By: Telly Gonzaga-Ocampo
Friendhip and Birthdays in October
There are two important persons close to my heart, who are celebrating their birthdays in October. One is my bff Ardy who celebrated her natal day on the 30th and my cousin Daria on the 25th.
Ardy Ines Araneta Batoy
She is younger than me. I remember her as a little girl who riveted: “I shot an arrow into the air, it fell to earth I knew not where …” That was decades ago at the old St. Joseph College located at the campus of what used to be Holy Spirit School. My bff used to star in the school’s stage plays – events often watched by people in and out of the city. One of the most popular plays was “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott, where Ardy portrayed the role of the youngest sister among four. The others were Marilou Simbajon-Sevilla, Gloria Relampagos-Marapao, and Mildred Bernido (one of the daughters of then Governor Esteban Bernido). If I am not wrong, my bff was still in first year high school at that time.
Then, in College she became the Editor-in-Chief of the school paper and that early, she already showed independence in her social analysis, adherence to media ethics, courage to fight tough questions and issues, and, of course, her smooth communication skills.
College of the Holy Spirit was then in a classic structure along Borja Street where acacia and quinine trees abound. I am happy and proud to say that the school’s main gate along Borja Street was donated by our class of
1958-62 with Virgilia “Daya” Lim-Yap as our class president. We went into caroling to raise funds for that iron gate. Those who went a-caroling were girls from Tagbilaran, enough to be accommodated at Daya’s car. Her sister Lina Lim-Yap was also our classmate. In those days, only very few of our schoolmates who came to school were chauffeur-driven. Some of them were the Cloribels of Panglao, the Clarins of Loay, Nonette Corpus of Calape and Lourdes Ong of the Bohol Quality Corporation fame.
Every Monday morning after the flag ceremony, there was always a musical or literary presentation from each class of the school. And one Monday morning, from the freshmen group, there was this little girl reciting the poem. That little girl was indelibly etched in my memory – my present bff Ardy. She interpreted the poem with gusto, without stage fright, and with determination. These are traits which she carries in her job today.
Fast forward in the age of sea vessels – the fastcraft. An opportunity of friendship gave us the privilege of sitting beside each other at Oceanjet, from our trip to Tagbilaran from Cebu City. It was inevitable. We started our conversation and never stopped in the duration of our travel. I know she married my townmate and distant cousin. But we did not discuss that. We just went down into memory lane reminiscing the good old days when she was still handling a radio dedication program – in the airwaves – at station dyML owned by Mario Lopez and the Lopez family. Her program was a hit among teenagers and the not so young listeners. One Valentine’s Day celebration, her program was ranked highly as she interpreted Rolando Carbonell’s “Beyond Forgeting”.
Then I became a volunteer for Enfants Du Mekong – a group who sponsored scholarship programs in the Philippines. I was assigned to handle programs for the college scholars. The scholars were required to write to their sponsors once a year and they were not allowed to write directly to the sponsors. They knew the sponsors’ names but they were not given the sponsors addresses until their graduation.
And these scholars met some challenges in written and oral communication, so I asked my bff Ardy to teach and to coach them. And that partnership made us the closest of friends. That partnership brought me to The Bohol Tribune. I have been with the paper since its infancy in the section called ‘TRENDING”. Yes, my bff and I, have been in this journey for 10 years now. We don’t see each other often. But we know we can call each other to share, not the Maritess way, our thoughts; to unburden our “load” and to laughtoge ther when there’s a need to be “loud” in order to unleash the pain.
Daria Caballo – Realista
My cousin Daria is always there when I need her. She sleeps in the house when I need company; when I feel low and sick. She is always generous with her saging sab-a when she has a good harvest. Avocados in season are always delivered to my fruit corner in the house. And all these happen consistently including the little things, my joy, she can think of when she is out of town – here or abroad.
But most of all, she is my partner in the preparation of the carro of our Senior Jesus Nazareno. We are the Marthas in preparing the food after each procession on Holy Wednesdays and Good Fridays during the Lenten Season. It is during this time when the family members gathers to continue the tradition left behind by our grandparents and the parents before them. We are the 5th generation of the Tan Akoy and Selvina Iyog couple. Very soon, Daria will fly abroad to visit her “apo” whose parents enjoy the abundance of life. Bon Voyage, Daria!
To both of you Ardy and Daria, happy birthday and many happy returns of the day!!!
