ALL IN HIGH FIESTA SPIRIT

300 Years of Inspiration from St. William of Aquitaine

Dalaguetnons have always been known to be deeply pious and religious. Our piety and religiosity went back many years ago when the Spaniards first came to our place. With the inspiration of San Guillermo de Aquitania, Dalaguete has progressed a lot in all aspects of life. The people have become more mature in fulfilling their respective roles in the community. Economically, the town has grown from a lowly fourth class municipality to second class in less than three years. In a cycle, this growth has created more jobs and built more infrastructure which paved more development. These were all accomplished because the people have been steadfast in their faith for a better Dalaguete. This unwavering Dalaguetnon piety and religiosity are inspired by the examples of Sr. San Guillermo.

Dalaguete would not have been in all high spirits today if not for her people. The Dalaguetnons themselves have played a tremendous role in placing Dalaguete where she is now. The farmers in Mantalongon and in other mountain barangays continue to labor, breaking backs to provide the municipality green gold for her coffers. Young professionals always come back to Dalaguete, start their productive lives bringing in more income to the place. The elderly remain active, the retirees continue to work for the good of us all providing the younger generation with the best examples of how age intermarries with success and fulfillment. The wealth of Dalaguete first resides on her people. If not for these hardworking and gallant women and men, Dalaguete would not have been as productive as she is now.

Because of the industry and resilience of her people, Dalaguete has continued to soar up high in terms of economy. In just a short time, the municipality has gone up "high class". Income-wise, the town is doing very well - earning so much from the produce of the land. We are still one of the major vegetable suppliers of the region. Income has also gone up because of the more intensive, effective and efficient revenue collection. Because the Dalaguetnons are now more capable of spending more, their spending pattern and habit have also helped a lot the local economy. Coupled with wise spending and proper planning, Dalaguete and her people will continue to soar high, that becoming a city would never be a dream so far.

Standing in one corner, one is able to see as many as three bakeries in Dalaguete. A lot of buildings sprouted in strategic locations. New roads are opened and old ones are concreted. Now the town has a decent plaza and safe place for children to play. The government exerted much effort for infrastructure to grow with the people. Because of the income provided in by the people, the local government is able to give back to the people in terms of infrastructure projects which will further boost the economic and socio-cultural status of the town. The newly refurbished cultural and sports complex will surely be the envy of other municipalities in this southern part of the province. This is just to name some, but with the people's continued patronage and stewardship of what the local government has done so far and built, we definitely will go a long way farther.

It would have been regrettable if I had left Dalaguete to earn my keep somewhere else. Looking at where she is now and being able to experience personally the pains, the excitement and the victory she has been through always brings back memories and a tear or two in my eyes notwithstanding the awkward lump in my throat. Through the years, I have seen my hometown flourish into one economic hub in southern Cebu because of the the diligence and resilience of my fellow Dalaguetnons. These traits inspired by the life of Sr. San Guillermo in turn give the town's economy a great push resulting to development in infrastructure which we ourselves enjoy today, and hopefully for next generations of Dalaguetnons to come. Celebrating 300 years of grace and pride, Dalaguete and the Dalaguetnons indeed have come a long way through.

THE SUN IS OUT... AT LAST

Will I Miss the Rain?

When I was just a child, I loved the rain. It always comes around the start of the school year - starting July onwards until September. I usually sat by the window then and watched raindrops trickle by the awning. If the rain poured heavily off came my clothes and I could be seen frolicking half naked and wet with an ear to ear grin. The cold could not even bite. It was pure unadulterated fun. I always miss the fun once the rainy season ends. I cannot wait for the next season to begin.

Now that I am old and balding, do I still look forward to the rain? Time has changed so much. The rain that is comparable to manna before brings havoc to life and properties today. Has the downpour from heavens mutated? I think it has not. Unfortunately, man created a monster out of the rain. The water cycle still is there; however, a lot of side players would like to get into the action. All these have been man's misdeeds - his selfish miscalculation of nature's gift to his kind.

Will I ever miss the rain again today? I am not sure anymore. For several days, life has been so dreary and wet. Everywhere one looks, water seems to occupy all the nooks and crannies where it is not supposed to be. I don't blame the rain though. I may be even one to blame for why the rain now misbehaves. Still it retains its fascinating effect on me, but now I fully understand that it could fight back if man continues to be so self-absorbed with destroying nature and even his kind. I just hope the sun will not ever be like the rain. it is now out...at last.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AND TEACHING STRATEGIES

Three Memorable Days with Ma'am Ampy

The three RVM schools in Cebu Cluster - SMA Dalaguete, SMA Oslob and IKA Jimalalud - gathered together in our school for an updating on classroom management and teaching strategies. We were with Ma'am Amparo Valdez of the Ateneo Grade School Dept. The experience was well-worth the time we spent away from home especially the teachers from Negros.

