An E-mail

'An E-mail' is an open letter of an OFW to his sick mother. The story is factual, and is highly metaphorical. The letter sender- RJ and his friend represent the Overseas Filipino Workers. While RJ's ailing mom is, actually, the Philippines amidst the chronic political and economic problems- which, the author believes, are still curable. The other characters may be a typical family member of an OFW, and the rest of the Filipino people.

This is written to show the support of The Chook-minder's Quill to the 2010 Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards.

"Strengthening the OFW Families:
Stronger Homes for a Stronger Nation."

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FROM: rjofw@yahoo7mail.com
TO: mrs_filipinas@yahoomail.com
DATE: 14October2010 11:59:01 PM

ATTACHED img-PEBA&thecmquill.pdf

Dear Nanay,

Kumusta? I hope that you have been feeling very well these days regardless of your thirty-day isolation period. Across the oceans, I have been seriously praying for your immediate recovery after that radioactive therapy twenty-four days ago; and with the help of the Almighty I trust that you’ll be healed... online publications have stated that the type of thyroid cancer that you currently have has a very good prognosis. I want you to know that even if I am not physically around to take care of you, I have left my heart and my mind at home—and I believe that, with my frequent prayers, these are enough for you to stay stronger and eventually restore your health. Kabay pa...

By the way, my flight from Davao to Adelaide was so tiresome; my stopovers and transient stay in Manila, Brisbane and Sydney before finally touching down in Adelaide wasn’t really enjoyable. In my next holiday, I might get back to the convenient itinerary of Singapore Airlines... it may be a little bit dearer, though.

Nevertheless, the time I spent with you, and with the rest of our family last September was so memorable, especially during your testimonial program and party. It was a very remarkable event, ay?! I am actually planning to send a ‘thank you’ card to your ex-co-teachers in Bialong Elementary School for the preparations and execution that they’ve done; the way they gave honour to your thirty-eight years of government service was truly exceptional!

Uhmn... I have attached our family photo during that event with this email, please check it. I know that Rose has her own version in her digicam over there, but I have noticed that my copy is much better so I decided to send it to you. I’d be very happy if by the time your ‘isolation days’ are over, you can develop a copy of it and if you don’t mind, please buy a decent picture frame from Ivan Robert Bookstore in M’lang and have it mounted. I have already displayed my own copy of that photo here in my living room.

You know Nay, our family picture would have looked happier if Tatay had been with us. I believe you have plans to visit his grave tomorrow; it’s his birthday, right? Just stay away from the crowd, remember you’re under the power of radioactive iodine.

I understand that you feel so crook most of the time and can’t manage to send an SMS to my roaming phone every single day. Don’t worry, because I have been getting regular updates about you from Rick... People may not always find him nice but, yeah, I can say that he has been a good brother to me the reason why I didn’t have second thoughts to give him my 6300 when, before I go, he asked for it. Weng had also sent me a message saying that it was a relief that she and Rick have their own mobile phone now. I bet... the gallery of that Nokia phone must have been full of baby Clint’s photo because Weng was so excited to tell me that she’ll upload some of their photos in her FB account. I am happy that my younger brother has successfully started creating his own family... Somehow, I can feel that Rick isn’t really interested to come to Australia; he told me that he will pursue his plans to join those ‘boys in blue’ in our country. I’m not sure if he has already shared it to you, but that’s what you wanted him to be, anyway.

It’s good that your next visit to the endocrinologist falls on a semestral break, Rose can surely accompany you that day.

Rose told me, by the way, that she is looking forward to satisfy all the requirements of her degree in October next year (so, I better schedule my next holiday). I believe that our decision to purchase a public utility tricycle for Jeff has really gone well with their current situation, at least a good source of Rose’s daily allowance, plus a regular vitamin dose for their daughter- Athena. In that way, Rose’s tuition fee is our only outstanding worry... but leave it to me, I’ll take care of it. Mayad duman di-a kung makatapos. I have, actually, felt the air of remorse during our conversation back home while we were preparing the ‘give-aways’ for your retirement party. Certainly, she has learned from all her mistakes.

