My family and relatives who have gone to life beyond must forgive me for not going to visit their tombs this All Souls’ Day. Typhoon Paeng left floodwater residues in some areas in my hometown, and the cemetery was not spared. And if there is one thing that can make me shriek and feel sick with disgust aside from crawling wiggly creatures like earthworms - it’s flood water. Ever since the health department issued advisory on the lethal floodwater borne disease called leptospirosis, I have always avoided going out when streets are submerged after heavy rains.
As usual though, the 1st of November is always an occasion for family gatherings. Despite President Gloria Arroyo’s announcement that there would be no extended holidays on October 31 and November 2, people still took time to go back to their provinces and paid homage to their dead, and at the same time reunite with living loved ones.

Side Note: My Kuya (older brother) Ted and his wife Linden flew in from California for a two week vacation. Kuya Ted has been worried about our parents on their sudden deteriorated state. He wants to spend more time with them now - while our parents are still around.

Kuya Ted is the most wonderful brother in the world. No, he is not the eldest in our family. He is the third born, but he became second to the eldest because the sibling born before him died an infant from dehydration due to diarrhea. (This was during the post war period when the country was plunged in depression - no modern medications yet and even doctors were still very few - that there were many who perished from illnesses that are - at present - easily treatable.)

He worries about everybody. He feels responsible for all of us - financially and morally. Even when he was still here in the Philippines, already married and working as an engineer in a multi-national engineering firm, he would always dig deep in his pockets to augment our finances. When he brought his family to settle in the U.S. in 1981, it was not like he was away from us. He wrote frequently, sent us photos of his growing family and sustained his regular cash support to my parents and, occasionally, to us his siblings.

Kuya Ted has the most generous heart. It’s not easy to be generous in this age when people would claw on each other to get their share of crumbs. But my Kuya Ted is an exception. He would rather forego a planned leisure trip to Las Vegas or Hawaii just to save the money for a more needy family member. This is no exaggeration. He belongs to a ‘rare tribe’, so to speak.