One Rainy Day

Dancing in the rain – figuratively.

It was 5:30 or so when I woke up. My sore body tightly pressed with that of my grandmother’s tried to move about, but the cramped bed gave no opportunity for that luxury. Alas, I remembered that I squeezed myself onto her bed last night because mosquitoes were troubling the hell out of my body during the wee hours last night. And so I had no other choice but to open my almost tightly-glued eyes and let out a polite smile.

Last night, my younger brother crafted a well-detailed plan of our itinerary for today. By no means was it a grand plan; I mean, we were only going to Circle and Ninoy Aquino Wildlife Center (because apparently, my bro and sis want to see birds and snakes and whatchamacallit, though even I wonder if there are such animals there). Still, I agreed because for one, I cannot concoct a better plan, being the lousy and lazy planner that I am. Also, I can feel my past self mocking me – imagine, I haven’t been to that Wildlife Center though I’ve been practically passing on that way for almost the entirety of High School.

I looked out the window. The sky looked lonely, the clouds rather gloomy. At once I knew the inevitable – the impending rain that was about to ruin our day. And my verdict didn’t fail me (like duh, how stupid can you get if you can’t even get that prediction right). So, three hours later, I saw myself walking along puddles of rain in Circle with my family. I was about to mock myself again for betraying my sound judgment, but I guess, it is what it is, right? The spontaneity, the joys of doing something silly, the mere act of waking up early. I guess the third one is an achievement in itself already.

We roamed around, seeing aerobic dancers trying to burn their belly fat off, tianggevendors and random people (probably as bored as we were) along the way. After a few minutes of aimless wandering, we somehow found ourselves in front of the entrance of Quezon Memorial Shrine Museum in the pylon (or better put, the distinguishable cream-colored tower in Circle).

Finally, something new and interesting. I mean, I must admit that I did not even know that there was a museum there. I only knew that late President Manuel Quezon’s tomb rests in that tower.

Glad to let you know that I was not disappointed. Granted, many of the items there are the common ones regularly seen in museums, such as hats and guns, but we’ve got to look beyond the surface, right? Also, I did see some interesting finds, like the manicure set of President Quezon’s wife, Aurora Aragon, as well as various sheet music for songs venerating the late president. (I’ve been learning how to play the piano for the past few weeks, so you can only imagine how interesting those things were for me.)

Among the items in that room, though, something particularly caught my attention – a framed poster of the Manuel L. Quezon’s words of wisdom. He had something to say about different things conveniently grouped in that poster, such as the Youth, Moral Uprightness, Education, and so on. Among those topics, something stood out for me. I even copied it for future reference. Here it goes:

CHARACTER

“One may be the greatest scientist the bravest general or the most invincible conqueror, but if he is a cheat and a liar, he is worse than a dog. It is not a man’s position in life or  his accomplishment that counts, but the moral stamina he mobilizes to uphold good and defeat evil.”

My siblings, being such noisy children, were not able to stay there for long so we decided to leave the items in peace before my bro and sis make another scandal (believe me, they’re notorious for that). Before leaving, we saw the tomb of Manuel L. Quezon as well as his wife’s (rests on the side). And we learned a few tidbits too! Apparently, the tower stands 66 meters from the base of stairs to the top because Quezon lived for 66 years. And the distinct three-winged angels on the tip of the tower that I often see on my way to Pisay represent Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

We barely lasted for three hours in Circle because my siblings were really, really hyper. But that’s okay, really. I stepped into our car with fresh buko juice on one hand and a cup full of chicken skin (delicious, but gosh, full of cholesterol) on the other. I was satisfied− no, maybe happy even. 

Indeed, what seemed to be an inauspicious day for going out turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable treat for our family. XD