I am a little bit concerned about your medical check-up fees in the coming weeks so I electronically transferred some amount to your account this morning. I am surprised that an Australian dollar has been surging up to ninety-nine and a half US cents! I have also heard in The Filipino Channel that the Philippine peso has been getting stronger lately, and is expected to continue to rise especially that the OFW remittances to their loved ones are high before and during the Christmas season.

Speaking... It was on my schedule today to get a Forex box from Ate Nati this afternoon but I haven’t gone because South Australia is currently experiencing a cold front with some showers; and tomorrow we’ll be experiencing a winter-like condition down here. It was also forecasted that the mountains close to the capital city of Tasmania—Hobart will have a snowfall tomorrow. Very unusual for an Australian mid-spring season, and it only aggravates this post-vacation syndrome that I’ve been suffering since I get back. But just like our current weather here, I know that this feeling won’t last very long. Holiday Season Down Under is scorching hot!

But, yeah, as soon as the chicken harvest is over, I will resume my packing so I could send this box the soonest as possible because I know that Paul is expecting to have his robot on Christmas Day. The looks of that little boy really reminds me of the face of Rose when she was younger. Paul really look like his mom, doesn’t he?

It’s almost midnight down here, uhmn... it’s only 9 p.m. up there. I have to turn the feed lines off in the chicken sheds in preparation for the 5 a.m. bird catch tomorrow. 

Get well soon, Nanay. Get well... Who knows, my next vacation will not only be for Rose’s graduation, but for my ‘long table’, as well.

Love,

RJ

P.S.

Oops! Nay, remember my friend here in Port Wakefield whose from Batangas? The one who requested me to carry home his gifts to his wife and kids when I had my holiday last month? He told me that their newly-opened bakery and refreshment business has been luckily getting an excellent payback. With this, his family is now having second thoughts in pursuing their plans to migrate here in Australia next year. Perhaps, we are gradually gaining from the fruit of our own labour with the help of the sincere efforts of the new Philippine government.

Huhmn... I am planning to put up a poultry farm in that vacant area adjacent to that mango orchard there. What do you think?

Same

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Finding the cure

Nanay is sick.

She had her goiter removed last August; a thyroid sample was taken for biopsy and it revealed a follicular papillary thyroid carcinoma or simply (complicatedly)—thyroid cancer.

I went home twenty-four days ago to attend Nanay’s Testimonial Program and Party—a tribute given to her by the Central M’lang District for her services and achievement as a public school teacher for 38 years. It was a remarkable event; it actually exceeded my expectations. Modesty aside, the eulogy that I gave was, I think, one of the highlights of the programme.

But three days after the testimonial party, the endocrinologist-surgeon advised Nanay to submit herself into a radioactive iodine therapy. She agreed, underwent a strict non-iodine/no salt diet for seven days...

...and three hours before my flight from Manila back to Sydney she was admitted to the hospital, was then isolated and dosed with a small, but (hopefully a) very powerful radioactive iodine capsule. Nobody was allowed to come and see her for four days because the ‘radioisotope of iodine’ that she had taken was very potent and hazardous to every individual! When Nanay was discharged from the hospital, she was separately transported back home, and has been isolated in her specially-made payag* for five days now. Luckily, my younger brother and our youngest sister were there to assist her, and to provide what she needs.

Nanay’s entire body was thoroughly scanned in the hospital yesterday. Whether it was done to detect the cancer cells or radioactive material left in her body is the thing that I don’t know. I have decided to stay innocent of all the complex things the medical doctors had, have been and will be doing to my mom because I have chosen to trust them, and most especially, I have ultimately trusted the divine power to heal my sick mother.

I had phoned and spoke to my mom a couple of hours ago. Nanay told me that she has been feeling drained and weary for the past few days. She has also lost her appetite, but forcing herself to devour some mangosteen and guyabano... believing that the therapeutic power of these fruits comes next to Heavenly Power.

Nanay is scheduled to see her doctor three weeks later. I am sure that the result of the radiation therapy and scanning will be discussed. I couldn’t put my thoughts into words, nor could I clearly explain my feelings...

