Balut By Virginia J. Pasalo   I pretended not to see him, the drunk man begging. I saw him just minutes before, urinating in front of an electric post, with his genitals exposed to passersby. I wonder if he is just a drunkard, or drinking because he has a bigger…

The tolerance of our time By Virginia J. Pasalo SR. Patricia Fox, a 71-year old religious sister, had been in the rural areas for almost three decades. In 1990, her congregation sent her as a volunteer to the Philippines. She worked with the poor in areas where government had no…

Transient By Virginia J. Pasalo   THE first thing that comes to my mind upon hearing the word “transient”, are the people who seek places to stay during the summer in Baguio City, where I attended college. They were there to escape from the heat of Manila, and some, to…

Knowing By Virginia J. Pasalo   IT takes time to get to know a person. You cannot claim to know a person even when you’ve lived with one for a long time. But some people seem to know “si Aida, si Lorna at si Fe” and every “Tom, Dick and…

Piss be with you By Virginia J. Pasalo   I am pissed off with you, but I allowed the moment to pass. Then I remembered that this is not the only moment that I allowed to pass, but many moments that when engaged, could have resulted in a deeper, more…

Timmikyab laý inarom By Virginia J. Pasalo   unsasayaw ka la lamet, diad pegley na masile-sileng ya bulo-bulong na dalipawen ya abong yon nen saman ed si inarom   unla ka ed siak, kinabuasan, mangakansiyon maniilalon walay ebat ed lanang ya tepet, “Kulaan to?”   say ebat ko pareho, wadman…

Panangaro By Virginia J. Pasalo   I heard the first chirp of an early bird today at 4:54 a.m., after having greeted a friend,” Happy Birthday!” Birthdays are happy occasions especially when one is blessed with health and love. The other day, I had lunch with a couple who are…

Room 607 By Virginia J. Pasalo   AS a child, I learned to focus on a purple dot in my mind with eyes closed. This dot expands in size as I enter it, gathering speed as I travel through its gossamer lining, and adding on an array of colors as…

Significantly present By Virginia J. Pasalo   I shall be in Bangkok for five days, to speak on the subject “Women Leaders Where Men are Significantly Present”, one of the topics to be discussed in the leadership training to be conducted by the World Organization of Workers-Asia, the regional body…

The breakfast By Virginia J. Pasalo   “WHAT is that then?”, she said, “if he does not love me, why does he go home every night?” “To sleep, to recharge, and leave for work the next morning.” “Last year, he had a different girl. This girl I saw with him…