Ruminations on 60
BANGKOK, Thailand – Tomorrow, this writer turns 60. Wow. Thirty-nine years of living the work life I love in sports, a life that was momentarily interrupted by heart, lung and kidney failure and 38 days in hospital last March. It’s been a ride bursting with memories both ecstatic and poignant, with happiness and hurt, but above all now, gratitude.
When I first started in the industry in 1986 right after the EDSA event, mobile phones, remote controls and the Internet did not exist. My reportorial duties consisted of scraping for sports news aside from the PBA. Monthly darts, bowling and billiards were my staple. To this date, no prime time newscast in the Philippines carries sports on a daily basis with the exception of PTV, which only started three years ago. Imagine a Philippines with no MRT, flyovers, and very few malls. You had to get up from your seat to change the channel on your television. Even beepers were a thing of the future.
We’ve experienced the thrill of new places and events: the Olympic Games, hundreds of world title fights, 17 Southeast Asian Games, dozens of sports, and of course, basketball. Hoops has allowed us to see the Philippines and the world: the NBA, PBA, PABL, MBA, ABL, PSL, UAAP, NCAA and now, TAT (The Asian Tournament). That’s quite an alphabet. From triumph to tragedy, the purity and gross cheating, victory and disappointment.
It’s not all fragrant flowers, either. Loss is a big part of life when you dare to pursue your passions. For the longest time, our financial struggles were real and overwhelming. I’ve experienced unemployment, family break-up, my home burning down, being shot at, the bombing of the 1986 Olympics, and great personal loss. Colleagues and friends like Joe Cantada, Romy Kintanar, Butch Maniego, and most recently, Boyet Sison and Chino Trinidad, have passed on. I’m already older than any of them were. My mother Lirio died of a rare illness in 2011. My Dad Luis followed soon after. It’s hard to describe the feeling of never being able to pick up the phone and call them, or see them in person. You never get over it. The pain lessens, but never goes away. Thank the Lord for new friends and new work families who ease