If iodine-131 could only alleviate my prevailing anxieties, I am willing to undergo this radiation therapy to get treated.

_____

*payag is a Hiligaynon term for a nipa hut.

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The 'Heart', in situ

It’s my first time to visit Riverton, a small town in South Australia known as the heart of Gilbert Valley. As we drove through the main street, there were three art galleries and a few antique sandstone buildings which, I believe, were erected in the mid-1900 when the first settlers arrived in the place.

The hallway in the care home, with handrails on the walls.

Riverton is approximately 85 kilometres southeast of my place. The sealed roads and highways were occasionally pine-lined; and across the endless horizon were the flourishing wheat and barley plantations, and the blossoming canola that creates a patchy artwork of verdant rolling plains and bright yellow hills. As we came closer to Clare Valley and Auburn, there was a very distinct transition of vegetation from a rich, blooming field to those leafless vines and melancholic vineyards...

The residents and the caregiver in the lounge.

I went to Riverton not as a tourist, though, but as a friend. Together with Tony and Jane, and their 3-year old daughter Ella, we accompanied Aling Siony to the Riverton Hospital which is also a centre for elderly care in the region. We visited Charles—Aling Siony’s husband who will be turning eighty-four by the end of this month. Charles has been in the care home for more than a year now, and every time he sees his wife he would say, “I think I’m gonna die...”

I, actually, don’t want to think how Charles and the other residents have survived in the care centre. Don’t get me wrong, aside from the inevitable smell of soaked adult pads, the hospital is very clean and tidy, equipped with a complete range of age-care facilities, and by the looks of it, I can say without second thoughts that the entire building has been regularly maintained inside-out. I believe that every member of the staff is well-trained to run the centre and is competent enough to offer the best care to their residents.

The residents' shared room.

...but it is the sense of belongingness that concerns me the most. The caregivers may have been doing the same job for years—skilled and knowledgeable, but the fact that they aren’t even related by flesh and by blood to their patients is truly an emotional pain for me. Elderly people don’t just need excellent care of their competent caregivers, but genuine love and care which should and could only be given by their own family. There are twenty-two residents in the ‘home’, two of them in each room but they don’t even know the name of each other, and couldn’t even remember the life story of their roommate. A ‘care home’ is not a home!

Charles' walker...

We were sitting in the lounge when Charles asked Aling Siony to take him to his dad. He said he wants to see his father, and his brother. Aling Siony held the hand of his husband and squeezed it, she blushed and dropped a tear... the truth is—Charles’ dad has passed away many years ago... dementia had possibly made him believe that his dad was still alive.

Charles asked Tony to open the built-in case of his walker; he said that there’s a lemon and a grapefruit inside. Tony obeyed, and to my surprise, there were fruits in that box! Charles took the grapefruit, handed it to Aling Siony and said, “This is for you, dear. Take it home.” We soon realized that the fruits have fallen from the tree standing in the backyard of the elderly care centre.

When it was time for us to leave, Aling Siony took the visitors book of her husband so she could sign. The last entry was June 23, 2010—a visit made by herself, Jane and Ella. In the first Sunday of September, Australia will celebrate father’s day. I wish that Charles’ children from his first four once legal wives (but now legally-divorced) will come and say hello to their dad (Aling Siony is the fifth, and the couple hasn’t been blessed with a child).

Charles, Ella (the grapefruit behind her pink backpack), and Aling Siony.

I will be celebrating my fourth birthday in Australia this month. I am definitely getting older and older... in this Land Down Under where the conception and views about elderly care are very different from what we have back home. I have been granted with a permanent resident visa in this country, and with what I have seen in Riverton today, I am reconsidering my plans to achieve the ultimate immigration status down here.

The dining, with the lemon and grapefruit trees outside.

I am looking forward to visit Riverton again, not to see the home for the aged but to explore the town and discover more about the real heart of Gilbert Valley.

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May Kulang...

Nasa harapan ko na ang lahat... Pwede ko nang angkinin at tikman ang lahat ng gusto ko. Pero hindi ako natuwa.

