Sa Balcony ng Senado

Stamp pad na Congress? Matagal na, baybee!

“Ahem, Senator Revilla,” what is the knock-knock for today?”

“Ah… ah… Speaker Sotto, I think the implication of the delegation is the legislation of exhibition in television; furthermore…”

“?? Ah, Mr. Vice President – Erap! Pssst, hoy gising! Ano ba’ng sinasabi ng kumag na ito? Meron ba’ng gano’n?”

“Zzzzz… huh? Aba siyempre po. But for the record – pakiulit nga, Pareng Mon…”

“Itinatanong ko lang, pare, kung tumalbog sa takilya yung Captain Bawang, Kalaban Ng Aswang, at kung ibebenta na lang sa telebisyon. Ekskyus mi, Mr. Speaker, at napa-Inglis ako.”

“Is olrayt, pero bago natin pag-usapan ‘yan, medyo pasadahan muna natin yung pinagmitingan natin kahapon. Ah, Secretary Coseteng, ano ba’ng tinalakay natin kahapon?”

“’Yun pong ipinapasok na bill ni Sen. Webb: sa halip na tawagin pang Lower House at Upper House itong Senado ay gawin na lang Orchestra at Balcony.”

“Okey lang, basta tayong mga senador ang balcony at yung nga kongesmaniak ang sa orkestra; supporting role lang naman sila eh. Pumasa ba? Di ko natapos yung session kahapon dahil nag-teyping pa kami ng It Baluga.”

“Yes, sir. Pero under protest pa kay Rep. Roldan dahil wala raw siyang libreng pases. Speaking of protest, sir, ba’t naman awtomatik ako ang naging secretary dito?”

“Siyempre, dahil ikaw ay babae, das why. Pagkatapos nga pala nito eh ipagtimpla mo raw ng kape si Senator Orly at medyo napuyat kagabi doon sa talk show niya.”

“Sir naman! Eh ano po ang nangyari doon sa mungkahi kong baguhin ang ilang defective provisions sa Land Reform Bill nu’ng nakaraang lehislatura?”

“Ayan ka na naman, Senator Nikki. Malay namin diyan. Tinutularan mo na yata si Senator Angara na may pa-debt cap debt cap pa. Senador na eh nag-aahente pa ‘ata ng cap. Dapat iwan na niya sa mga titser ang pagbebenta niyan.”

“Ibang klaseng CAP naman ‘yun eh…”

“Ay, basta di naming naiintindihan ‘yan. Buti pa, itong mga importanteng isyu ang pagtuunan natin. Ah, Senator Revilla, sino ba’ng gumawa nu’ng script ng Captain Bawang?”

“Eh, freelance lang yung may gawa, Mr. Speaker, at isinumite lang sa Legal Films.”

“Legal Films? Baka Regal Films ang ibig mong sabihin –“

“Hindi po. Napag-alaman kong mga Chinese investors ang nagtatag nito, kaya sa halip na Regal eh naging Legal.”

“Aba, mabuti naman at naisipan nilang mag-invest dito sa halip na sa ibang negosyo. Ang alam ko eh ang mga dayuhang nagpapasyal dito eh puro chicks lang ang puntirya.”

“Di lang sila nagka-intindihan nu’ng travel agent nila, sir. Mga chicks talaga ang hanap nila at sabi pa eh handa silang gumastos “where there is plenty elections.’ Eh, tiyempo naman at maghahalalan dito, kayo isinalpak sila sa Pinas nu’ng agency.”

“Ayun! Yung Legal nila, Regal natin; ito namang elections natin eh naging erec – hmm! Buti pa eh humanap na lang tayo ng ibang scipt, masyado nang korni itong ginagawa ni Pogi. Election… Erection – wakanga!”

Por da rekord: ang mga senador nu'ng 1992 ay sina (1)Vicente "Tito Sotto III (2) Ramon Revilla (3) Edgardo Angara (4) Ernesto Herrera (5) Alberto Romulo (6) Ernasto Maceda (7) Orlando "Orly" Mercado (8) Neptali Gonzales (9) Leticia Ramos Shahani (10) Heherson Alvarez (11) Blas Ople (12) Freddie Webb (13) Gloria Macapagal-Arroro (14) Teofosto Guingona Jr. (15) Santanina Rasul, (16) Jose Lina Jr. (17) Anna Dominique "Nikki" Coseteng (18) Arturo Tolentino (19) Raul Roco (20) Rodolfo Biazon (21) Wigberto Tañada (22) Francisco Tatad (23) John Osmeña (24) Agapito Aquino.

Bilib it or nat, naalala ko itong lumang piyesa (The Angeles Sun,1992) dahil kay Michael Jackson. Narinig ko yung “Remember The Time” at nagpatikwad-tikwad na itong topak-prone kong diwa, na nag-segue sa inutil na Senado – ngayon at noon – na puro showbiz lang ang hirit. Flashback!

Desiderata

The Desiderata of Happiness 
1995 edition

I planned to write a blog about this wonderful and popular free verse, but I found Wikipedia had said all I intended to say. So I'm just reprinting here pertinent portions of the Wikipedia article.

***

Desiderata (Latin: "desired things", plural of desideratum) is a 1927 prose poem by American writer Max Ehrmann (1872-1945). The text was largely unknown in the author's lifetime and became widely known after its use in a devotional.

Some time around the year 1959, Reverend Frederick Kates, rector of Saint Paul's Church in Baltimore, Maryland, included Desiderata in a compilation of devotional materials for his congregation. The compilation included the church's foundation date: "Old Saint Paul's Church, Baltimore A.D. 1692." The date of the text's authorship is widely mistaken as 1692, the year of the church's foundation.

When Adlai Stevenson died in 1965, a guest in his home found the Desiderata near his bedside and discovered that Stevenson had planned to use it in his Christmas cards. Subsequently, the poem became widely known as having been found at Saint Paul's Church of Baltimore – but confusing the date of the church's foundation as the date of the text's authorship.

The text was widely distributed in poster form and in late 1971 and early 1972, Les Crane's spoken-word recording of Desiderata peaked at #8 on the Billboard chart and No. 6 on the UK Melody Maker's chart. The makers of the record assumed that the poem was too old to be in copyright, but the publicity surrounding the record led to clarification of Ehrmann's authorship and his family eventually receiving royalties.

In August 1971 the poem was published in Success Unlimited magazine, again without authorization from Ehrmann's family. In a 1976 lawsuit against the magazine's publisher, Combined Registry Company, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that copyright had been forfeited because the poem had been authorized for publication without a copyright notice in the 1940s – and that the poem is therefore in the public domain.

On August 26, 2010, a bronze statue of Max Ehrmann sitting on a park bench was unveiled in Terre Haute, Indiana, his hometown, with the sculpture done by Bill Wolfe. On a nearby walkway, some lines of the poem are also available to be read by passersby.

***

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCRzaG19wJE