By Jan Vicente B. Pekas
In a typical Filipino household, the residents usually consist of both 2 and 4 legged mammals. Whether it be a cat or a dog, or a drunk, there must always be some other noises that accompany the shouting of a mother in the house. They belong to our households the same way rice belongs to our plates 24/7. Without them, the house would not feel like one, but a box devoid of joy and replaced with melancholy.
And we all know a quiet household is no Filipino household. The cat, dog, and the drunk are among the pillars that hold up our homes. But it is the mother that holds those same pillars up, actually our whole households.
The cat, while most of them stay out of our way, makes for a great cuddle partner in these cold times, and in our single times. While they can be very annoying when food is on the table, the work they do in catching rats make up for it, almost. If not for their habit of relieving themselves on the most random parts of the house, regions of the house you even forgot existed. Their choices for these locations are so bizarre that sometimes you can only laugh, of course if you’re not the one cleaning up, and thanks to wonderful moms, who do the cleaning up all the time.
The dog and a Filipino household is a combination that could compete with the household and rooster combo in this country. Of course, the rooster pairing just edges over the dog combination. But, as man’s best friend, a household cannot be complete without the askals. The ever-loyal partners that protect your house as you go off to work, and be the first one to greet you as you come home. Their smiles are great for warming up in these cold times, and in these single times. With minimal training, you won’t even have to worry about where they leave their “reliefs,” the neighbor can handle it, he has to of course, it’s his property.
For the well-off families, these dogs are allowed to stay inside, have their own separate beds, and enjoy the luxuries offered by a house. Of course, we are still Asians so we have to think about efficiency, and with the combination of lack of space inside the house, and money, most of us just leave our best friends outside the house. However, we are no savages, we make sure they also enjoy the delicacy of left-over rice 24/7, efficiency. Yet those “pulutan lovers” are way too efficient with their dogs, they need to relax.
The drunk can usually be seen around the holidays. As Christmas comes around, they come out like a bear who has finished his hibernation and is absolutely ready to go wild. And as New Year approaches they evolve like a newly born butterfly ready to spread its wings and fly. And soar they do. A soaring drunk is like a fly, they are persistent and they will pest you, they are noisy and manage to be even more useless than a sleeping cat. Unlike the cat, you can’t touch the drunk, he’s usually covered in his own puke.
The drunk is extremely versatile, summer or rainy season. He will always be there, lying down, hands over head, with a sweet melody of painful groans in high and low pitches.
“Ilaw ng tahanan”, we call her, the mother lights up an entire household, even in darkness she is the candle that brings light around her and keeps us warm. She is the support that lasts a lifetime. The fan that cools down a summer wrath, and the warm blanket of a rainy soul. A mother is taken for granted when she is not loved by everyone in the family, but the family cannot stand without their mama. **
