When Boots Anson Roa-Rodrigo turned 74 last Jan. 30, she and her husband, lawyer King Rodrigo, celebrated by dancing cheek-to-cheek to Spanish music while having a candle-lit dinner of garlic tuyo, sardines and scrambled eggs downed by vintage brandy. It was the couple’s way of keeping the flame of love burning in their five-year marriage, proving that love is indeed more comfortable the second time you fall.
“We were at our weekend house in Tagaytay and there was a Chinese Dragon Festival at the Clubhouse as an advance welcome for the Year of the Pig (that started Feb. 5),” Boots told their friend journalists at the Club Filipino where she and King hosted a post-birthday lunch, with King’s sister Pempe and Boots’ sister Vicky present. “We were in no mood to join the festival so we decided to spend a quiet evening at home.”
Oh, so romantic, wasn’t it?
They planned to have a bigger party on June 14 to celebrate two events: King’s 80th birthday and their fifth wedding anniversary. “We call it our 60th ‘monthsary,’ as the millennials would call it,” said King.
But wait, what was Boots’ birthday wish (that is, if she hasn’t gotten tired of making such wishes for the past 73 years)?
“Nothing really,” admitted Boots. “I have so much to be thankful for, so maybe just a prayer that I deserve all the blessings I am getting,” adding with a laugh, “I’m thinking of memorizing Kuh Ledesma’s song Paano Kita Mapasasalamatan and sing it to King.”
Sense of humor is one of the things that enliven and cement this union of two seniors coming from long and happy marriages that ended when their espouses passed on. Boots and King are fun to be with because they can actually laugh at themselves and at their own jokes. They are funny in their recollection of their wedding night.
“We were under the delusion that we could still have a baby,” narrated King. “We told friends that we would name our son John but somebody suggested that we should name it John-John so that at the crucial moment when I would ask, ‘Saan-saan?’ she would say, ‘John, John!’ When I started to hug her (niyapos ko), she suddenly screamed, ‘Aray!’ So I said, ‘Wala pa, not yet!’ She started laughing and said, “Naumpog ako. I hit my head against the headboard.’”
Added King, a humorist like his lawyer-brother Boogie, “There are many ways of making love,” demonstrating one of them by having his palm touch that of Boots’ and together shouting (gently now), “Appear!!! Every time we kid each other, ‘Tonight is the tonight!,’ we do that ‘Appear!’ act. Making love na sa amin ‘yon.”
Just for fun, Boots once joined her friends do the Santa Clara dance in Obando, Bulacan, even if, as she confessed (needless to say), “The factory is closed but the playground is open,” and then she laughed and laughed. The truth is that, as you probably know, the thing between Boots and King is companionship and, of course not, ehem, procreation.
But, added Boots posthaste, they do enjoy doing things together, such as reading in bed together before turning in (the Bible for King and something light for Boots) and, brace yourselves, showering together.
“We tried bubble-bathing together twice,” shared King, “once in Bangkok and then in Hong Kong. The bathtub was quite small for us, so we ended up sliding over each other trying to find the right position and then having a hard time getting up. The whole bathtub was so slippery.”
It helps that they are both busy, King with “lawyering” and Boots with TV/movie assignments.
“Otherwise,” said King, “if you retire, what would you do, just look at each other, mag-titinginan na lang kayo? With us, ang dami naming napag-kukuwentuhan so there’s never any dull moment between us.”
So happy are they together that they are bent on celebrating their silver wedding anniversary, no kidding!
“You are all invited,” said Boots, then she and King started laughing together.
Before we bade them goodbye, we playfully asked the couple to kiss and they obliged not once, not twice but thrice.
(Postscript: To celebrate her 75th birthday, Boots will publish her autobiography titled Boots On. She promised that it would be a tell-all book, so we suggested a subtitle, What you don’t but should know about the virginal Boots. Something to look forward to, isn’t it?)
What’s up?
• UE presents PPO. The University of the East (UE), in cooperation with the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), will present the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO), the country’s leading orchestra and widely regarded as one of the top musical ensembles in the Asia-Pacific region at the newly refurbished UE Theater tomorrow, Feb. 15, at 5 p.m. The special outreach concert by the PPO will have Maestro Herminigildo Ranera as conductor.
CCP pres. Arsenio “Nick” Lizaso, a UE alumnus, will deliver a message, following the remarks by Dr. Ester A. Garcia, UE president and Chief Academic Officer. The concert is part of US’s schedule of cultural activities in celebration of the 2019 National Arts Month.
Admission is free to the UE community and invited guests.
For inquiries, call the UE Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) trunk line 735-5471 local 441, or the marketing department and Alumni Affairs Office at local 458 or 459.
Saturday night ‘fever’ with the Balik Samahan
They jokingly call themselves ‘Ang Lumang Album’ for the simple reason that they are a Balik Samahan composed of veterans and showbiz old-timers who get together every now and then, usually organized by Pempe Rodrigo.Last Sunday, the reason for the occasion was to celebrate the birthdays of those born between January-March, including (top photo, from left) Marissa Delgado, Barbara Perez, Sarah Calvin, Nori Dalisay, Perla Bautista, Liz Alindogan, Rosemarie Gil and Minda Morena. Others present were (second row, from left) Divina Valencia, Elizabeth Oropeza, Caridad Sanchez, Susan Roces, Pempe, Pepito Rodriguez (partly hidden), Marita Zobel, Liza Lorena and Boots Anson Roa Rodrigo…third row, right: Liberty Ilagan, Susan, Marissa, Nova Villa and Minda…middle, right: Gloria Romero and Lollie Mara…and (far right) Elizabeth and Jessica Pica. Photos from the Instagram accounts of the Balik Samahan members
(E-mail reactions at rickylophilstar@gmail.com. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)