March 19, 2014

Beautiful Stranger

     Manong taxi driver was quite a character. I knew he was, the moment I heard he was listening to radio news broadcasted in English. A breath of fresh air from the usual local FM station almost every FX drivers patronize.
     In just a while Manong driver was showing me vintage photos, nicely kept in a pouch, from his days of service as a policeman to a picture of his lovely 2nd wife, who by the way was half his age of 77. This he was doing in between driving. I wondered if he does this "show and tell" to all his passengers. He did say he was just driving a cab for his past time as his real job right now was heading a security agency. I imagined how awesome every ride would be with him, armed with his treasure trove of old photographs to showcase. Sans the high-tech gadgets which have become part of our complicated lives. Old school still rocks.
     And for a moment, I secretly envied Manong Virgillo (Yes, with a double L. He did show me his old police ID with a photo of him in uniform). I admired how simple yet profoundly contented he was with his life. A full life. In that brief cab ride, he was a sweet reminder that life is a beautiful story to share to everyone. Even with complete strangers.

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