Mitsuru

Another "raw" excerpt from the The Adventures of the Dragonfly Eaters ... TATA BALAS, the resident Wiseman of Basag always had a ready answer for everything and anything- from the inherent wisdom of the kabad-kabad (electric fan) to the winning potential of every fighting cock. Thus, cockfighting aficionados, which are plenty in that community by the sea, sought his advice for free; by merely looking at and counting the scales on the chicken’s legs, he could distinguish a winning breed from a lousy one. His winning percentage, though, is another story for he was always partial to the Manok ni San Pedro. But call it divine intervention or what, the white chosen ones always end up as “burugsukan” - losers, in the hack fight. Still many cock-suckers (no pun intended) came to him for advice. And he did his role of fortune telling with relish and gusto. His expertise, though, is not only confined to the cock at hand. In fact, you can ask him anything and everything under the sun p...

been lazy for eons now. too rotten to write. blame it on the winter blues. but spring is on the horizon. the fields will be green and full of blooms soon... The late Sir Alan Arthur Bates, CBE reciting one of my favorite poems-- William Ernest Henley 's Invictus in this old UBS commercial reignited my appreciation of the beauty of the spoken word.