Gamblers no more?

I heard a preacher say: "It is easier to win in lotto than to win an argument with your wife."

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Maybe that's the reason why some husbands would rather go to the lotto betting outlet than engage da missus in an argument. Hehe.

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Bigtime gamblers in Macau and Las Vegas don't call themselves gamblers but gamers which in a way puts them in almost the same level as the sportsmen. "Gambler is too vulgar a title," says a poker player.

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The usual or common quotes I hear from our beauty contest winners are: "I did not expect to win," "I was surprised when I was named winner" and "Hindi ko po akalain na ako ang manalo."

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"I think they're not telling the truth," says Noy Temiong. "If they didn't expect to win, why did they take part in the contest and waste their time and energy?" That's his take not mine.

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A shut-in I know ("Please don't mention my name," she says) who watches the world go by from her room says: "Sa akong nakita sa tv ug newspaper, mora ta'g gi-baby sa tanang nasud sa kalibutan." She asks me to name just one better-off country that has not sent relief goods for our typhoon and earthquake victims.

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"Why," she says, "even China which has been bullying us over the West Philippine Sea issue has sent us millions of dollars worth of assistance."

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Cash remittances from OFWs have hit a record high, says this news here. What are the figures? The Central Bank says $2.062 billion. That's the highest level ever recorded from monthly cash remittances.

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Great. And yet sometimes we read reports about some OFWs -- including women -- getting a raw deal from people, nay, officials who are supposed to protect them.

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The enemy of reconstruction or rehabilitation is corruption. This according to Mr. Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, the man responsible for the reconstruction of Aceh, the Indonesian province demolished by tsunami. He said the government should not let the donors of assistance down. The flow of funds from abroad could stop if corruption should be allowed, wittingly or unwittingly, to come into play.

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Mr. Magkusubroto made the statement in connection with the rehabilitation of Tacloban and amid the rubbles caused by Yolanda.

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OVERHEARD. Some men were overheard talking about the benefits ordinary citizens are getting from government agencies like PhilHealth and Pag-Ibig. Can't commercial sex workers avail themselves of these benefits?" someone wanted to know. Reply: "Ayaw na lang na sila paapil-apila oy." Another reply: "Ngano man diay? Mahadlok ka patas-an unya nila ang ilang singil?"