RIZAL ( the abnormal )
I consider myself lucky that I took RIZAL as a requirement course. Through the course I learned so much about Rizal not only as our National Hero with statue at every municipality but more especially as another Filipino with extraordinary and unusual qualities.
At the end of the course we were required to submit an essay about Dr. Jose P. Rizal. There were so many subjects and topics to choose from. Many have already been written extensively by famous and infamous authors.
I tried to think of a topic not yet written about him and ended up writing about “Rizal, the Abnormal”. Yes, abnormal in the sense that he is so unusual and extraordinary, markedly different from the rest.
When we say it is abnormal to be an idiot, an imbecile or a moron we also say it is also abnormal to be a genius, for normality refers only to the inferior, the average and the superior mentality. Rizal is a super genius in almost all areas, with exceptional natural talent or creative intellectual ability from agriculture to medicine, to literature and the arts. He is a ‘super genius’ in a highly positive manner.
From early childhood he already showed abnormality as to be able to write a poem at the age of eight. He behaved ahead of his age and development.
As a young man he was linked to at least eleven (some say 23) women from Leonor Rivera to Josephine Bracken but he seemed unable to impregnate any of them presuming that Josephine Bracken was already pregnant when she came to the Philippines. Does it mean he was sterile in spite of some suggestions that he is the father of Adolf Hitler?
Furthermore, it is most unusual or “abnormal” to exhibit a normal pulse rate and possibly normal blood pressure in front of a Firing Squad before he was executed at Bagumbayan.
I do not mean to diminish the greatness of our National Hero. I am just looking at him from the point of view of a medical man that I am. In fact, I think our beloved country needs more unusual, exceptional and abnormal people like Jose P. Rizal to save our Motherland from the abnormal situation where it is now.
Happy Birthday Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal, our National Hero. Since you are the Father of our nation, let me greet you Happy Father’s Day too. From your normal Filipino height of five feet, two inches,you grew up to be the tallest Filipino to whom the whole world now looks up.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
FATHER'S DAY CONFUSION
FATHER’S DAY CONFUSION
The coming Sunday, June 19th is Father’s Day in the Philippines ( it is different dates in other countries) as well as the 150th Birthday of our Nation’s Father, Dr. Jose Rizal. I am reminded of a somehow memorable experience a few years ago.
That Sunday, the Parish Priest greeted all the churchgoing fathers, Happy Father’s Day! He even gave special blessings to all the fathers present whom the priest requested to stand up. There were more than a dozen of us who stood up for the blessing.
After the mass I was expecting some greetings at least from my wife and children who were all away from me that day. Came noontime and no greetings received. I felt so isolated that eventually turned to loneliness.
No greeter was felt till nighttime. Was it all I deserved after having been lucky enough to be specially blessed early in the morning? I was about to go to bed with a heavy heart but before doing so I decided to greet a father friend just in case no one greeted him too.
“Hope this is not too late, but Happy Father’s Day to you!”, I texted him. He replied quickly. “What too late are you saying? You are one week too early.
So, it turned out that because Mother’s day fell on the second Sunday of May, the Priest thought Father’s Day was second Sunday of June… and so the confusion that almost turned me suicidal.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Have an authentic record of important dates and send your greetings correctly.
The coming Sunday, June 19th is Father’s Day in the Philippines ( it is different dates in other countries) as well as the 150th Birthday of our Nation’s Father, Dr. Jose Rizal. I am reminded of a somehow memorable experience a few years ago.
That Sunday, the Parish Priest greeted all the churchgoing fathers, Happy Father’s Day! He even gave special blessings to all the fathers present whom the priest requested to stand up. There were more than a dozen of us who stood up for the blessing.
After the mass I was expecting some greetings at least from my wife and children who were all away from me that day. Came noontime and no greetings received. I felt so isolated that eventually turned to loneliness.
No greeter was felt till nighttime. Was it all I deserved after having been lucky enough to be specially blessed early in the morning? I was about to go to bed with a heavy heart but before doing so I decided to greet a father friend just in case no one greeted him too.
“Hope this is not too late, but Happy Father’s Day to you!”, I texted him. He replied quickly. “What too late are you saying? You are one week too early.
So, it turned out that because Mother’s day fell on the second Sunday of May, the Priest thought Father’s Day was second Sunday of June… and so the confusion that almost turned me suicidal.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Have an authentic record of important dates and send your greetings correctly.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
SENIOR MOMENTS
SENIOR MOMENTS
How long is a moment and how far can it go? The dictionary says a moment is a very brief space of time or simply an instant like what we usually consider a spur of the moment, But a moment could also be as long as the moment of great celebration like the momentous Edsa People’s Power Revolution
What is more interesting are the ’senior moments’ generally exhibited by, well, senior citizens… To begin with, senior moments mean many things. It is the time when a senior suddenly experience lapses of memory- when he is not sure whether he is coming or going. It is the moment when he forgets what he did a few minutes ago but remembers to the smallest detail what took place during the Japanese War.
It is interesting because it is the occasion when he starts looking for a comb or a key that he is tightly holding with his hands. It is even more interesting and entertaining when he buys something, forgets to pay then ask for the change.
