We are now into the “Ber” months as they are called in the Philippines. That means it is officially the Christmas season. I haven’t been to the mall yet this month, but I am quite certain they are playing yuletide carols and have the big signs up counting down the days until the celebration of the Savior’s birth.

It’s Hash Monday so this is going to be a rushed post, but hopefully better than nothing. I guess I might as well start with a tale about a woman I’m rather fond of. I’ve actually known her for several months now and she is a joy to be around. Always laughing and happy, quick to offer words of encouragement, and pretty damn attractive–especially for a woman in her mid-40s. Anyway, she is married to a foreigner and is not the type who would ever cheat (she’s one of those Pentecostals). We have done some very light and good-natured flirting, but it is all in jest. She’s friends with my helpers but I probably only see her briefly once a week or so.

A few days ago (let’s call her Judy) came by and wanted to talk to me. That was a first. All of our previous communication had been brief and only in passing. So, we sat at the kitchen table (my helper also joined us) and chatted. I learned she had two grown children from an earlier relationship and that the father had recently died. She also had some land in her home province of Visaya that she hoped to develop someday. Then she talked a bit about her husband and it wasn’t pretty. He wants nothing to do with her family, including her children. That means he contributes nothing towards their support and even worse, refuses to allow Judy to visit them or have them visit her. She told me he is a very jealous man and that he has hired private detectives to follow her around. He gives her 1000 pesos ($20) a week for her personal use.

None of that is any of my business of course. Still, I asked why she puts up with that kind of demeaning behavior and she just shrugged it off. He was her husband and it was her duty as a wife to stand by his side. I guess that is taking for better or worse to the extreme. And then we got down to business. She mentioned that she knew I was helping out some people and that she respected that. Turns out, Judy’s daughter in Manila wants to continue her college education but lacks the funds to do so. Bottom line, 15,000 pesos ($300) would get her back in school. As I say, I really think Judy is a great gal and I am quite sure that the money request is for the stated purpose. So I agreed to help her out.

Not to worry, I’m not going there. Although I did go so far as to wonder what might have been. If I hadn’t delayed my move to the PI for those 8 years perhaps I would have met Judy before she was married. Ah well, as John Greenleaf Whittier said so long ago:

God pity them both! and pity us all,
Who vainly the dreams of youth recall;
For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: “It might have been!”

Moving on.

I went into the DiviMart the other day. I met all the requirements: temp check, hand sanitizer, mask, and face shield. As I entered the store, the guard stuck something on my shield. I didn’t look at it until I got back home, but it gave me a good laugh:

The 27th Anniversary of the Subic Bay Hash House Harriers is coming up next month. And that means ordering a brand new Hash shirt to commemorate the event. Here is this year’s design:

And now I need to go put on my Hash attire and get ready to roll on out of here. ON-ON!

Oh, I’m not sure who’s work this is, found it on Facebook. But I liked it:

When you love someone, you know in your heart that your love never died. You feel their presence in your heart, even if they are out of your life. Sometimes, we may not always get what we “want” in life, however, we will always get what we need in order to grow. We may not consciously ask for certain situations, but on a soul level, we brought them into our lives in order to heal, grow and learn what pure love is truly all about.

Can you understand that you have always done the best job you knew how to do at any particular time with the knowledge and level of growth you had at that time? Yes? Good! Now, you can extend that same understanding to the other person from your heart, and that is why you will not require them to say: “I’m sorry.” You will understand, and they will understand. It is that pure understanding that allows what may have bruised our ego to melt away. Once our fears and ego are out of the way, we truly can love purely. You will never have to say you’re sorry to someone you truly love that genuinely loves you. You will only have to be yourself – that is all you will ever need to do.