Book Series: SENIOR MOMENTS ARE FOREVER

5th Moment: Liza, John Lloyd and Pacman

Liza’s dad: One day, during my assignment in Mindanao, I tried being naughty. While paying for items I bought in a mall in Davao City the cashier asked for my name to be placed in the receipt. I said, “Rudy Soberano”. She looked at me and asked how I am related to Liza Soberano. I said I am her father. She took a second look and then started calling the other girls to announce that the father of Liza is around. Afraid of being discovered I immediately left before the other sales staff came to the shock of their lives. ----------------------------- John Lloyd Pass: In one of the famous restaurants in Cebu City the customers were asked to submit their names to the receptionists so that they can be arranged in the waiting list. When the receptionist asked for my name I said, “John Lloyd Cruz”. The lady smiled and said, “You made my day Sir”. Then she asked me to go ahead. I heard a lady customer complained that I was not John Lloyd Cruz, the receptionist answered back, “I know Ma’am, but he is a senior citizen.” ----------------------------- How to beat the Pacman: According to a friend working in the BIR the surest and safest way to beat Manny Pacquiao and make money is to place a bet on his opponent and invest on a ringside ticket. During the bout sit closer to the ring and when the bell rings keep on shouting the word BOX! BOX! BOX! Manny may think he is hearing TAX! TAX! TAX! He will surely lose his concentration and loss the bout - then you win your bet. ----------------------------- Of birds and fish and politicians: The Almighty is wise and just. Imagine if the birds were not given wings? They will not be able to fly! Imagine if the fish were not given fins? They will not be able to swim! Imagine if politicians were not given pork barrels? They will not be able to serve! For the basics of good manners and right conduct remember that before the industrial revolution it was “Spare the rod, spoil the child”. Now, under the electronic age it is “Spare the child and save the rod”. ------------------------------- Social, political and patriotic differences: What is the difference between a follower and a supporter? A follower follows blindly, a supporter supports with eye blinders. What is the difference between an oppositionist and a destabilizer? An oppositionist wants to be back in position; a destabilizer stabs the one in position. What is the difference between patriots and mercenaries? Patriots die for their country driven by a noble cause; mercenaries will not die for their country because they know that there are dumb people whom they can pay to die for them. ------------------------------- Case study method: While taking my master’s degree in development management at the Asian Institute of Management I had a classmate from Malaysia named Bisan Singh (SLN). He asked me why most of the time I am silent in class. I told him, “Bisan, I came here to learn not to study”. Then he asked, “Why, what is the difference between studying and learning?” I said, “Studying is when you burn your eyebrows reading your cases in the evening in order to debate with your classmates the day following. Learning is just browsing on my case files and watch our classmates discuss and debate them before me the following day.” ------------------------------- Doctors before and now: When we were young, we had only one doctor in our town – and he can cure all sorts of illness. Today, we have all sorts of specialists. There will come a time when we will have specialists for the left lung and a specialist for the right lung, and specialists for the left eye and specialists for the right eye, etc.! ------------------------- School honors: I started my schooling in Sogod Elementary School, which opened in our remote barrio in the town of Calabanga, Camarines Sur. In grade 1 we were more than 30, I finished 1st honor. In grade 2 we were 20 plus, and I was still the 1st honor. In grade 3 our class was down to only 13, and again I was 1st honor. No, I was not really the best in our class, our teacher was a cousin of my mother. And no, my bariomates did not surrender to me, they just kept on dropping out and new ones did not enroll anymore because our barrio was too poor, and children were busy helping their parents in their small farms and livelihood activities. So, in the 4th year of the school it had to shut down. Then, as in other stories, the rest is history. -------------------------------- Older children in Liberia: While I was assigned in a WB project in Liberia, I reprimanded my field coordinators when they used the project vehicle to carry basketful of crabs and fish. The following morning, they came to my office. I thought they were going to gang up on me – only to know that they were there to say sorry and to tell me that “I was a Father to them”. That was when I got children older than me from Liberia! ------------------------------ Rules in working with the Poor: There are only a few rules in development work with the poor: Respect their religion, admire their culture and traditions, work within their present political and economic system, make efforts to literally recite their beliefs, concepts and systems - and then and only then can you get their respect and join you towards your common goal and objective.