Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Stormy stormy night


Four weeks in a row of being threatened by typhoon, I hope Santi would be the last to enter the country for this year. But PAGASA doesn't give such false pag-asa. It says another storm would enter come December. Storm in Christmas! I dread the thought. And I dread heavy rains lately. We're fortunate enough we weren't directly affected by the deluge caused by Ondoy. But I fear for the flood victims. I am a rain lover and I'll always be. But with the damage that it has caused many people, it's something that I don't wish for at the moment. Well, I can tolerate a drizzle. A shower. Or maybe a downpour. Rains can come in different forms and I love them all AS LONG AS it's not destructive.

I always love rain as far as I can remember. Storms included (sometimes). Well, I had my childhood in a place where storms are part of life. Bicol is at the side of the Pacific Ocean you see, so storms are our constant uninvited guests. Should I blame it on them that I so love the rain? I practically grew up with them!

There was one Undas I went for a vacation back home, tagging along with me my then boyfriend, now my hubby. While we were enjoying the festive mood in the cemetery, it started to rain. We were totally clueless about the storm that was coming. Maybe we were having so much fun, we didn't care. Storm came that night and really strong. My boyfriend (then) , looking a little horrified, asked me "Bat ganon ang tunog ng hangin?". The wind was fierce and making a violent whirling sound. "Wala ba nyan sa Maynila?", I asked back. "Wala. Sa pelikula ko lang yan naririnig!". He cracked me up! Just to find out the next day that it was no way a laughing matter. Mabolo Bridge collapsed. There were floods and landslides, and the roads going to Manila were totally not passable. We were stranded for days.

Last saturday, it was another Undas (bisperas) and another storm in the metro. The wind was making a whirling sound. Hubby blurted out "Lakas ng tunog ng hangin. Sa pelikula ko lang naririnig yan". "Hay naku, narinig ko na rin yan", I said. Now after several years, we can laugh it out. Suddenly it's a good memory.

photo credit