Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. — John Donne from Meditation 17 (better known as No Man Is An Island)
Yes, he snored!
A few minutes after the New York-bound JAL touched down at Narita for a stopover, while we were killing time at the airline’s lounge, I told Wyngard Tracy that on the flight from Manila he was snoring like crazy, filling up the whole business class with his rhythmic sound. I was seated directly behind Wyngard and Jose Mari Chan was two seats away, quietly enjoying dreamland in his business suit.
“Did I?” asked Wyngard, looking up from the glossy magazine he was reading and the juice he was drinking.
Yes, he did snore but it wasn’t really that “scandalous,” sounding only like the buzzing of a bee searching for a warm arm to bite. I purposely exaggerated to humor Wyngard who had the exceptional ability (something I endlessly envied) to doze off as soon as he fastened his seatbelt for the takeoff and to rub his eyes awake as soon as the “fasten your seatbelt” sign went on.
Relieved perhaps that I was only joking, on the 12-hour flight from Narita to New York, Wyngard did the same — merrily but quietly snored his way through, requesting the stewardess not to rouse him even for meals.
I imagined Wyngard quietly snoring as if dreaming the most beautiful of dreams, lit up by the non-stop singing of his favorite singers (with Side A, the band he managed, as backgrounder), as he lay in coma for more than a month at the ICU of Makati Med where he underwent a five-point surgery that included a double bypass, an aorta repair and valve replacement on July 28. The doctors were surprised how Wyngard quickly recovered. Barely two months later, I saw him as good as new, minus a few pounds, at GMA. He was back in the grind, even attending some parties, until exactly a month ago today when he suffered a stroke that brought him back to Makati Med.
All throughout, June Torrejon kept friends posted on Wyngard’s “recovery” progress — he opened his eyes very slightly, he moved his hands very slightly, he smiled very slightly, he seemed to want to talk but he was prevented from doing it by the ventilator stuck into his mouth, etc.
And yesterday morning, Wyngard’s friends got what may be one of the saddest text messages ever — Wyngard has joined the Lord at past 3 a.m., Nov. 16 — followed four hours later by another one — Wyngard’s remains were cremated as per his last wish; there won’t be any wake, but a party is scheduled on Thursday, Nov. 18.
That fast. How fleeting life is, how ephemeral, how temporary! Recalling how my own little brother was cremated 15 years ago, I imagined Wyngard’s 200-plus bulk being reduced to ashes second by second, minute by minute, until what remained was a handful. How humbling! My favorite song started playing and replaying in my mind: All we are is dust in the wind...nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky…The body that Wyngard pampered with his favorite food (like the mouth-watering steak at Gustavus that he, Raoul Tidalgo and I shared for dinner barely three months before Wyngard’s heart surgery), his favorite bath soap, his favorite perfume and with regular therapeutic massage…that body weighs no more than half a pound now, safely gathered in an urn.
Yesterday, friends and colleagues gathered for Mass at the La Salle Greenhills Chapel and bid Wyngard their fond farewell, including (as expected) the talents he had “inherited” from Douglas Quijano who died in his sleep in June last year — among them, Richard Gomez and his wife Lucy Torres, and John Estrada. Wyngard Tracy. Douglas Quijano. Two good men gone too soon.
Here’s what they say about Wyngard:
• Richard Gomez: Wyngard is one of the more intelligent people I have met in our industry. I truly enjoyed talking to him especially when it comes to analyzing situations and creating solutions. He’s a gentle giant, sometimes aggressive but has a very kind heart. My family loves him so much and he will be missed dearly.
• Lucy Torres: Gone too soon, I wish the time we spent together was much longer. It was short, and sweet. He showed me and Richard nothing but kindness and love. We will never forget that. He was sturdy and steady the same way Tito Douglas was. In so short a time he was not just a manager, he became family. I will miss his honesty, his sincerity, which just became all the more obvious against the backdrop of the resident flimsiness that will never quite leave showbiz. I will miss his sense of humor and his wit. Tito Wyn had a brilliant mind. And that on top of a generous, kind heart that was driven to make people happy. He lived to love and even if he never verbalized it I knew that he also wanted to be loved. Naturally, he was, is, always will be. That is how the world is. You reap what you sow. I’m sure he felt all the love flowing freely in and out of his room as he lay in his hospital bed during his final hours. So many went to see him off. Godspeed, Tito Wyn. In heaven, it will be all good times. No more pain, no more tears. Cheers!
• Raoul Tidalgo (Wyngard’s bosom buddy since years ago during Wyngard’s colorful romance with the late Rita Gomez): If there’s ever a right definition of True Friend, that would be Wyngard. You were his friend for keeps, no matter your failings. He would be there for you always even if you were oceans away. I will miss him terribly.
• John Estrada: He is an amazing human being!
• Maricel Soriano: Wyngard, my friend, my manager, my GLADIATOR. I will miss him dearly, but there are enough memories to keep me smiling until we are together again.
I will end this story by reprinting (for the nth time) the poem Safely Home (author not identified in the card):
Safely Home
I am now at home in heaven;
All’s so happy, all so bright!
There is perfect joy and beauty
In this everlasting light.
All the pain and grief are over,
Every restless tossing past;
I am now at peace forever,
Safely home in heaven at last.
Did you wonder I so calmly
Trod the Valley of the Shade?
Oh! But Jesus’ love illumined
Every dark and fearful glade.
And He came Himself to meet me
In that way so hard to tread;
And with Jesus’ arm to lean on,
Could I have one doubt or dread?
Then you must not grieve so sorely,
For I love you dearly still;
Try to look beyond earth’s shadows,
Pray to trust our Father’s will.
There is work still waiting for you,
So you must not idle stand;
Do your work while life remaineth —
You shall rest in Jesus’ land.
When that work is all completed,
He will gently call you home;
Oh, the rapture of the meeting!
Oh, the joy to see you come!
Juday & Ryan’s baby
Here at last is the picture of Juan Luis Santos Agoncillo, Ryan Agoncillo and Judy Ann ‘Juday’ Santos’ weeks-old baby. The couple waited for the baby’s baptism before they released the photo to the press. ‘We are thankful that most of our friends in media honored our request,’ said Noel Ferrer, Ryan’s manager, quoting the couple. ‘Except for one who came out with paparazzi shots of the baptism and the reception.’
(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com)