I am typing this with only one eye –the other is on the TV where a match between two famous boxers, world famous also in history, is being replayed on the TV screen. It took a while before I realized that this was a match circa 1985, with the protagonists Sugar Ray Robinson and Ralph “Tiger” Jones! Oh well, when they fought, I had not yet seen a single boxing match, I only became interested during the time of Manny Pacquiao, because brother Bing was always the one whom he wanted to carry the Philippine Flag during the introduction to the game when the Philippine National Anthem was played.
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I did not enjoy the fight but it was the company I loved that included Pacquiao’s mother, aunts and other relatives, and, of course, his wife who, I found out later, has an identical twin! Anyway, I am no longer interested in that sport which I have always considered brutal and not fit for human beings. But, to my horror, yesterday, I also saw a boxing match on TV, featuring two female boxers! I guess this is because women now feel that anything men can do they also can. But I do not know if we have also female boxing champs from the Philippines.
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Bad news today – oil prices are being hiked again with the increase expected to be between P.50 to P.70. I hope I remember to fill’er up before the night is over to, at least, save a few pesos. I had thought that oil prices would continue going down with people going out less, and supposedly using less fuel, too, but it doesn’t look that way. Even if consumption seems to be less, prices still keep rising, and only the oil-producing countries are happy. When, Oh when, can we discover our own oil sources, or at least a local substitute for it? As it says in that old song, “A dream is a wish your heart makes”. And that is what my heart is dreaming about.
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But the one we should appeal to is the One who determines what kind of weather we shall have because ours has been so unpredictable lately that it is difficult to make plans that involve going out. Well, maybe it is a way of keeping people home so they do not get exposed to the vicious COVID virus that has been decimating our population and keeping our hospitals overflowing with patients. What have we done to deserve such a scourge as this malady? I hope God-fearing people, remember to pray the “OratioImperata”, copies of which were distributed in Churches shortly after the disease became recognized as a pandemic. For me, it is a universal prayer not intended only for Catholics, but for all God-loving and fearing people.
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I really believe that we all need to pray as much as we can to be saved from the calamities that seem to be hovering over the world now. Even as we are struggling with the new disease brought by the China-based coronavirus, we are also being hit by typhoons such as “Bising”, that has reportedly caused a lot of damage in several parts of the country. Now, Bising starts with the letter B, and that means it is the second one to hit after we had reached the one whose name started with the letter ”Z”. But let us hope and pray that any other that may follow will not be deadly ones.
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What is the matter with the people of the United States? Why are so many of them going gun-happy recently? The other day six were reported shot and killed, apparently for no major reasons. Again, I hope and pray that the American people themselves will implore their lawmakers to pass more stringent gun laws so that people cannot just go into a store and purchase one so easily. What has their new President, Joe Biden, got to say on that? Has he taken steps, or advised their Congress to pass laws making the acquisition of gunpowermore difficult?
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Oh, yes, we have also a lot of shootings taking place in our country, but those are usually committed with the use of “colorum” guns, or unlicensed ones. And then, too, we have rebel or crime groups who manage to acquire firepower through ways we are not aware of. That, added to our rebel problems, has certainly contributed to the killings caused by guns, that could have been avoided with stricter laws on their acquisition. Now that I think of it, I have not heard or read any statement from our national leaders what action they are taking to control gun ownership and help reduce shooting incidents.
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But who are responsible for the circulation of fake news all over the country recently? Imagine, one of them reportedly claimed that the President is losing the support of the Philippine National Police and the Department of National Defense! The Office of the President should send out a body of investigators to find out the author of this canard and charge them in court. Even if they meant it as a joke, we cannot see humor in what involves the life of our officials, more particularly because we also have an existing rebel problem in our country. Maybe we should encourage the singing of that beautiful song that starts with “Let there be peace on earth/And let it begin with me”. And with us all, naturally.*
