I wonder...

On the way home the other day, I caught myself staring blankly beyond the car window and into the blurry pattern of trees we passed and the occasional glimpses of the starlit nightsky. And I caught myself thinking about some people that have once played roles in this multi-faceted movie called My Life. Those people who have faded away from the plot sans the farewell script.  And I started to wonder…

Ritchie Mendoza… I spent two sleepless nights trying to find her on Friendster. I tried to key in all name combinations imaginable on the search, but to no avail.   She and I went through a lot together. We were thesis mates at the university and co-workers after graduation. We laughed, cried and wondered about the future together.  But we somehow lost touch through time and changing jobs.  I really miss her and hope that she is happy right now.

The Man in Blue…During those summer breaks in High School, I used to go to church at 7am everyday.  There’s this tall and aging American (probably the only white guy in church) who always wore a light blue shirt over a pair of old jeans and weather-beaten DocMartens.  An expatriate for one of those industrial sites, maybe.  It always amused me to watch him receive his Holy Communion daily. Not that it’s surprising to have someone like him do that.  I just wondered, does he have a family? Where does he live? He looks very peaceful and calm. What does he do? What is he like? For a while there, he became a beacon of faith for me. I never saw him again after my college days.  With his age by now, he has probably moved ahead. 

Gerardo Torres III…PILIONE and ARTAPRE Professor, De La Salle University.  I think of him sometimes.  Like when I remember my old paintings and sketches that my bitter ex set on fire (literally, but that deserves a separate blog). Or recently, when I watched Beauty and the Geek.  Richard Rubin reminded me of him. That made me start wondering again.  Sir Gerry is a small-framed and soft-spoken person with thick eyeglasses. A simple man who did me something grand.  He included my works in an Art Exhibit in the school lobby one semester.  He believed in me.  And said that I’ll never go hungry because I can always sell my work for P 1,000.-P3,000. each.  Cheap, huh, but for an amateur like I was, that sounded pretty promising.  Does he still teach? Does he still motivate people to be in their artistic best? Is he Dean of something now?

The streetchild and his eyes…While I was parking my car a few years back, this boy, maybe around 10 years old, assisted me. Our eyes met, and I saw a pair of probably the most intense eyes I’ve ever seen in a child.  It pierced into my heart. In his eyes, I read kindness and sincerity, hardwork and honesty, innocence, seriousness, earnestness, simplicity, maturity, and other things way beyond his years. I still feel a punch in my stomach every time I try to remember that face.  I can’t begin to tell you how I felt that day. I suddenly wanted to transfer my fully paid Honda CRV to his name, maybe out of pity, or concern…or guilt that I’ve been more blessed? I hope he’s living a better life now.  I hope he’s in school, not out on the streets.  I hope he’s eating well.  I hope he is still what his eyes showed me. 

I wondered about a lot of other people too on the way home that night. But then I also started to wonder, do old friends ever think about how I’m doing now? With my life being an open book, and my gazillion blogs to boot, maybe I don’t leave enough space for wonder.  Whether that’s good or bad, it doesn’t matter.  But how about those routine strangers like the man in blue and the streetchild with no name...Do they remember me at all? Have I ever been an interesting stranger to someone too?  Do they wonder about me as well? I wonder…