to beer gardens. We will be, at least for the fight’s duration, one nation, united in prayer that the Champ triumphs. Even non-boxing fans are keenly interested in every Paquiao fight, right? It would seem downright unpatriotic not to be.

(Let’s hope Manny repays the passion his countrymen have for him by putting his hard-earned purse money in social projects which can uplift the poor around him and not waste it on trivial pursuits and whims like running for public office.)

He enters the ring "dejado," meaning, Manny is the underdog to the popular Hoya, dubbed "Golden Boy" for his pugilistic skills and who is taller and so has a greater arm’s reach. Of course, Manny has his own killer punch and has been training very hard, so he goes into the ring carrying the hopes of the entire nation and his fans around the world.

My dear friend, ex-Olympian boxer, now publisher in Vancouver Rey Fortaleza, who watches all of Manny’s fights, said that he wishes him well, but that he shouldn’t take anything for granted in this "dream match."

The ringside will be full of Filipinos who have been supportive of Manny throughout his career like DENR secretary Lito Atienza, Deputy National Security Adviser Chavit Singson, Speaker Prospero Nograles and others. They all feel they are the "lucky charms" of Manny and must be at the ringside, so who are we to frustrate them? Just hope they traveled on their own funds and not with the people’s taxes.

It’s interesting to note that his wife Jinkee will content herself with watching the fight from their suite as she is eight months on the way and Manny fears she might go into labor in the excitement of the fight!

Well, we add our own well-wishes and prayers for his victory and safety!

By the way, the Bantay Matanda headed by Adele Joaquin will hold its monthly seminar at the Janssen Hall at the Christ the King Seminary in Quezon City on December l3 from 8 a.m. to 12 noon.

The topic is "How to Care for Patients with Behavioral Problems" and the speaker is Alfredo Torres OTRP, an occupational therapist. The seminar is open to everyone.