If it were not for a former schoolmate, who used to have showbiz connections, I would not have known that a common writer-friend of ours is now HIV-positive.
Habang sinusulat ko ito, hindi ko alam if I have to mention the name of the writer-friend who even had his real-life story made into a state play sa bansa kung saan may ilang panahon na rin siyang naka-base with his wife. Yes, he’s married, but for some time ay naghiwalay sila dahil ang kaibigan kong ito was openly carrying on with a gay relationship sa kaibigan ding writer.
Ayon sa kuwento ng dati kong kaeskuwela in high school, sa tantiya raw ay 2000 when our common friend acquired HIV – believe it or not – from a simple one night stand believed to be a native to the country where he’s now based.
Since then, ’yung sinapit niya has not stopped him from his creative pursuits tulad ng nakagawian niyang gawin dito on top of doing beautifully written showbiz articles. Physically nga, hindi mo nga raw iisipin that he’s HIV-positive, he’s fit and agile like a retired athlete. Above all, it doesn’t show in his outlook because he’s still the cheerful, bubbly writer-friend I have come to know.
Unlike some HIV patients who dread the day kung kailan mawawala na sila sa mundo, this guy is never afraid of bidding the world goodbye anytime. Para raw sa kanya, he has served his purpose, was born with a prodigious talent that he has been able to share, noong mga panahong narito siya all the way to his newfound home abroad.
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Boy Abunda will either lust for me or lash back at me, but what do I care? Ang alam ko, Kuya Boy has given the world of CD a different planetary axis.
His Love Life CD, a compilation of his one-on-one interviews with some of the country’s seasoned artists (thanks to Roxy Liquigan for the compli copy) that segues to their songs, is one for the books. Parang at no time in the history of local tin pan alley has a CD of its kind ever been produced. And to think Kuya Boy’s Love Life (spelled two words otherwise it would make for an autobio, if it were a single word, as an ideal manual on how to preserve long-term relationships) has turned gold!
One major comment: Tanggap ko na that hardly is Kuya Boy’s album a peek into the romantic side of his life. Pero sana, at least there’s one cut in the CD that Kuya Boy gets to sing.
A dyed-in-the wool Noranian, puwedeng Bongga Ka, ’Day. Sounds like Bong Quintana. After all, aren’t we talking about Kuya Boy’s ‘lovelife?’
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E-mail: titoronnie@yahoo.com