I don’t dwell on death all that much. It’s inevitable, but my goal is to keep the grim reaper waiting as long as possible. But I recently got hit upside the head with a couple of reminders that mortality is the bane of humanity. It ain’t pretty.

Wednesday I was enjoying my adult beverages at It Doesn’t Matter and noticed a larger than usual crowd arriving. I asked Roan, my waitress, what was up and she said there was a going-away party for one of the customers starting at six. I didn’t know the guest of honor personally but had seen her a few times at the bar. An older woman, maybe early 50s, who apparently was a long-time participant in the pool league. I have a Filipina friend who knows and likes her very much–calls her mama. Roan told me “mama” was leaving the next day to stay with her daughter in Manila. She said the reason she was leaving was that she has stage 4 cancer of the liver and has no one locally to care for her. This party was mama’s last request so she could tell her friends goodbye. That sucks. I texted my friend and told her about the party and she responded she was coming right away. When she arrived she sat with mama (on her lap) and they chatted for a bit. My friend told me later that mama didn’t want to leave but had no choice in the matter. That sucks too. Dying is bad and dying alone is perhaps sadder, but in the end, we all walk through death’s door unaccompanied.

The next morning I saw a post on Facebook from a guy I know reporting that his seven-year-old son had succumbed to leukemia. Life is definitely not fair. I first met the father during the lockdown when he was managing one of the speakeasy bars I was frequenting. He later banned me from the bar for my alleged violation of the secrecy rules. His bar, his call, and I moved on with no real hard feelings. A few months ago he posted on FB seeking help finding transportation to a hospital in Olongapo for his ill son. I had my driver take them and paid for it myself. No big deal. I saw subsequent posts that revealed the diagnosis but seemed to indicate the child was holding his own. So, I was a bit surprised to learn of his passing. I sent the father a message expressing my condolences.

Again, I don’t know the dad well at all. I heard stories about him around town though. He managed various bars over the years but things didn’t usually end well because he was a heavy drinker and a mean drunk. I guess sometime back before I met him he quit the booze and found Jesus. His FB posts showed him working out at the gym, kayaking around the bay, hanging out with his kids, and offering praise to the lord. Apparently, he turned his life around and that is something to be admired.

Last night I decided to visit Dive In bar for the first time since Jessa quit. As I approached the bar, there was a guy loudly asking what music I wanted to hear. I said I didn’t care. He then asked me if I knew who he was. My eyes were still adjusting to the dark and I didn’t really recognize him at first, then I realized it was the father of the deceased child. I said, oh, hello Don. He angrily responded, “Is that all you’ve got to say to me? My son just died you know!” I said yes, I know. I’m sorry. I sent you a message earlier. Then I guess he remembered about the ride I had provided. He was still shouting but said, “you’re alright. you helped me out. Not like these other fuckers!” I was relieved when he moved over to the other side of the bar and took his seat. He continued loudly ranting and raving and making threats, occasionally pointing to me and screaming, “you’re a government official. Thanks for helping me. You’re very kind.” It made me very uncomfortable though.

The owner of Dive In came out of the back and whispered to me that Don’s son had died. So, I guess he was cutting him slack for his crazy behavior. Don even challenged the bar owner to fight, but he ignored him and went back to his hideout. I finished my beer and left.

Well, losing a child has got to be unimaginably painful. And Don had clearly fallen off the wagon. In fact, in all my years of drinking, I had never seen anyone as violently drunk as he was. Totally crazed and out of control. I hope he’s better today but I expect he is not. I guess he lost his faith when his kid died too. Jesus was not the savior Don thought he was. Sad times.

Here in the land of the living, I had a Joyful afternoon with my favorite “friend with benefits”. Took her to lunch at Sit-n-Bull where I finally got around to ordering my pulled pork sandwich. Joy had some Filipino rice concoction.

Joy is no conversationalist. She played with her phone throughout the meal. That’s okay, I didn’t have anything on my mind to talk about either. After lunch, we went to my place and Joy let her body do all the talking. That girl really loves fornication. We have that in common at least. When the act was done, she showered and dressed, I gave her some cash, and she headed on home. I then took a much-needed nap. These young women really wear me out!

After leaving Dive In and crazy Don last night, I headed over to Cheap Charlies. I stayed longer than I intended waiting for the rain to stop. It didn’t and still hasn’t. I learned two of my favorite girls had quit since my last visit because there are few customers these days and no money to be made. There was definitely a depressing vibe in the bar.

But damn it, we were alive. I don’t know what got into me, but I went into party mode. Bought lots of lady drinks and fed a crew of hungry gals. Now, when I go out on the town I always limit the cash in my wallet to 5000 pesos ($100.) and leave my debit card at home. I do this in case my wallet gets lost or stolen, and last night it saved me from going completely overboard. I had the good sense to check my tab and when I saw I’d already spent 4000 pesos I had no choice but to call it a night. Now, I almost never spend money like that in the bars, but last night was a pleasant exception. I made ten bargirls happy and had a grand time doing it.

It felt good to be alive.