“My cup runneth over”

By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

 

I was again under the canopy of the trees along the Clark Freeport, which I visited twice over the span of 10 years. The acacia trees and some fruit trees, quietly swayed, dancing to the rhythm of the wind that lingered among the leaves, in no hurry to move on. Here, under them, were several buildings, reminiscent of the houses in Camp John Hay. We stopped in front of one of these buildings, where the office of the Capampangan in Media Inc. (CAMI) is housed. I breathed in the freshness of this place, and like the wind, I lingered outside, in no hurry to move in. The air was cool, warmed only by the welcome that ushered us in.

Inside, some members of the media were having breakfast which prompted Fe Mangahas and I to check the Kapampangan breakfast offering. Fe went for the “hito” (catfish) with the “buro” (fermented shrimp in cooked rice), while I went to the coffee area to have my morning fix. As I was about to drink the coffee, one of the kitchen staff told me that I cannot use the cup because the cup was assigned to a member of the CAMI. She asked me to wait for the white cup. When she finally arrived after five minutes, I moved the coffee to the new cup, and spilled a drop on the handle of another “forbidden” cup, as she hurriedly wiped the little drop. She then took the new cup gingerly, to my table. I watched in fascination as she left the table and attended to the food being served. Fe had started to eat, so I decided to get myself the same things she took, plus some mustard leaves, boiled eggplant and half-boiled egg. As I started to eat, the same kitchen staff carefully laid down two glasses of water, with white tissue paper underneath.

The food was superb. It reminded me of the hito and buro I normally order at Cafe Adriatico. If not for my desire to lose weight, I would have gone for a second serving, so I picked the cup of coffee instead, which had gotten cold. Since it was cold, I put it down as gingerly as it was laid down, and took the glass of water instead. It was also cold, so I stood up to mix it with a little hot water to warm it a bit. I had the urge to look behind my back, thinking the same kitchen staff would grab the glass away from me.

Gregoria Coronel-de Luna spoke about human relations. Questions focused on the deterioration of human behavior and how to address the same in a national context, beyond the corporate structure where the speaker became so successful with. Having worked with several corporations, she related her experiences on how she managed challenging situations, but emphasized that in all these situations, the critical step is to convince and get the support of the management, without which nothing can proceed on the ground.

Maria Lourdes P. Lacson, the first woman mayor of Magalang town spoke about her plan to elevate the town’s status into a city. Ryan Miranda, the tourism officer, supported her arguments citing that they produce the sweetest tamarind and that the town is endeavoring to become the “Tamarind City”, should the mayor win a second term. They plan to propagate enough seedling to populate Magalang with 20,000 tamarind trees.

We left the area for the nearby market shortly before lunch, in a huge van, almost double the space of the car we used earlier, where we squeezed our bodies to fit in. Inside the van, someone started a race to remember the authors of this and that, which spilled over from the discussions at breakfast that included politics, communications with the departed, the afterlife, and “Nibiru”.

Fe and I will definitely miss the company of these intelligent, witty and energetic men: the “Unsinkable” Jake Espino, Ernie Tolentino, Mario Garcia, Jess Ong, Ner Dayrit and Abel Cruz. Such a blessed day with new friends, and precious bonding with a dear friend Fe, with whom I shared a cup of brewed coffee at Mr. Parks and had soup and “dimsum” (steamed dumplings) with at Causeway after we were dropped off. Truly my cup runneth over. Mekeni mangan tamu!

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