Today is Good Friday. Day of Crucifixion, Death and Burial of Jesus Christ by His true friend, Joseph Arimathea. Why true friend? Because even though he was just a quiet follower of Jesus, unlike the other apostles who abandoned Him, he had the guts to ask for His Body from the authorities and gave It a decent and proper burial. Today also commemorates the suicide of Judas, the traitor friend whose 30 pieces of silver, tax exempt, I guessed since it was done clandestinely were used to buy a piece of land converted to potter's field.Kahit noon, Tuwid na Daan was just a myth. It is known to be Akeldama. In the passage of time, the truth in the story was buried since several groups laid a claim on it. Pati COA, nakikisawsaw, gustong imbestigahan. A monastery built by Greek Orthodox Church can be found in that area where sepulchres abound and lots of skeletons were removed. Sa karamihan, the Ghost International investigating about paranormal could not pinpoint where the ghosts are coming from.
This is the day when kids like me at that time would suddenly break a- 30 mph run going out the house past the sleeping old folk in a tumba-tumba to tiptoe when scolded that GOD is dead after three o clock. Sshhhh.
Here in the US, Good Friday is not a holiday. May pasok except for Filipino-owned enterprises which allowed the employees to take a vacation starting Maundy Thursday.Very Christian, sagad ka naman pag hindi Holy Week. Walang overtime, one to sawa. Hypocrites di ba?
For my non-Filipino employers, there was only one day of the year that I requested to allow me to have a personal vacation--that is Good Friday. Since I did not get sick at that time, got zero absences and negligible tardiness, they gave in to the request. My friends would tease me that I was recharging my superpower every Good Friday when I told them, I was not picking up the phone. For goodness sakes, isang araw naman magfafasting ako sa tsismis. noh. Burp. Acshually, shinashampoo ko ang puting balahibo ng aking pakpak. Ahem.
During my first years of first marriage, we used to go home to the province in Maundy Thursday, traveled for six hours and arrived at the province exhausted. What with the " makipaghabulan ka sa bus?"para makasakay ka. Kung nagpatuloy pa rin ang ganoong situation, baka naging Olympic champion ako sa takbuhan . Wala pa akong kotse noon. The next morning, I spent the whole day, Good Friday, sleeping, totally wiped out. Umuwi lang para matulog. *heh*
Saturday was a chow day. Reunion day. The relatives would catch frogs (Yes, my dear solon, frog is a delicacy. It is expensive in five-star hotels when served as fried frog legs.
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To provide the soup for that heavy meal, a part of the frogs were cooked tinola-style. Para bang nagshrink ang manok, nano-size. Yum, sarap. Merong pinapaitan, ( they already ate meat during Sabado de Gloria) grilled bangus with tomatoes in its belly and rice cooked in palayok. No dining table. You got to sit down in the kawayan flooring of the house with windows that were never closed. Wala namang magnanakaw.Bago matapos ang kainan, halos buong barrio, nakikikain. Doon ako natuto ng kaing militar. Kain ng kain kung hindi walang matitira saiyo.
Afternoon would be spent meeting the relatives who came bearing pasalubong mostly farm produce...newly-harvested tomatoes, bitter gourd, okra, eggplant and native delicacies. Imagine dala-dala mo ito pagbalik mo sa City. Minsan, gumugulong sa bus ang kamatis. hahaha. They gawked at me since I was the only "foreigner" who was mixed in the clan. And I was barely out of college. Now, times have changed. The windows are locked, so are doors, there is internet in the barrio, flat screen TV and people have come and gone to Saudi. The children are in school and frogs are no longer caught during the night when they cried, ribitt, ribbit. The relatives (they're still my relatives by affinity, aren't they) just bought them from the public market, bundled and ready for sale. My favorite Filipino FIL succumbed to cancer, what with all those natural and healthfoods around, I least expected it. There was not much stress either. He was very patient and a very good man. In fact, I had never seen him got angry. When apos were pasaway, he would just say, tssk tssssk. He had no vice. While other male relatives' coffee early morning was a white liquid in a lapad bottle, his was tea.
After the morning mass, the trip going back to the city was another tiring ordeal that by the time we reached Manila, I was ready to crush my pillows. Monday would be another day. Back to the salt mines.
Pinaysaamerika
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