3 people, 3 reasons, 1 goal

     What a week it has been for me, It was so busy with all the requirements needed. School works including co curricular activities. All the stress for me can be relieved by one unusual thing. 

a long, cold and night bus travel home.

     You might think it's weird, it is! I mean most of us wants to go home early to rest our bodies and be a couch potato. Not me I guess, I tend to love sitting alone in the bus looking outside, thinking about what happened earlier during the day, the good and the bad things that happened, ponder on things. There's a lot really going on my mind each time I ride the bus at night.

     If you would be a spectator to me at the bus, you'll see me laugh at my own self like I'm a crazy man, I sometimes sing quietly with the support of my music player, but I only do this if there's less than 10 people inside the bus.

     However, August 19 was different, it was not me standing up singing my lungs out nor me snoring so loud, but there was 3 different people with 3 different reasons of going up under one goal, get financial support from us, the bus riders.

     The first was a dark skinned man, roughly burned by the sun. The name's "Jhetz" as I recall, selling his "Special macapuno and pastillas" to support his studies, he's about my age and I realized that I'm so lucky that I don't have to work for my education, so "why not" I said to myself. I bought 2 small packs of macapuno worth 25 pesos. I hope what I read in his letter was true because if he really does work for his education, he can get off from poverty. I remember what my friend said to me:

"Di mo kasalanan na pinanganak kang mahirap, pero pag namatay ka nang mahirap, kasalanan mo na yun"

                              (It's not your fault to be born poor, but if you die poor, that's your fault)

photo courtesy from the net.

     30 minutes after Jhetz went up, another man came up the bus. This time a rugged man of mid 30's gave me, no actually he threw the letter to me when I refused to take it. The letter stated that he was a victim of demolition, that's it, nothing more stated there, it was just supported by a signature below by a "chairman". I didn't give him money not because I don't care, but because I don't have any extra money to spare. I think demolished citizens should be taken care of by the Government, they demolish therefor they should first find a relocation site for my unfortunate countrymen. They're humans to you know. Sometimes people treat them like dirt.

     I've been stuck for 1 and 1/2 hours in traffic when the third man sitting suddenly stood up, brought out his bible and took the next 15 minutes or so of preaching about the word of God. He was reading verses and explaining what it meant, the first thing I thought was the effort of standing in the bus and preach while venturing the rough roads of EDSA highway. He was talking about how God loves us and about charity, to give to the poor and everything good must be done. It was all doing well, I stopped my music player and listened to him. It was all good until he said something that made me raise my eyebrows. He plugged in a TV show and started giving envelopes asking for donations. That's when I knew why he talked about charity first. Ugh, It was almost perfect.

     I finally got off and at least I wasn't bored during that long journey home. I thing I learned from those 3 people who I assume will never cross my way again, It's Courage. Courage to do anything just to get by another day.

Photo courtesy of:

Preacher and Demolition