When a President Dies, a JS Prom is Not a Prom



That's a statement of fact: A JS Prom is not a prom when a president dies.

Let me take you back to Balete Academy in March of 1957. The plans were all set. The 4th year students were to play hosts as they were about to initiate the juniors of their pivotal roles as the incoming seniors comes SY 1957-1958. They had the schedule set on March 25, 1957 and all (that is, the juniors and the seniors) were excited. The ballroom was readied and sparkling. The program was already in place and committees were created and constituted. At home, my mother who was in her junior year then was busy sewing her dress for the event during weekends as my grandfather can't afford the services of a professional dressmaker.

Then came the grim news. Mt. Pinatubo exploded. No. Not the volcano. I mean the airplane that carried the most popular President of the Philippine Government, the late Ramon Magsaysay. Barely a few minutes taking off from Cebu Airport early that morning of March 17, 1957, the Cebu Douglas C-47 crashed into the slopes of Mt. Manunggal in Cebu, killing all 26 passengers but one.

With the sad news of the death of Pres. Magsaysay came the directives that any public gatherings had to have the permission from the proper authorities. Benefit dances and parties were banned for the moment, JS Proms included. Now, that was really sad. Especially for those who have long expected to witness that special night to happen. Postponing it, the organizers had to worry and contain the suppressed adrenalin and testosterones of those adolescents.

So the organizers settled for a compromise. The JS Prom pushed through as planned. Only that, it was no longer a prom or a ball but only a buffet dinner and some photo sessions for posterity's sake. And not in public places but hidden in the private abode of one of their teachers (at the residence of the late Pacifico Villaruel, as shown in the photo above). Had these students knew beforehand that such would be their last prom (Balete Academy closed shop before the opening of the SY 1957-1958 and was only reestablished in the late 60's), they would have summoned their creativity and innovative spirits to make such gathering truly a memorable one--even if the most popular president of the Republic of the Philippines had just died and that the whole nation was still mourning his demise.

But they were not seers. And they lived their lives without regrets. The good thing is, their hands turned out to be the ones that rocked our cradles.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pitiw 101 for the Curious and the Kids at Heart

Image
So you want to know the art of playing pitiw . That you are reading this piece tells me so. Pitiw, my friend, is my old folks' version of the western world's baseball or softball, only that we don't use a ball but a stick. The knowledgeable will surely react at my simile (for it is actually a "snake game"), but let me finish. Let me describe it by laying down the materials and rules. First, the materials: 1 stick, 2 cm diameter x 50 cm long - Kamagon is preferred but Coffee or Guava stem will do--they don't easily crack (This one serves as your bat) 1 stick, 2 cm diameter x 16 cm long - of the same wood with the bat (This serves as the ball or originally, the snake) Second, the venue: Find an open field to play--we used to play on the streets when the traffic was almost zero during our bygone years. Today, the Ceres Bus and the " Ro-Ro " are making a lot of cracks on the newly paved road which are ideal for playing Pitiw but the busy traffic wo
Read more

SOOTHING AS NIGHT WINDS ARE: An Interpretation of the poem by that title by Salvador B. Espinas

Image
Love is gentle, love is quiet Like any distant star; In loving by which we approximate the nature of love, we do not coerce those we love—as much as possible we give room for freedom to grow and respect each other’s independence, i.e., each other’s time of searching. In loving, the lover is like the distant star, manifesting his presence and yet quietly, not trying to obstruct or block the path of the beloved. He stands besides quietly assuring her of his gentle presence and constant attention. Love is beauty, love is music Soothing as night winds are. Lovers are enchanted by the wonders of creation. One who is in loved would often quips that everything seems beautiful and that “ life has music, rhythm and rhyme” –which actually is. Somehow, love enables man and woman to see reality as God sees it. As even in times of trouble, loves comes like night winds, soothing our weary mind and aching heart.
Read more

Something About Tumbo (Cara y Cruz): A Hypothesis

Image
They say that mahjong is just a diversion, a recreation of some sort of the bored and the retired. But they say that cara y cruz is a different case. However you look at it--in both sides of the coin (pun intended), it is gambling and therefore those who indulged in it (read, the poor ones) are playing in conflict with law. And so, since yesteryears, people accepted those facts. Mahjong is recreational while cara y cruz or tumbo is gambling and illegal at that. An Alfonso showing its head and tail or if your prefer its "hari" & "corona" But I was amused at the scene of a group of individuals by an "island" at corner T.M. Kalaw and Taft Avenue I happened to pass by while doing research at the National Archives of the Philippines sometime in August 2010. I just alighted from the Light Rail Transit (LRT) at UN Station and was finding my way to cross T.M. Kalaw when I noticed a bunch of lot playing cara y cruz on the elevated concrete "isla
Read more