"The Reason for my Stroll"

"The Reason for my Stroll"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I work in Rockwell , Makati and right in front of our building is the Power Plant Mall. Every time I go there on my breaks I find myself likening it to an expensive Retirement Place Hall. This is a place where seniors congregate a lot. 

From the early morning I see them exercising around the area , to the one's being dropped off to take their blood samples or quarterly monitoring. To the late hours of the day , I see them in pairs , in groups of fives or threes. Amigas with their hair all done up and a never ending stream of talking around wine among other things.

I see some who have been meeting their buddies , 5 groups of guys , one of them talking off the ears of the other 4. There are locals and there are expats. One guy seemed to frequent Dunkin Donuts along with his wife and they meet different people.

There are meetings with Sons and Daughters and Apo's who have come from school , some I think just made it back to the country and they are spending time with dear old Grandma or Grandad. And this is where it hits me the most , that wave of loneliness as I imagined what it would have been like if my parents were still alive?

When they were both alive this was what they were doing most of the time as well , meeting family and friends from all over the place , both those living in the country and those just passing by. How my mom would have loved being in the open spaces of Rockwell with all the food that was there. Dad might have been more picky , he never seemed one for wine even if he did have all those expensive one's on display in the old house. 

I would have imagined that if they lived anywhere near here this is where I would have found them. That if I worked here and tried to meet them for lunch or merienda then I could have. All wishful thinking of course but in my mind I imagine seeing them here. In my mind I would tell them about my day and in turn would probably tell me about the latest gossip involving a family member or friend. My Mom was a Maritess who had endless stories to tell , family secrets and theories. Dad would chime in with this opinion and laugh out loud when he felt like it.

How I missed both of them. I still go to Powerplant Mall even if that wave of loneliness hits me. I do it because somehow it still triggers me to remember more and more of them each day.