Placio Wadkiis, 56, E-Benguet, and residing in same province, is farmer by trade.
During youth, he was a farmhand, “babaonen” or peon (helper), toiled anywhere in Benguet where work was found, but carefully balanced his earnings through thick and thin.
Poor but industrious, drank to shoo away tiredness but he knew when to stop and cap that damn bottle of wine.
At age 27, he sighted a Benguet lass, Erwina, 25 years old, an unpretentious but lovely lady who didn’t shirk spoiling her hands toiling the fields.
Humble almost to a fault but bubbling with earnestness, Placio decided Erwina was soul-mate for him for a lifetime, and to ride the river with.
Bashful, or as Ibaloys say as “shy mango,” and scared Erwina might say “ayshe,” (none), he threw caution to the winds, courted Erwina and whispered words into her ears that you and I have no business knowing about.
Until Erwina pulled and pinched Placio’s uncleaned ears and gurgled, “Ay, wara gayam pusom,” (You have a heart).
Erwina decided never mind, “ayshe Elf truck, Pacio,” or baka (cows) “nga maibkasan di wasay” (butchered) for their simple wedding.
For Erwina, Placio’s honesty and industriousness were “balitoc” (gold) to mold their family.
Erwina was correct. Years later, Placio, through sheer hard work, built their house and purchased a second-hand vehicle to transport their vegetable produce to Baguio City.
Placio also has an unlooked asset: he communed with Mother Nature and was God-fearing.
He knew when to plant, what to plant, offered sacrifice for his belief and stopped when nature rumbled.
Contemplating Mother Nature’s work affords some of the loftiest, untainted enjoyment of the human mind.
Looked upon as craftsmanship of an estimable, superior and wise Being, humans can contemplate on nature with mingled awe and admiration.
Even in creation’s lesser parts, among negligible things of our own earth, how much do we discover to hail forth wonder and inspire delight. Moving and unmoving nature is rife with beauty and astonishing displays of superior wisdom.
How surprising Nature’s order and regularity of the crystal, that Placio, in toiling the fields, is in zinc with nature’s order and regularity.
One example of Placio’ way with nature: when almost all farmers opted to plant potatoes, the production swamping the market, Placio, didn’t plant potatoes. Instead he’d go for other crops, like growing mushrooms which were more profitable, grown all-year round and not harming nature.
Pestered why he didn’t follow potato planting trend, as most farmer did, Placio wryly grinned and said, “Let’s just say humans are clever animals but who sometimes behave as fools. I’m the fool who followed nature instead of the potato planting trend.”
Having said that, he’s no fool. A visit to the Baguio City Vegetable Section reveal mushrooms, like Oyster variety, sell at over 100 pesos per kilo; Shitake variety sell at over 600 pesos per kilo.
Placio, fool who followed nature by raising mushrooms, says, “Nangina pay mushroom nu karne ti baboy.”
“Bend with nature, gayyem na sika, kalaban mu isuna, she uncorks like coiled spring nga nabartek,” Placio explains.
Aye, Mother Nature – generally peaceful – can morph into an obstinate old lady who’ll have her own way; she won’t easily permit her intentions to be frustrated.
Correct are ye, darling reader. We, sometimes may catch Nature napping, but once discovered, she won’t allow us to exploit such discovery to our advantage.
It’s said humans are stubborn, “stubborn as a mule.”; but Nature, compared to humans, can be most stubborn if she so desires – and like an enraged bull.
Once enraged, She-Nature slashes with a vengeance.
look at how we carve out Nature’s belly mountains and hills for passage, sure of our engineering skills that roads we’ve built pass engineering standards.
Along comes unmarried old lady Nature, grumpily eyes our engineering feats, calls in her typhoon wings and demolishes our roads and other man-made structures to hell and damnation.
Never for a moment denigrating unmarried lady Nature, and other unmarried ladies who prefer being that way. But when they get angry, we better get the hell out of the way and be absent when they rage.
When Mother Nature and other single women rage, we better be absent, and later, disarm them with charm that in our absence, the heart grows fonder. Or, baliktad, in our absence, the heart goes wander?
Nature for the past weeks flexed her muscle, dumping tons of water in every nook and cranny in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Region 1, for days and nights.
You, hurrying home as darkness descends, may have felt awed by Nature’s strength of rains pummeling Baguio City and elsewhere.
When it rains, night draws her dark curtains around Baguio City’s sleeping landscape. The moon, the lustrous queen of the night is hidden by unsmiling clouds.
The majestic Benguet pine trees, are draped in glittering wetness, while at their feet, the babbling waters flow.
The roiling wind of night go sighing through leafy groves, and over placid structures, ruffling mirror-like surfaces.
In the city, save for some who are not yet at home, the streets become deserted. The rallying vehicles cease to run. The loafers leave city corners and go somewhere, we don’t know where.
Promenades have long ceased to tread the city’s pavements. The light-hearted laugh of the gay had long been hushed.
Only the lights, that pierce the gloomy shades of the rains, shine, like hope from cherished dream.
Whenever it rains, it reminds this laborer of a time he attended a seminar in Central Luzon last year.
It was rainy season then. The cottage they were billeted was swamped with rainwater. Participants were forced to sleep in a large hall spared by rains.
The morning, while shaving, this laborer spotted a participant rummaging through his bag. The participant fished this laborer’s toothbrush and, without much ado, placed toothpaste in it and used it to brush his teeth.
After which he carelessly rinsed the toothbrush and returned it in the laborer’s bag
This laborer retrieved his toothbrush and applied it vigorously by brushing his toenails and feet.
“You rascal,” exclaimed the astonished participant, “what mischief are you doing that for?”
“Oh,” this laborer answered, “that’s the toothbrush I use to brush my feet and toenails clean.”
Nature and her rain also reminds that one need not shout to be heard, when he was in Manila one time.
Raining hard, he sought cover under the buildings where Manila’s seat of government is located, and decided to listen to some court trials going on, while waiting for rains to subside.
He entered the justice building and went straight to a court room packed with spectators.
There, he witnessed counsel for a defendant having trouble to make a timid witness speak sufficiently loud to be heard.
The judge intervened and ordered, “Speak to be heard, young man!”
The defendant said, “Yes, your Honor.” The defense lawyer vulgarly said in a loud voice, “I hope we shall have no difficulty in making you speak up.”
To which the witness answered by bellowing, “I HOPE NOT, SIR,” in a voice that alarmed even court-room visitors.
“How dare you speak in loud manner,” the defense attorney castigated the witness.
“Please Sir, I cannot speak any louder,” said the astonished witness, speaking louder than before, evidently thinking the fault to be in his speaking too softly.
“Pray, have you been drinking,” the defense lawyer, whose temper was frayed, asked the witness.
“Yes Sir,” the witness answered.
“And what have you been drinking?” the defense lawyer pressed on his questioning.
“Coffee, Sir,” the witness answered.
“And what did you put in your coffee, Sir,” the defense lawyer cunningly asked the witness, attempting to show to the court the witness mixed wine in his coffee.
“A plastic spoon, which I used to stir my coffee,” the witness innocently answered in his highest voice, amidst roar of laughter of court spectators.
The judge, with stern demeanor, broke into a fleeting smile upon hearing the witness.
By some lucky contingency of public taste, aye, or of fashionable caprice, say, it’s not for us to harbor grudge against nature and rain, rather follow their bend.