Senior moments are significant inventories of what a person considers truly valuable to him like the experiences and people who are deeply imbedded in the deepest corners of his memories. Youngsters find this moment funny if not irritating.
Yes, senior moments are sometime useless pieces of information heard over and over again. But come to think of it, why are those moments surfacing every now and then? What makes an incident specially memorable while others are greatly insignificant? What happens to the mind of a senior citizen that makes it behave that way?
A moment is considered but an instant just like a flash of light or spark of anything but when referring to senior moments it could be a long story of epic proportion whether you are rich and influential person suffering from “Alsheimer’s Disease” are a neglected somebody afflicted by “senile dementia”.
When your time comes, what would you like to be doing and repeatedly expressing during your own senior moments? What about me, what do I expect? Well I hope I wont experience such moment because every morning I do Oil Pulling Therapy on waking up and before retiring while in between I drink 6 to7 cups of unsweetened brewed coffee.Most of all everyday. through the internet, I am showered with stimulating youthful ideas and constantly challenged by their 'modern' queries.
How long is a moment and how far can it go? The dictionary says a moment is a very brief space of time or simply an instant like what we usually consider a spur of the moment, But a moment could also be as long as the moment of great celebration like the momentous Edsa People’s Power Revolution
What is more interesting are the ’senior moments’ generally exhibited by, well, senior citizens… To begin with, senior moments mean many things. It is the time when a senior suddenly experience lapses of memory- when he is not sure whether he is coming or going. It is the moment when he forgets what he did a few minutes ago but remembers to the smallest detail what took place during the Japanese War.
It is interesting because it is the occasion when he starts looking for a comb or a key that he is tightly holding with his hands. It is even more interesting and entertaining when he buys something, forgets to pay then ask for the change.
Senior moments are significant inventories of what a person considers truly valuable to him like the experiences and people who are deeply imbedded in the deepest corners of his memories. Youngsters find this moment funny if not irritating.
Yes, senior moments are sometime useless pieces of information heard over and over again. But come to think of it, why are those moments surfacing every now and then? What makes an incident specially memorable while others are greatly insignificant? What happens to the mind of a senior citizen that makes it behave that way?
A moment is considered but an instant just like a flash of light or spark of anything but when referring to senior moments it could be a long story of epic proportion whether you are rich and influential person suffering from “Alsheimer’s Disease” are a neglected somebody afflicted by “senile dementia”.
When your time comes, what would you like to be doing and repeatedly expressing during your own senior moments? What about me, what do I expect? Well I hope I wont experience such moment because every morning I do Oil Pulling Therapy on waking up and before retiring while in between I drink 6 to7 cups of unsweetened brewed coffee.Most of all everyday. through the internet, I am showered with stimulating youthful ideas and constantly challenged by their 'modern' queries.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
SCHOOL DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN
SCHOOL DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN
School Opening is just around the corner. It is about time we scrutinize and understand the many different establishments active and connected to It. School is supposedly a place where people, especially young ones are educated.
To learn is to gain knowledge and it is but right to call the school for the very young ones, Learning Center which includes the Nursery and the Kindergarten. Then how about the Pre-School, does it refer to the Day Care Center? And there is the Primary School, the Secondary School and the High School.
A College is understood to be a place of higher specialized education. Now why are there schools called Colleges when they are offering only High School courses and why are some remains to be called just a School even if they are offering College degrees? It is simply beyond my comprehension.
An Academy on the other hand is a school for higher learning or sophisticated training. But I cannot understand why a school offering Nursery and Kindergarten is allowed to be called an Academy. It is ok to hear about such thing as Academy of World Healing or Academy of Cock fighting. Likewise, an Institute is an organization founded for a particular purpose that is why some schools are called Institutes.
What then is a University? It is an institution of higher or tertiary education but can also be called a Learning center because it includes everything from Nursery to Doctorate. With lots of establishments all offering education it is not unusual to find pupils and students confused enough to understand the different categories of the educational establishments. Where are you planning to enroll your children this coming school opening?
School Opening is just around the corner. It is about time we scrutinize and understand the many different establishments active and connected to It. School is supposedly a place where people, especially young ones are educated.
To learn is to gain knowledge and it is but right to call the school for the very young ones, Learning Center which includes the Nursery and the Kindergarten. Then how about the Pre-School, does it refer to the Day Care Center? And there is the Primary School, the Secondary School and the High School.
A College is understood to be a place of higher specialized education. Now why are there schools called Colleges when they are offering only High School courses and why are some remains to be called just a School even if they are offering College degrees? It is simply beyond my comprehension.
An Academy on the other hand is a school for higher learning or sophisticated training. But I cannot understand why a school offering Nursery and Kindergarten is allowed to be called an Academy. It is ok to hear about such thing as Academy of World Healing or Academy of Cock fighting. Likewise, an Institute is an organization founded for a particular purpose that is why some schools are called Institutes.
What then is a University? It is an institution of higher or tertiary education but can also be called a Learning center because it includes everything from Nursery to Doctorate. With lots of establishments all offering education it is not unusual to find pupils and students confused enough to understand the different categories of the educational establishments. Where are you planning to enroll your children this coming school opening?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
