calvin and hobbes

I went to get my 15-min coffee break yesterday and saw Fred in the break room engrossed in a thick novel. He noticed that I was reading a Calvin and Hobbes book and said that was a very good book. Fred is a 72-year old veteran who works part time at Hertz as a hiker. In the rare instances that I get to talk to him, I asked him why he still had to work, considering his pension which to my guesstimate would be about $1,200 a month. With my Pinoy mentality, I immediately converted that to P60,000 a month! Tangina! that's more than enough to get us by for at least 3 months in Pinas. Anyway, he told me that he couldn't afford to retire. He still has mortgage payments hanging over his head, car payments, and regular bills that just won't go away.

Fred is an example of the typical American who even in their old age need to continue working to support the only lifestyle they know. That got me to thinking, ayoko tumanda dito. I'll work my ass for as long as I need to, only to secure my kids' and my wife and my retirement. We'll go home to the Philippines and enjoy what's left of the years we're given.

Then there's the late Mang Jun, a Pinoy who tried his luck here in America. He was in my team at Hertz and passed away a day after Christmas. Mang Jun stayed in this country for 30 years. He never married and lived alone in a small studio apartment. We used to talk while working, sharing experiences and thoughts about life in general. Before he fell ill, he was ready to go back home and marry his penpal. It took him all these years to decide to go home because he said his savings was not enough. I asked him, how much money is enough? He said he was scared to go home not having enough because his relatives expect him to be loaded. Yun ang mahirap sa 'tin. Pinoys in the Philippines think na pinupulot lang ang pera dito. What they don't know is that Pinoys here have to work in the most adverse conditions to earn. Just a few weeks back, I had to work outside for 8 hours in minus 18 degree temperatures. To give you an idea how cold that is - leave a bottled water outside. After 5 minutes, you have a bottled ice, not ice water but solid ice. Anyway, my point is, Mang Jun never made it home because he just didn't have enough. He was diagnosed with diabetes and cirrhosis. Living alone, he drove himself to the hospital for his treatments. He was confined at the ICU, fell comatose, and not even a single soul came to visit except me. He died shortly after, with no family, no riches, no legacy - and only because he waited too long to save enough.

Oink oink bago lusot.