Why are you wearing red, ma'am?
Image by ManilaRyce
Been trying to shy away from ink jotting regarding former President Cory Aquino's sad departure. Bear with me as I try to recall personal experiences linked to Cory's existence...
1986 campaign- I was 6 and well aware that my mom was pro Marcos. It was reason enough to turn me into a Marcos ally as well. As the election campaign intensified, more and more swarms of people can be found barking enthusiastically "Cory, Cory! Laban, Laban!", with the raised L hand sign and all (which now is a sign for L-osers). While Marcos "fanatics" uttered their version of the Marcos chant which drowned in the overwhelming battle cry of the opposition. A number of Marcos supporters later on found themselves enticed by the growing growls of Cory supporters and the bandwagon successfully ignited a prelude to the historical EDSA 1.
1986 post snap election- at the time our residence was situated a few hundred meters from Malacañang (palace). Commotion down the streets can be heard from inside the house. Kids such as I were quick on our wit to realize there is something special going on. Some concerned elders who didn't want to scare their kids tried to mask the event by talking in codes and forcing younglets to bed. In my case, the purpose is defeated since I hear what's really going on (tanks and legions roaming the streets) from adults themselves when they talk to each other. As the night progressed, it somehow turned to a calm celebration. As it later turned out, the Marcoses hula hooped all the way to Hawaii.
Yellow- not that slang for ice but the yellow of the color spectrum. Up to this day I associate this to Cory Aquino. In the 80's I had this vague interpretation that the Dollar taxi painted red is to Marcos as the emerging yellow cabs is to Cory. Mustard to ketchup. Yellow Submarine to Lady in Red. You get the picture. I was a weird kid and an even weirder adult.
Kris Aquino- the president's daughter. Location: PICC, the place to be with rented pedal bikes circling the entire place. Inside the PICC building, caught a glimpse of the young Kris Aquino and had instant daydreams of being with her as lovers (I was 9 and she was around 16). I was even assessing the age gap if it would later impose a relationship problem (duh!). Kids are crazy. I later resented the idea of this self inflicted abnormal proposition. Maybe soon I'll delete this post or modify it to save myself from embarassment.
Tora Tora Bang Bang- the famous coup d'etat in the latter segment of Cory's presidency. Gringo Honasan's attempted revolt against the Cory government flopped like flip. That was really a crazy one. Our warplane, the Tora Tora, is an amusing demonstration of the Philippines' technological advancement (or lack thereof). An elicit eye opener to a naive young boy (me) of our country's third worldness. Preserving history is not a valid excuse in operating a long retired warplane. It's brutal torture to this old aged machine.
Well, I bet once again you learned nothing from this blog. Thank you for relieving my boredom today. To former President Cory Aquino, may you rest in peace. Thank you, ma'am.
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