Onomatopoeic

November 24, 2008
3:26 AM

I was awakened by a gentle tug. My "thirdling" needed milk. After feeding her, I found myself unable to return to slumberland.

At this very wee hour of the morning eleven years ago, I was also roused from my sleep by a soft pat. "Dai, imong daddy gi-Code Blue," the resident doctor stated with genuine empathy. Having already anticipated that the inevitable would happen, I calmly called home and told mother to come to the hospital with my sib. Deliberately freeing myself from any emotion, I watched the team resuscitate Deedda (Daddee) like a numb spectator. By the time my family arrived in the ICU, the electrocardiogram already registered a flatline.

It was only when I returned home after Deedda’s body was settled in the funeral home that I wept heavily upon seeing his pine green sneakers greet me at our doorstep.

Fast forward to today. This will be again a time of gathering for us - a gathering of loved ones and a gathering of memories. The family will be attending mass offered for his eternal repose and will be heading after to Cebu Memorial Park. Deedda was fond of dining out during special occasions and to keep this tradition alive, my sib made a reservation at a certain cozy and homey restaurant owned by a friend.

I am most certain that the mood tonight in the food place will be lively. Aside from updating ourselves with each other's lives, the adults will be recollecting thoughts of Deedda. Shared jokes, whether ludicrous, corny, crude, dry or knock-knock (care of our kids) will be the side dish.

Deedda may have passed away a decade and a year ago but he has never completely left us. His words of wisdom, humor, extreme kindness and memories will be etched forever in our hearts and minds.




U2’s Zooropa was Deedda’s staple audio disc in his player. Yes, Deedda despite being sixty at that time, was a COOL DUDE! Days before he was suddenly rushed to the hospital for a ruptured blood vessel in the brain, Bono became our alarm clock during the morning. The U2 vocalist and I have something in common – we both lost a parent to cerebral aneurysm!

Far Away, So Close is a track from the Zooropa Album.