by Telly G. Ocampo
My wishes for the New Year celebration
My number 1 wish is: wala untay buto-buto. There’s already so much noise in this world today – war in Israel with bombings on both sides of Gaza; giyera sa kabukiran; buto-buto kada adlaw, unya dugangan pa gyud sa pabuto inig sugat sa bag-ong tuig? Sobra na!
In the early morning news at dyTR with Ted Ayeng, it was announced that: “Daghan nang nasunog ug nawad-an ug kabalayan sa kaulohan ug sa sugbo tungod sa sunog sa bodega manufacturing pyrotechnics.” Maayo na lang gyud nga wa nay namaligya ug mga pabuto sa mga kadaplinan sa dalan. Mga oficiales intawon, ipadayon ng pagbawal ug permit sa mga pabuto. Dili pa ba diay ta motagam? Daghan ng nangamatay, nawad-an ug tudlo, nabuta, nadeform ang nawong. Unya mosige pa gyud?
Seeing the entire situation, I could say that we owe a “Thank You” to our former president, Rodrigo Duterte. He was firm in his fight against this. If only people would realize that even the dogs suffer a lot during the season of meeting the new year. Dogs feel very scared of the firecrackers and the loud horrifying sound of the rebentador or lebentador, whatever it is.
Adding to the scary experience is the liti ug lipak ug dugdug nga mura ug makabu-ak sa samin apil atong dughan. And this did not only happen once but many times. “The gods must be crazy” said one movie before when there were thunderstorms.
Why do we have to spend money for “fire”? I understand that there are many of our brothers and sisters who barely have food to eat. Why don’t the “have’s” donate their money for the pabuto to the “have nots”?
Come to think of it, we save money to be spent for our destruction. And definitely, the environment suffers as the pabuto invade the environment. Kon mobati ang tawo, mobati pud ang kalikopan. According to Ted Ayeng,in the previous years, many birds hovering over the St. Joseph Cathedral vicinity, died because of the pabuto.
Yes, we spend money to buy fruits nga lignin for the luck these fruits bring. Even if the fruits are not that ripe yet, we insist on buying these kinds so that luck will come into our lives.
Adding to all the sounds of fury are the motorcycles whose owners drive around the main highway using their improvised mufflers. These mufflers are giving us the the real agony at night, at dawn and early morning. Please dear drivers, have mercy on us who are living along the highway. Maluoy intawon mo namong nagpuyo daplin sa karsada – labi na kaming mga senior citizens. Makadugang mo sa kalisud sa among pandungog. KINABANHAAN GYUD MO KAAYO OY.
These motorists really drive like crazy. They don’t have consideration at all to other people on the streets, in the houses and those who are fast asleep and are just jolted by the horrendous sound of the machine. My question is : Nganong dili man ni sila dakpon aron mahilom sa bilangguan?
Anyway, what shall I do on the first day of 2024? I will have an inventory of the plants that I have in my garden. I will pluck the dying dry leaves. Akong hapuhapan ang mga buhing dahon aron kini sila molambo ug dugang. I will greet my friends a happy new year. I will greet my family and relatives, of course. I will talk to my 7 dogs. I will assure them of my constant love and care. They, too, have feelings, I’m sure.
While the forecast of El Niño is giving us a jitter, I say, the Lord will always protect us. We will continue to hope and pray that the forecast will not happen. I will empower my plants. I will change gears and have a paradigm shift in my priorities. I will think positive.
A blessed new year to everyone.
