In his artless, guileless way, Dantoy disarmed me with this question – “Te, unsa man imong talent?”
This question did not come without a segue. Dantoy used to paint and sketch when he was younger. His teacher was Mr. Rivas, a kind man who treated him as if he were the next Van Gogh. I remember our few encounters because I would sometimes fetch Dantoy from his class and Mr. Rivas would sometimes drop by our place to check on my brother’s progress.
Then he just disappeared. I remember his wife being ill, that probably explains his disappearance. In his Maestro’s absence, Dantoy abandoned his watercolor and brushes. No matter how we badgered him to paint, he was deaf to our pleas. (No pun intended. My brother happens to be hearing-impaired)
I was only able to coerce him to paint with a dose of melodrama when I relocated to Manila. I requested him to paint me anything, anything that I could touch and stare at longingly everytime homesickness kicked in hard. A day before departure, he handed me a painting of an unmanned banca adrift at sea, the paddle almost slipping.
That painting isn’t with me. It’s prominently displayed in my former office and in the chaotic circumstance by which I resigned (my cancer recurred, frak!), some of my personal effects were also forsaken.
The casual conversation started with me convincing him to paint again and not to disregard his talent. It cannonballed into something frighteningly “profound” from his question why I was no longer watching “Totoy Bato” lately. He’s a bit miffed with me, I think. My excuse – the current focus is on the love story, something I can do away with. He felt obliged to tell me what I have been missing – Totoy is starting his boxing career. Hence this exchange:
D: Te, talent ba ang boxing? (Is boxing a talent?)
Me: Skill and talent.
D: Hatag sa Ginoo? (Is it God-given?)
Me: Oo. (Yes)
D: Ginoo sad mubawi? (Will God take it away?)
Me: Mahi-ubos Ginoo kung dili nimo gamiton sa maayo pero ambot lang kung bawi-on. Regalo man, dili gad siguro. (God may be displeased if we misuse it but I don’t know if He will take it back since it’s His gift)
D: Unsa man talent Baan? (What’s Baan’s talent?)
Me: Singing. Baking. Cooking.
D: Ikaw, unsa man imong talent? (How about you, what’s your talent?)
Me: Gutom na ka? Naa pay spaghetti sa ref. (Are you starved? There’s still spaghetti in the ref)
End of discussion.
Dodging sticky questions – can it be considered a talent?
This question did not come without a segue. Dantoy used to paint and sketch when he was younger. His teacher was Mr. Rivas, a kind man who treated him as if he were the next Van Gogh. I remember our few encounters because I would sometimes fetch Dantoy from his class and Mr. Rivas would sometimes drop by our place to check on my brother’s progress.
Then he just disappeared. I remember his wife being ill, that probably explains his disappearance. In his Maestro’s absence, Dantoy abandoned his watercolor and brushes. No matter how we badgered him to paint, he was deaf to our pleas. (No pun intended. My brother happens to be hearing-impaired)
I was only able to coerce him to paint with a dose of melodrama when I relocated to Manila. I requested him to paint me anything, anything that I could touch and stare at longingly everytime homesickness kicked in hard. A day before departure, he handed me a painting of an unmanned banca adrift at sea, the paddle almost slipping.
That painting isn’t with me. It’s prominently displayed in my former office and in the chaotic circumstance by which I resigned (my cancer recurred, frak!), some of my personal effects were also forsaken.
The casual conversation started with me convincing him to paint again and not to disregard his talent. It cannonballed into something frighteningly “profound” from his question why I was no longer watching “Totoy Bato” lately. He’s a bit miffed with me, I think. My excuse – the current focus is on the love story, something I can do away with. He felt obliged to tell me what I have been missing – Totoy is starting his boxing career. Hence this exchange:
D: Te, talent ba ang boxing? (Is boxing a talent?)
Me: Skill and talent.
D: Hatag sa Ginoo? (Is it God-given?)
Me: Oo. (Yes)
D: Ginoo sad mubawi? (Will God take it away?)
Me: Mahi-ubos Ginoo kung dili nimo gamiton sa maayo pero ambot lang kung bawi-on. Regalo man, dili gad siguro. (God may be displeased if we misuse it but I don’t know if He will take it back since it’s His gift)
D: Unsa man talent Baan? (What’s Baan’s talent?)
Me: Singing. Baking. Cooking.
D: Ikaw, unsa man imong talent? (How about you, what’s your talent?)
Me: Gutom na ka? Naa pay spaghetti sa ref. (Are you starved? There’s still spaghetti in the ref)
End of discussion.
Dodging sticky questions – can it be considered a talent?
9 comments:
aww. i love this exchange, dyn. and you capture it so well. yana la ako nakasabot na amo na ini it im blog. ngayamits. di ako nakaka-respond comments ha ak friendster, for some reason. na-virus, or gin-tauy na ada. anyway, i wanted to say THANKS for your concern over mi hermano. i didn't want to tell you, kay i didn't want to send gloom and worry around, but since jet already did tell you... ada, amao ito an nahinabo. still worries me. can't help it. =( pagkta na la kita hit ira kasal ha! =)
hahaha!
so whats your talent nga? ayaw intawn lainon ang istorya uy!
which make me think also: talent ba ang boy watching. . .or skill?
pero lately, ayaw ko na rin silang tingnan kasi pare-pareho naman sila. kaya wala na rin akong talent ngayun. hehe!
Uy, creative writer ito.
Hi, Voltz-pwet! Long time, no hear. Milagro ni San Isidro Labrador, nagpaabat an taga-Barugo nga mapula-pula it…..dugo.
Creative writing? There’s nothing creative in my writing. I can’t write a decent fictional vignette even if someone put a gun on my head.
How’s your poetry?
Alex!!! I shall check your blog, hope I can access easily.
Hell, yeah! Boy-watching is one heck of a talent. Diri harumamay, oi. No, let me correct myself. Boy-watching is an art, one of the highest artforms!
Amo, ayaw pagbaya and let it become a dying artform. Batus mo ako hini.
Daryll-dearie, so we bumped into each other here.
Yup, this is my new home for now. May pipira nga kasangkayan nasiring they have a hard time accessing the old blog. Maupay dinhi cause they don't need to sign up or log in to be able to read. And it's easier to put images here compared to FS.
Failed to visit your hermano at the hospital. Left him a message at FS but I don't think he's checking his mails.
Will try to attend the wedding, jinx pahirayo.
talent mo? you entertain us with your blog. sometimes mag google pa ko hit terms and the names of famous peeps that you name drop once in a while which is totally ok cause i learn something.
Aw, talent na yana to push people into Google, hehe. That's new.
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