Naalala ko kapag nagkakatay ang tatay ng manok noong araw, hindi na kami nag-aagawan ng mga bahagi nito kapag nailuto nang tinola. Kabisado na namin ang hatian; alam na ng bawat isa ang nauukol para sa kanya... Kay tatay napupunta ang balunbalunan, kay nanay naman ang nasa bandang puwetan, hati kami ng kapatid kong sumunod sa akin sa dalawang hita't binti, at kay bunso naman ang atay. Masaya naming pinagsasaluhan ang simpleng hapunang ito lalo na't sinasabayan pa ng kwentuhan tungkol sa mga nangyari sa bawat isa sa amin sa maghapon.



Sa totoo lang, hindi ko talaga alam noon kung ano ang lasa ng balunbalunan! Naisip ko, kapag maging tatay na ako, matitikman ko na rin yan.

Minsan, sinabi ko sa nanay na kung maaari'y hati kami sa puwet. Pero ang wika niya, "Hindi ito pwede sa mga wala pang asawang tulad mo. Sige ka, gusto mo bang hindi ka makapag-asawa? Aatrasan ka ng mga babae niyan kapag kakain ka nitong nasa bandang hulihan ng manok..." Palibhasa'y takot din akong hindi makapag-asawa kaya hindi ko na inulit pa ang kahilingang 'yon.

[Alam kong masama, pero] ...naiinggit din ako kay bunso. Nu'ng hindi pa kasi siya ipinapanganak o kumakain, sa akin napupunta ang atay. Pero dahil mabait akong kuya, ayos lang.

Buti nalang, dalawa ang hita at binti ng manok. Hindi kami nag-aagawan ni utol.

Kadalasa'y naiiwan talaga ang buong pitso at ang magkapares na mga pakpak. Itinatabi ito ng tatay para babaunin namin papuntang eskwelahan kinabukasan.


KAHIT PAGOD SAPAGKAT tatlong magkakasunod na araw nang maraming gawain sa loob ng manukan , pinilit ko pa ring magkatay ng isang manok kanina. At dahil hindi naman nababagay sa uri ng manok na 'tong gawing tinola, iniluto ko itong adobo para sa aking hapunan. Wala pang isang oras, isang napakasarap na hapunan na ang nasa aking harapan!

Kumpleto ang mga bahagi ng manok na nasa palayok kanina. May atay, may balunbalunan, may puwet... nadu'n ang paborito kong hita't binti, kasama pati pitso, mga pakpak, at dalawang 'adidas'. Naalala ko tuloy ang aming mag-anak...

Nasa harapan ko na ang lahat kanina. Pwede ko nang angkinin at tikman ang lahat ng gusto ko. Pero hindi ako natuwa. Kumpleto... ngunit may kulang!





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Sa lahat ng mga kaibigang sumuporta sa aking akdang The Keynote- na kalahok sa 2009 Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards, maraming, maraming salamat po.


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Nagparamdam

WALANG NAGBAGO. Tulad ng naikwento ko na sa Aking Tambayan, mga tatlong araw na namang hindi tumunog ang aking roaming mobile phone!

Huhmn... Malamang abala ang aking mga kamag-anak at mga kaibigan sa Pilipinas sa mga Halloween Parties, at sa paggunita ng Todos los Santos at Araw ng mga Kaluluwa. Naisip ko tuloy na tama ang sinabi ni Batanggero, takot itong mga buhay na dalawin sila ng kanilang mga ‘yumaong mahal-sa-buhay’ kaya sila’y bumibisita sa mga puntod—kandila'y itinitirik at mga bulaklak ay ini-aalay.

Buti pa itong mga patay, naaalala. Subalit ang mga buhay na nasa malayo, kahit isang text message hindi man lang maalalang padalhan. Pero sa ganitong mga panahon, hindi na uobra ang pagtatampo (hindi rin naman ako matampuhin). Kaya ako ay nagparamdam sa aking mga mahal sa buhay sa Pinas!

