Assunta: Not a ‘quarantine’ pregnancy
When Assunta de Rossi broke the news on her socmed account that she and her husband, former congressman Jules Ledesma, were expecting their first baby, people at once concluded that it’s a “quarantine” pregnancy understandably because, well, we’ve all been on quarantine for almost two months now (and counting?), right?
Correction, please, clarified Assunta in a phone interview with The STAR.
“I started conceiving in February when we came back from Amanpulo where I celebrated my birthday,” said Assunta who just turned 37. “I missed my period so I kept wondering why. It’s my first time to get pregnant kaya hindi ko alam ang signs. But Jules kept saying, ‘Baka buntis ka,’ so I consulted our doctor. True enough, positive nga.”
Together for 18 years (two years as steadies and 16 years married), the couple didn’t really plan or think they would be having a baby just yet, although they did want to have one. In fact, Assunta and Jules had an embryo preserved at the bank in 2016 since she was worried that she might not get pregnant due to certain health issues.
“So we are calling it a ‘miracle baby’ kasi nga hindi expected at hindi inaasahan,” added Assunta. “I am into my 16th week of pregnancy, past my first trimester, but I am very careful kasi maselan ako magbuntis.”
Due to give birth in November, Assunta has started reading books (such as What To Expect When You Are Expecting, which Jennifer Lopez said she had read when she herself was expecting) and watching videos about pregnancy even as she experiences inconveniences common among expectant moms.
“Our doctor advised me to take it easy and not to get stressed.”
The nude hunk in Vico’s online presser
The recent incident where the photo of a naked man appeared on screen in an online conference of Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto went viral on social media. Upon seeing the picture, Sotto stopped talking for a few seconds and even smiled a little. According to election lawyer Romy Macalintal, he recalled a similar incident when we were not yet connected on line.
“In the 1974 Oscars awards night,” narrated Romy, “when the great late David Niven was about to introduce Elizabeth Taylor as a co-presenter, a naked man (not a mere photo) “came streaking out from the stage waving a two-fingered peace sign. This brought laughter and uproar from the crowd and, like Sotto, Niven could only smile for a few seconds almost speechless. But after regaining his composure, Niven gave this classic remark: ‘Isn’t it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?’ That was hilarious, wasn’t it?”
Thus, the 1974 Oscars described the streaker as one who stole the show “by showing his ‘shortcomings’” and considered “the most infamous streak ever executed.” (See: https://groovyhistory.com/oscars-streaker-1974 -Link showing the faces of the streaker and David Niven: a classic foto, indeed.)
But unlike in Sotto’s case where the naked man was not identified, the naked man in the 1974 Oscars was identified as Robert Opel who allegedly did it as a publicity stunt. He met a tragic death when he was murdered in an attempted robbery on July 7, 1979.
Romy said, “But not to be upstaged by Robert Opel’s performance, David Niven won an award for his own performance that night. He became (and remains) the only host to win an Oscar at the award ceremony he was hosting.
“Well, at this time when we are all in forced quarantine or practically under ‘house arrest’ due to COVID-19, we need all these comic reliefs. My wife, Mila, and I, belonging to the so-called ‘most vulnerable sector,’ comply with our government’s policy of ‘staying at home’ by having our daily exercise, prayers, watering the plants in our garden and most of all giving assistance to our less fortunate brothers and sisters within our area.
“While I wait for the lifting of this quarantine period, I could only say, ‘When will I see you again, my friends and mga apo? May God bless us all.’”
(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)
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