Mrs. Amparo Valdez, our faciltator in action.

All ears are to Ma'am Ampy.

The teachers brainstorming on what common classroom problem to put into "rules"

Ma'am Ampy critiquing our work on "Classroom Rules"

Presentation of the output after "Round Table" strategy

WHAT I HAVE LIVED FOR

My Personal Philosophy as a Teacher

…that scientific theory should be extrapolated and proven true in life’s greatest atrocities;
…that mathematical calculation should equate the poor and the oppressed with those basking in opulence;
…that language and the spoken words should break the silence of the dumb and set them free.

Because the world outside the four walls of the school is one humongous laboratory teeming with God’s living creation, it is my dream that once my students are out of the narrow confines of the school corridors, these young minds will have realized that real life is lived outside by real people in a more than surreal world.

…open their eyes and make them see that not a single scientific theory can ever justify the pains and irreverent losses of life in treacherous killings and senseless war;
…open their minds and make them realize that not a single mathematical logic can ever equate the poor and the opulent;
…open their ears and make them hear that not a single spoken language can ever set free the dumbfounded;
…open their eyes and open their ears and make them realize what real life is.

To accomplish these, I must do the following:
• I will blind my students with prudence to make them see the repercussions tomorrow of their actions today;
• I will flood them with temperance to make them rein and take hold of their passions and dispassions;
• I will have them gain fortitude to make them win life’s seemingly intractable battles;
• I will treat them with justice to make them deal fairly with themselves, their neighbors and God;
• I will skill them with sound cognition, manual dexterity and unwavering determination for real life is not for the imbecile, the lazy and the indecisive.

These tall orders I set on myself can only be realized in holistic development and integral formation of my students. These can only be done in an environment that puts premium on diversity, in an atmosphere that encourages students to fail and redefine failures to become vehicles of success.

My instructional approach therefore should simulate real outside world. Team building and cooperation among students and teachers are not just encouraged but are must in order for all to have a full grasp of real life situations. The teacher becomes a facilitator of learning, a co-partner in the pedagogical process. In no way will he permeate sarcasm and cast doubts in the minds of the students.

Learning is structured and modular to fit in the core of my tasks. In the center of the educative process is the student. The curricula, school activities, classroom discussions and lesson plans are designed to insure total transformation of the students into Marian leaders molded from the harmonious intermarriage of global and scientific pedantry and the time-tested Christian virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.

My instructional supervisory behavior revolves around collaborative decision making for a more cohesive and efficient organization. I have to maintain a highly motivated group of pedagogues acting as my co-equals by satisfying not only their basic wants for maintenance but rather indemnifying their autonomy and actualization needs. The spirit of collegiality, openness and friendly bantering of ideas and opinions permeates the organizational climate because of two way communication.

My leadership style is eclectic – facilitative and transformative. I draw inspirations from Nehemiah, the biblical figure who rebuilt the fallen walls of Jerusalem in just fifty-two days which originally was built for more than a hundred years. Institutional changes move subtly from contentment before the issue of change is raised to chaos when the answers of the problem come then ultimately to self-renewal when confusions are settled.

Though my dreams, my visions seemed afar but a flicker of hope shines through. Gargantuan they may be, but I have to surmount the challenges and face the odds of the tasks in hand. Inspired by the humble servanthood of Venerable Ignacia and the fiat of the Virgin Mother, I know I can and I more than know that I will and I should.

WET SUMMER, DAMP WEATHER

Nature Fights Back - The Rain

When I was still a child, we lived in a two-storey Spanish inspired house. It had a long wooden staircase that ended up in the second floor landing which also served as a receiving room. It had cabinets full of books, which I do not know where now. The receiving area conveyed visitors to the main living room which was very spacious. It was in this room where I spent most of my childhood days whenever I was not allowed to go down and meet with friends. I remembered running and jumping in the room because its sheer size allowed even all us seven cousins there. This was the ancestral house and my cousins who lived nearby always visited me to play hide and seek upstairs. There were so many rooms with a lot of nooks and crannies that swallowed us up. The second floor was every young child’s enormous playroom. On one side of the living room were windows facing the road and the sea beyond. These were Spanish windows with panes made of capiz shells. I toyed with the panes because they could be slid to and fro. Whenever my Lola saw me doing this, she always got angry. The room and the windows were very memorable for me.