Pinadalhan ko sila ng text message, “Kumusta? U *Siguro’y abala kayo sa mga panahong ito. Ayos lang ako rito. o”,) ”

Aba, ang daming nag-reply! Nakakatuwa!

Marahil tama nga ang paniniwalang nabanggit ni Batanggero. Minsan kailangan nating magparamdam para tayo ay maalala.

DARLING HARBOUR, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Chicken Breast

I really feel sorry for this flock because they haven’t savoured the taste of milk in their entire life! Tonight, they are leaving for the dressing plant; so they’ll surely going to lose their chance to sip even a single drop of milk because they’re destined to become breast fillets tomorrow.

I am aware of my chicken’s absolute ignorance about milk, so I never attempted, even once, to flood their drink lines with this liquid food... the fluid that is perfectly nutritious, so powerful to survive neonatal mammals from the attack of every fatal disease and possible starvation!

HOW MANY VICTORIOUS BLOGGERS WOULD have possibly failed to exist in the blogosphere hadn’t their mouth been fed with milk when they were still young? How many successful bloggers could possibly maintain good perception and thoughts through effective neurotransmission; or would they triumph against tooth decay and bone problems as they age without the aid of this calcium-rich drink?

UNDENIABLY, EVERYBODY IS IN DEBT to the ‘organ’ that mysteriously manufactures and secretes this very essential food in every mammalian life! This world would never be the same without this pair of glands—the glands that have been purposely created as part of the body for the sustenance of the ‘young’ life.

But my heart is bleeding to know that these powerful glands could at times become feeble in helping itself to win over its own battle against the deadly malignant growth! I am deeply saddened by the fact that the glands that give life are the same glands that could possibly end life!

In this case, my chickens are still very lucky. They do have huge breast, but this is not their worry.

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21 October 2008; 10:30pm.

While I was waiting for the truck and the chicken catchers to arrive for the scheduled harvest, I received a message that a close relative is in the most challenging stage of her fight against breast cancer. I couldn’t restrain My Quill, and this is what it had scribbled!

A Cup of Coffee

a cup of coffee
Originally uploaded by Chook-minder's Lens

Tatay left us 2,312 days ago. I was still working in Luzon that time. Nanay told me that 4 days before he left, he only said, "I am going." Nothing more, nothing less. He didn't even explain why he was leaving. Before I could react to what my mother had told me, my eyeballs were already floating on my flooding tears!

I can't understand why Tatay had the courage to do it. My younger brother has just graduated from college and our younger sister was still in her senior year in the secondary school that time.

Despite the continuous development in communication technology, our family has neither received any message nor any news from him since then. He must be very happy of his new life in another foreign land for him to forget us that much!

Today is Tatay's 57th birthday, and just like the past 6 Father's Day celebrations, we have decided not to bother him of our greetings anymore.

Read the full story...

Personae Non-grata

(A Love Story of a Poultry Farm Worker)

HER NAME is Stephanie. She’s only 23, and still in the uni taking up Biology. She’s already a mommy, but doesn’t have a hubby. She’s blonde and chubby. She’s my love—my one and only!

Our love story is quite complex. The rules are plenty—like a codex, all set by her family! They don’t like me. All I want from her is s_x, they reckon. But they are wrong, because my heart is beating so strong. I have promised to love her ‘til the cows come home! [To avoid confusion, I want to make a clarification: I didn’t sire her son, it was her ex.]

I am not welcome in their house in Gawler. I am not allowed to come, or even see her!

Is it because I am a foreigner in this Land Down Under? Or is it because I am just a poor chook-minder?

Five days a week she’s in town, living in a uni student quarter. So, there’s no reason for me to frown, there’s no need to slow down. I have regularly headed downtown to hug and kiss my beloved princess!

Eyes and tongues are everywhere, however. Our escapades didn’t last longer because her family is so queer to discover everything we did this winter!

THE NIGHT WAS DARK. The temperature was freezing, and the wind was wheezing! As the coals were burning, she’s preparing our dinner that chilly evening. There’s somebody on the door, knocking and yelling! I moved towards the door to see who’s coming... It was her mum and her elder brother, with her uncle and her cousin!

