Let me tell you about the man that I’ve loved for years. He’s tall, dark, and well… he is not really that handsome. Oh, but he’s beautiful, with dark ebon, eyes, and a smile that touches my soul.
No, he is not like the typical hunk who stocks lotions and facials on his cabinet nor is he the boy-next-door who’s just as good at babysitting his little sis as he is at playing basketball. He’s not even like your overly-romantic-yet-frequently-moody artist who turns hysterical when he runs out of cobalt blue. Wait a minute, are you thinking of the know-all-be-all geek who patiently waits for Pluto to appear in the darkness of the sky??? How about the rowdy-dowdy cowboy who’s sooo good at ricocheting his gunshots while chewing gums on his mouth??? Hmmm…Cheez, I am so sorry to tell you guys but they are nothing compared to my man.
You see, I’m talking of someone with experience. Good and bad, he’s been through them all. He was once that boy on the back seat of the class, who, at any given moment would spontaneously leap over his school’s white-picket fence; runs around the plaza screaming; proclaiming to himself and to anyone like him, a special NO-CLASS holiday. Oh, there’s no need to tell you that he’s also that long-haired guy who stands along the street howling gorgeous to sexy girls that passed his way. Haaay, those were the days when his hays were green.
And so, father time took his toll. He, who started out as a crazy, irresponsible bachelor, who thinks of nothing but himself, now become a man who’s brave enough to conquer the waves of the seven great seas. He is stiff, strict and stubborn whose name was almost always synonimous with the stick. Respect and responsibility were his obsession while perseverance and honesty were his virtues. Who would have thought that underneath this cold facade was a pigeon-hearted man who was willing to give all that he have for his family??? Well, I bet my mother did. He always thought that he was special.
I could never describe how beautiful this man is nor can I express in words the fascination that I have for him. All I can say is that this ruggedly-clean, stupidly-brilliant, fearless-coward foolishly yet courageously jumped into the depths of loneliness and exhaustion just to give me the life that I have now. This one-of-a-kind man went into unchartered terrains, discovered unknown seas and survived the pangs of a lonely heart just to play the role that I, we, expect him to be.. .For all of that and more, I could never thank him enough.
Papa Lolong, thank you for being my paradoxical man…
