OUR TOPIC TITLE today may translate as any – or all, of the following: “Long before, and/but now~”; or, “It used to be, but this time~”; or, “Before~, whereas now~” and the like.
THE THINGS, SCENARIOS, events, etc., compared between what used-to-be and what we observe these days do not dwell on just one or two selected themes, but rather, on several, randomly-picked areas of Discussion e.g. they may be about: special(ized) services, behaviour, politics, governance, general public response(s) or attitudes(s), name it. Our first observation:
NONTAN DA.. AFTER an Election – national and Local – some sectors were still ‘active’ – filing protests, claiming there were irregularities, blaming him (or them) for the ‘defeat’ of his/their bet, and so on.
NIMAN~ BUT NOW, you stop, and Look and Listen: you hear nothing, you see nothing – disturbing, alarming, or else exciting. Why, is this not a happy deviation from the usual and Bygone: it used to be ‘there were wildfires’ in the Praire in aftermath, Niman, there’s virtual ‘peace in the valley’. Can you beat that? Our second observation
NONTAN DA.. POWER (Electric) Interruptions were announced prior; and so people get their washing and other chores done before said interruptions happen or come.
NIMAN~ NOW, HOWEVER, So suddenly the bulbs go pffft! or kaput; and you’re left in the Da:k or Da:kness, wondering why and how come?
YOU ASK YOUR neighbours, or text some friends: ‘was there a brownout notice or something?’ and you get those wiggling, shaking of the heads; and you receive those awan met, ala naman po, “no, none”, etc. replies.
“NOT EVEN AN Anterior public info” – after the sudden, long brownout (10 hours) in our place June 21st” said one texter adding the cry call: “hu hu!” Can you beat that too? Our third gathered info and observation:
NONTAN DA.. MOSTLY, only those who ‘make it’ (or who win) give out Parties – after the Elections, for: friends, relatives, supporters, and everybody; and they used to call it Thanksgiving – or ‘Giving Thanks’ in local Parlance.
NIMAN~ NOW HOWEVER, even those who ‘lost’ give out parties! “Ah-ha, Blowouts too?
“WHAT A WELCOME change!”, I texted a close Ucab-Tuding area friend and he replied:
AGA THANKSGIVING DA anggey iman di, baken Blowout! (Transl: “No, that’s their way of saying ‘thanks!’ (to us for helping/voting for them), not necessarily a Blow out!”). Still,
I WOULD CONSIDER that – and you too could(?) as a beginning sign of our so-called ‘political maturity’ – ditoy Kabanbantayan, ‘in these Heights’. Something
OUR COMING CHILDREN can nurture and practice in Future time? Come to think of things, you square with: Yes, you lost, but you didn’t lose everything; or, your ‘career’ is now clipped at the outset, but it’s not yet ‘the end’; or, you made some rivals or ‘enemies’ in the Exercise, but you too have gained or won a lot of new friends! Ayo, Ayo, Ino!