Without a word, they hit and beat me! I couldn’t fight, the battle isn’t tight! She cried and pleaded but she was neglected! The physical attack continued and the emotional assault was then pursued! I had helplessly faced the right and left fists; and had been relentlessly awarded with up and down kicks! I was brutally kneaded until I bled!

I was so lucky to find a chance to break free, but unfortunately, bruised, wounded and bloody! I ran so fast like an Olympian, I’ve left my outmoded Nissan. Without my Skyline—the only asset of mine, I hopped like a kangaroo, and flew like a cockatoo!

INSIDE MY CARAVAN, I’ve just got out of my bed. I am still sick and very weak... While here I am writing, she is there still sleeping. She left her family and has chosen me... Her future is at stake, all for our love’s sake!

Hello Philippines!

Serious business
Originally uploaded by Chook-minder's Lens

I’ve just finished speaking to Nanay over the phone. The call summary of my mobile phone read 54:36 when we ended our conversation. A lengthy chat like this is only happening once a month, or luckily, every 3 weeks. It’s not practical for me to ring and talk to her weekly (except for emergency situations, of course) considering the cost of an international call from Australia to the Philippines. A daily exchange of short message service (SMS) is enough for us to update ourselves with each other’s activities, achievements and anxieties.

Nanay was actually watching the evening news on the national television channel when I rang, and as compliance to my request, she instantly turned the TV off. It’s not that I don’t want her to watch the news, but because the sound was very disturbing as it was actually a noise when my ears started to capture it over the telephone line.

“The news are not really very good,” my mum said, “it doesn’t matter if you interrupted our viewing with your call.” She enumerated the headlines and issues for the day: the bombing and the battle of the rebel troops with the military in our province, the GRP and the MILF peace process, the oil price and the protests of the concerned groups, the charter change and the opposing teams, the justices and the alleged bribery case in the GSIS-Meralco issues, and many more. I just can’t stop my mum from mentioning these things earlier, as a respect, and tell her that tomorrow morning I’ll be updated about these things through my Australian-based source of Filipino news.

Aside from the national news, financial problems, personal matters and family worries were as well discussed. [Don’t be bothered, I’ll not reveal it because it is classified and it is not my issue here.] It’s good to have updates from my loved ones back home. I can compare and contrast, and finally realize the situations of both countries which are very important to me. While the Philippine media is very busy presenting issues regarding those very critical national concerns, Australian news this evening was mainly focussed on how their Olympic athletes fight for their 5th gold medal and showed how their swimmers established another world record in the Beijing Games. My favourite Australian current affair show tackled issues on how they can help save the Murray River and Australia’s plans to combat climate change.

Upon hearing all the news (including our family problems) back home, my thoughts of giving up this job as a chook-minder (in this driest state in the driest continent in the world) has been offset. Perhaps it is good to stay here in S.A. and happily pick up the daily mortalities inside the sheds and drive the farm tractor to bury those decomposing dead birds by myself; or start putting on a pair of earplugs in my ears and enjoy shearing the thick, tall grasses in the farm perimeter using the auto-mechanical slasher. I admit that being a poultry farm worker is not easy but packing up my things and rushing back home is not a very good decision at the moment (the detailed reasons? That's another story).

Now back to my phone conversation with Nanay... As we shared our stories, my 3-year old nephew—RJ, was grabbing the mobile phone from my mum, screaming, “ako man!” (me too!), which means he wanted to speak to me, as well. His grandma allowed him to.

“Daddy, bakal eroplano nga nagakamang kag nagalupad, kotse, kag bag ko nga may karito ha...” (Daddy, please buy me an airplane that crawls and soars, a car and a bag with a wheel...)

I instantly answered, “Yes, I will,” because I know that with his young, innocent mind I could surely satisfy his countless fantasies in this world!

But I suddenly started to think about tomorrow, how about if a growing RJ will soon ask for something about the Real World: to give him peace and harmony, a government with integrity, food security and a happy family?! Can I buy and give him at least one of these? I wept.