Ali & Omar Madrid-bound

First, The Peace Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, sent by reader Wilfredo Trinidad of Toronto:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and in dying that we are born to eternal life. — Unknown, ca 1915

* * *

I miss Ali Sotto not only in the early-evening newscast of ABC 5 but also on the same station’s weekly human-interest show named after her, Ali. On that show, Ali engaged her guests in a casual, light-hearted conversation that, without the guests being aware of it, revealed more of their "human" side. It was a show at once so entertaining and so informative that I felt a big loss when ABC 5 included it as one of the casualties of the drastic "cost-cutting" measures.

We can still listen to Ali and Arnold "Igan" Clavio mornings, Monday through Friday, on DZBB but, I’m sorry to tell you, it won’t be for long. You see, before the year is over, Omar Bsaies (a tongue-twister of a surname, isn’t it?), Ali’s husband, will be assigned to Madrid and wherever he goes, Ali goes. A Foreign Service Officer of the US State Department, Omar is the head of the Contracts in Purchasing Department of the US Embassy.

Ali and Omar came home only a few years ago from Mexico where Omar, a native of Bangladesh, was last posted. The couple stayed there for a few years, giving them a chance to learn to speak Spanish like the Mexicans. When Omar was reassigned in the Philippines, he and Ali brought home most of their furniture (and other things besides, collected from their travels around the world) which now adorns their cozy home in Bel-Air Village, Makati City.

But when the couple moves to Madrid, they won’t be carting with them the houseful of furniture, appliances and mementos which will all be transferred to their house in Loyola Heights, Quezon City, now undergoing complete renovation. Instead, they will have their things stocked at a storage in Washington (where Omar was once assigned) to Madrid. More practical.

"Omar’s posting in Madrid is good for three years," said Ali. "From Madrid, we are moving back to the Philippines."

Both into their second marriages, Ali and Omar are perfect for each other. Up to now, they have nourished the romance between them, with Omar every now and then writing poems, such as the following which never fails to make Ali teary-eyed everytime she rereads them:

Do your days ask about me
Emerged from the grip of distant dawns
born from your absence
and forlorn by prophets and gods,
I was born for you alone
yet I suffer in this oblivion
as I dwell in the heart of your heart
and you in the core of my soul.
My sustenance are the meager days and nights
we lived before
and the days and nights
I live for. . .
Do your days ask about me
Do your nights search for my embrace
or perhaps like me
you search and tread in silence
and conjure our dreams and memories
tell me love
Do your days ask about me?

— OMAR BSAIES
Mexico City
January 20, 2000

* * *

Oh love among the roses
I love you
like the earth loves the sun
with garlands of light
wet with morning’s dew.
I love you
like the sea loves its shores
with gentle waves
and passionate storms.
I love you
like the night loves its dawn
dressed in muslin white
laden with bouquets of sunrise
and interminable aroma.
I love you
like a flower loves the touch of a bee
with petals wide open
eager to consume and be consumed
pregnant with pollen of passion and dreams.
Oh love among roses
I remember only one day in my life
the day I was transported
on the wings of your love to fly
to grow old with you
and in your embrace
die in love
with your love.

— OMAR BSAIES
Santiago, Chile
2/9/2000

* * *

When destiny calls
let it be in your bed that I die
drunk with love
with poems deep in my chest
poems for you
still unborn,
when destiny calls
let it be in your arms
and let your name be the epilogue
of my existence,
when destiny calls
let it be that I see myself
once more
in your eyes
let my lips deliver
once more
a telling kiss,
when destiny calls,
let the last beat of my heart cry
and let it be heard
deep in the soul of creation
let it echo the beat of our passion
let it embrace eternity,
when destiny finally calls
let it be that I am
wherever you may be.

— OMAR BSAIES
Washington, D.C.
July 28, 1999

* * *

Remember those nights,
lighted by the fire of our passion,
when we embraced each other in endless kisses.

Remember those torrid nights,
lighted by the glow of our love,
when we imbibed each other’s breaths
and silently communed with each other’s souls.

How sweet and soothing was your breast
on those torrid, tropical nights.
How sweet and mesmerizing was your perfume
on those passionate endless nights.
How in endless kisses I imagined I breathed
the very fragrance of your blood.

How sweet and soothing was your breast
on those torrid, tropical nights.

Remember those nights,
those tropical nights
when to the playful sound of chimes and breeze
you taught me how to evoke happy moments,
how to evoke vows, perfumes, and endless kisses.

Remember those torrid, tropical nights
when I, trembling like a flower on its stem, held you,
and you, exhaling fragrance like a censer,
taught me how to evoke eternal feelings. . .
imperishable things.

Remember those nights,
those torrid, tropical nights
when the sky was happy and sad at once
and I laid on your sweet soothing breast
and learned in love’s slumber to evoke. . .
happy moments. . .perfumes. . .endless kisses. . .
vows and imperishable things.

— OMAR BSAIES
Bangkok, Thailand
October 1994

* * * Yda’s harrowing experience in Sydney

What happened to Yda Manzano in Sydney should serve as a lesson to bold stars seeking the so-called greener pasture abroad.

As Yda related it, she went to Sydney thinking that all she was to do was participate in a sexy show. Imagine her shock when she was made to dance in the nude!

"I didn’t have a choice," she said. "I couldn’t back out. I danced in the nude, all right, but I made sure that a Koala covered my vital part."

A college graduate who’s a single parent, Yda promised to be careful next time she applies for a job abroad, reminding her colleagues to do the same.

"I earned what I needed," added Yda.

Part of her earnings will be spent on Wild Imagination, a fashion show featuring 12 models (six boys and six girls) wearing skin-baring creations by Yda herself. Yda took a crash course in dressmaking and fashion-designing at the Slim Fashion & Arts School in Makati City.

After its maiden presentation on March 21, 8 p.m. at the Metro Bar (formerly Kampo, at #47 West Avenue, Quezon City), Wild Imagination might be mounted in Cebu and other cities in the Visayas and Mindanao before the year ends.

Already, Yda is planning a follow-up called Wild Balls, a show for basketball stars.

Rejoinder from Rivermaya manager

Here’s a rejoinder from Lizza Nakpil, manager of Rivermaya, reacting to a recent Funfare story about Lani Misalucha who mentioned in passing that the late Gary Bautista was replaced as member of the SOS (Society of Seven) by Rivermaya member Mark Escueta. It turned out that Mark is a namesake of the real replacement.

Just a small note to request a correction of an item in your column, last Feb. 20 on Mark Escueta joining the Society of Seven in Las Vegas.

Our drummer, with the very same name, is definitely still with Rivermaya and has not departed for other shores. We are currently in the middle of promoting our new album, Isang Ugat, Isang Dugo, and preparing for a whole series of shows throughout the country.

I really hope you can put this in your column as a comfort to our fans and friends in the industry.

The influence and far reach of your column is so huge that to this day, we continue to receive inquiries and questions about the item from our listeners as well as radio DJs and events producers.

* * *

E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph