My apologies to our readers who had been following this corner. I had missed several issues as I had to adjust my writing to my new work schedule which changes every two weeks. I thank my editors for their kind considerations.
To borrow the title of the early 1990s movie that kindled the romance of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, my wife Denise and I are now “Far and Away” from home. We now call New York our second home and don’t you believe that the city never sleeps because it does, especially during winter. Yes, even Times Square loses its crowd in the wee hours.
I was with Denise somewhere along 5th Avenue when I got call from very good friend Rey Seno that fateful Sunday afternoon. Because he said that I’m a big Laker fan, I should have known already what happened to Kobe as every network was broadcasting about what happened. Long story short, I was not aware and was simply stunned about the tragedy.
We tried going to the NBA store in the hope of getting some items but it was packed with people and anything and everything that’s Kobe related were sold out. A week later, his $300 jerseys were still selling well, likewise t-shirts and framed photos. Yes, I did bought some (not the jersey) as well as commemorative magazines.
New York prides itself as the best sports city in the world with professional teams in almost every professional sport and with some of the most famous and iconic coliseums and arenas. Residing in the city, most will assume that you either support baseball’s Yankees and Mets, basketball’s Knicks, Nets and WNBA’s Liberty, the Giants and Jets of football (I wonder why they call this football as they carry that elongated ball from end to end), hockey’s Islanders and Rangers, soccer’s Red Bulls, NYC FC and the women’s Sky Blue FC. Most sporting goods stores carry these teams’ merchandise.
I kept to myself my true colors as to team loyalty assuming that my workmates are with one of the NY teams. But reporting for work the following day, co-workers told me that one of our store managers openly cried when he heard the Kobe news. As in, with no reservations or purposes of evasion. A native New Yorker standing at 5’10” and about 300 pounds, he is literally a huge Laker and Kobe fan.
Everything and anything about Kobe was already written and I won’t be adding my inputs. Coach Allan Choachuy did a nice piece on his column “Every Pound Counts”. No one thought that that would be their last day and I can only imagine the terror and finality of death in their minds when the chopper spun out out control.
Life indeed is fragile. Every morning when we wake is a gift of life and we should be thankful that the Lord had given us another day to recieve His blessings. We shall live and enjoy life one day at a time because tomorrow is never guaranteed. As Sting said, “How fragile we are”.
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To the romantically adventurous, it’s V-Day and if we’re not ready for a lifetime commitment, it is better to be safe than sorry. If we’re not carreful, of course we’ll have a baby. What else do we expect, an iPhone 11?