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Jay’s Literature Page
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| Last updated: 05 Sep 2006 |
(2001-2003)
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An Exemplary Leader Of Ak'ren
By any average-sized, semi-agricultural rural Philippine town standards, Ak'ren was more prosperous than most. For one, it was gifted with an extraordinarily fertile humus soil, conducive to the growth of sorghum and many a variety of vegetables. For another, its proximity to the provincial capital of ***** exposed it to modern industry to just about the right amount to provide a steady in-flow of much welcomed revenue. However, neither the most perfect geography, nor the most modern industry could scarcely guarantee the prosperity of any community. For most of the townsfolk, what good fortune they had been enjoying being blessed with couldn't have been remotely possible had not for the responsible ruddership of their fifth-term re-elected, once-Ondista-turned-mayor mayor, Mayor Jimm Boyy Landicho. It was understandable, then, that on the Tuesday morning that it was announced on local radio news that their beloved mayor, at the young age of fifty-two, had not reported to office due to a just-diagnosed rare terminal heart condition, most of the entire town took a break from the bustle of their daily activities and thronged in front of the Landicho residence to wish their town leader well. It was difficult at first to believe that Jimm Boyy Landicho could possibly be suffering from such a fatal illness. Jimm Boyy was a very healthy man. In fact, he had only been absent due to sickness three times since being a public servant, starting some thirty years ago. He was not athletic--most musically inclined people aren't--although he regularly worked out on the public gym his administration had made available for the health and/or figure conscious of Ak'ren. He didn't smoke--he was one of the most passionate campaigners of the anti-smoking ordinance when it came out--never did drugs, and only drank the most minimum of sips of alcoholic beverages on social occasions. If there was anything to be blamed for the mayor's recently discovered illness, it could perhaps be his genes. A quick inquiry to his family's medical history revealed that a significant number of ancestors, some spaced at least a generation apart, suffered from the same rare heart problem. In spite of this, Jimm Boyy pleaded for his doctor's permission to be wheeled to the front porch of his modest single floor, two bedroom house--"a house an honest government servant should have" as he had called it on a broadsheet interview a couple of years ago--to face the people of Ak'ren. "I am alive, though not too well," he spoke in a croaky, though not un-statesman-like delivery in the native Ak'ren tongue. "Worry not over me. As you do so, the fields are left untended, and the wheels of industry are halted. If this persists, what will be of our beloved town, Ak'ren?" "The fields can bear half a day without our care," the people replied, "and most of the modern machinery processes are run on cron anyway. We have heard the most dreadful news concerning your health issues, our honorable mayor, and we are distressed. We come here to show our support. Indeed, what will be of our beloved Ak'ren should... should... the Unthinkable happen?" "Comrades, my comrades. My friends, what is the death of one man, if the ideals of good leadership remain in the very hearts of everyone of you?" At the mention of the ominous word, an audible gasp issued forth from the crowd. The town leader ignored this. He continued: "I have served our community since as young an age as twenty-one. Indeed, as young as when I discovered that the life of a high-paid, overpriced capitalist-coffee-drinking ***** yuppie was not for me. You all know of this, and many of you have watched as I climbed the ranks of Public Service, weeding out the bureaucracy off corrupt practices along the way, and encouraging our leaders--though not without much frustration and heartbreak--to do the same. I trust you have learned much from my example?" "Why do you speak of such things, Jimm Boyy? Are you not to complete your fifth term, and eventually run for a national position, showing the country for the first time, and Ak'ren for not quite the first, How To Beat An Actor Wannabe Politician to a position?" Jimm Boyy laughed one of his snorting and at the same time high pitched laughs that got him so charismatic and endearing to the public. For a span of about two seconds, the people of Ak'ren could almost believe their leader was nothing but in the pink of the highest health. But then, all that proved to be make believe, as Jimm Boyy's laughter was suddenly silenced by what visibly was pain around his chest area, which he grasped tightly in his hands. This was accompanied by a tight shutting of the eyes and a deep contortion of the face. His doctor was upon him immediately, his instruments ready, and so was Mrs. Landicho, ready to wheel the town mayor back indoors for more rest and less excitement. But as soon as Jimm Boyy's laughter had lasted, so did the pain. He raised a restraining hand before his beloved wife turned him out of the people's sight. He was allowed time for one last brief one-liner to Ak'ren. "As much fun as that is," Jimm Boyy said in a faltering voice and almost in tears, "I'm afraid my poor heart can't take all that excitement anymore." |
| © 2006 Jay Santos |