by: Eric Ariel L. Salas
Some things in this world are visually
inseparable. For instance, try to imagine Adolf Hitler without his signature
moustache? Or FPJ without his long patilya. Try picturing April Boy Regino without his cap and Eddie Gil sans his pilokang itim. I bet you can't.
Same thing when I
think of my grandfather. Just can't imagine him without his sunglasses. It's
like a made-for-each-other sort of love affair. Where one is, there goes the
other.
Lolo Nayong, as I tenderly call him, kids a lot about his dark sunglasses being made exceptionally strong to resist
the toughest of storms, solid enough to stay screwed on a ten-storey free fall, and above all, crafted to suit his well-defined
facial features. Of course, he'd laugh afterwards.
My grandpa,
already in his mid-80's, no doubt, is the coolest Lolo of all. Who would believe that even in his age right now he can still ride his motorbike with the ease of an expert. Speeding off like a pro car racer, he could smoothly dodge potholes and swing dangerous
curves, to the amazement of many. He might adore his bike but not more than his
sunglasses.
As a devotee of his
sunglasses, Lolo abhors substitutes of the sort of fad being flaunted right now.
In clinging to his very own treasure and stalwartly snubbing any substitute, he is comparable to those legendary lovers of
yore whose devotion to their lady loves were unwavering. To this day, my grandpa has stayed true to his sunglasses.
Every visit
I do to my hometown, I always make it a point to drop by Lolo's abode just to be
entertained with his sharing of the funny anecdotes of his life. He never fails
to charm me with unending tales from how he managed to mesmerize grandma's elusive heart to how he convinced everyone that
his 10 years older of grandma was never an impediment to a happily-ever-after romance.
He regularly tells me how he exercised by playing tennis till he was 70 and helping till his rice fields even up to
now.
I love my Lolo so much. Not because he has a high
regard for what I do. Not because he loves reading my articles to the last word. Neither because he is awesomely unique with his eyeglasses. Not also because he likes talking to me in English language and that he always insists I inherited his
talents and skills. I love him simply for the reason that he brings joy to the
family, a true treasure himself with a comforting aura only himself can offer.
Without saying,
he would never miss to read this article. When I'd see him again
soon, he'd probably smile at me, maybe hug me tight and then tell me again and again how good I have turned out to be and
how so good-looking I have developed into over the years. As always, I would
only laugh silently and entertain the one logical yet amusing idea why I rather hope for Lolo
to wear his treasured sunglasses often.
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