During the monsoon season, which is from June to September, it always rains so hard. Because we lived by the sea, the house got to be buffeted with too much wind, seawater and sand besides the rain. What I remembered vividly well was that whenever there was bad weather then, I just stayed inside the house and played with the rain by the window panes. The rain holds special fascination to me even until now. I always love the rain. When I went to school then and it rained so hard without me bringing any rain gear at all, I just pried a big banana leaf and used it to keep me from being wet. I enjoyed being in the rain to my mother’s utter displeasure. So whenever it rains today, it brings back fun childhood memories. I don’t live in a two-storey house anymore and my sea view is already blocked with a massive two-storey Dutch house. I do not miss the wind, the sand and the sea. Although I still miss the window panes, the rain is more than enough to compensate for my childhood longing of that certain pleasure only a child knows by heart.

It’s still April and it is still summer suppose to be; however, the rain has made its presence felt a lot earlier. Could this be the end of summer? I don’t care. I love the sun but I more than love the rain. Today, I can appreciate so much the rain not only because of the happy childhood memories that come rushing in my mind but more of its practical benefits to man and the environment. Because it is summer and it is too hot, the rain is definitely a welcome respite. Any late afternoon rain that continues until the wee hours of the morning brings a restful night sleep sans the air conditioning system. The Bermuda grass and other flowering plants cannot help but turn yellow to brown during summer. They get sun burned too. They need plenty of watering, but water during this time is a precious commodity. Watering plants is not wasting water. It is not just the priority however. My hometown earns the distinction of being the “Vegetable Basket” of the region. Ours is basically an agricultural community and this is how we earn our keep. Rain and lots of rain is what we need to sustain high value crop production. Thus, rain to me today goes more than just happy childhood memories.

What brought the rain, however, a lot earlier? The weather bureau said that it’s the convergence of different weather systems that made us wetter a month earlier. Experts also have been very vocal about erratic climate change and unpredictable weather changes to be due to global warming. Global warming in return is caused basically by how much we pollute the planet. I am not complaining about the rain. Its coming though is a lot earlier and this must make all of us rethink of how responsible we are for this phenomenon. Do we still have to wait until we drown in a deluge of rain to stop destroying nature and the environment? For sure I will not be thinking of fun childhood memories by that time when I am holding on to dear life because I am drowning in my own foolishness and everyone else’s. It's a hard time ahead.

RAPING NATURE, RIPPING THE FUTURE

Of Mutant Flies, Killer Pigs & Deadly Birds

The world when it is first created is all too beautiful. Wherever man looks are evidences of its pristine beauty. The surrounding is green, and the rivers, the seas and the oceans are sparkling bodies of water. The air is clean. Because of these nature grows in abundance. Plants teeming with fruits provide man with readily available food supply. Crops flourish untamed which provide food to animals. Wherever one toils the land and explores the sea, there is food anywhere. People are healthy although diseases are never unheard of. However, sickness is always attributed to unclean spirit. It is associated with sin. Nobody can think of illnesses as caused by nature, by animal vectors and even by plants. This is because the world seems too beautiful to be responsible of such a problem. However today, man knows better than this.

We all know today that diseases are never caused by unclean spirits or of sins. Some primitive cultures, however, still holds the same belief today. That is why to this group of people diseases are always approached in mystical manner and are treated in less than medical ways. Mortality and morbidity are still high. Modern societies believe otherwise. Diseases are caused by pathogens. These can be bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, etc. Illnesses may also be of non-pathogenic origin. They can be dietary and traumatic too. These latter two are treated primarily with behavioral modification – change diet and be careful. Diseases of pathogenic origin pose a greater problem though. They are treated primarily using medicines that work against the identified pathogen. Being living though, these pathogens continue to mutate just as man continues his unrelenting search for longer and better life.

In man’s continued search for longevity and progress, he forgets to take good care of nature which was once so beautiful. He never realizes that it is nature that holds one of the keys to a much longer and better life. The human race forgets all and starts destroying the pristine beauty of the surroundings. People started manipulating organisms in the name of scientific pursuit. We are no longer eating foods that are fresh from the farm or from the sea. We are now eating processed foods, and worse, chemically treated stuffs that are both harmful to the body and to the environment. In the name of progress, we started cutting down trees to provide habitable lands to our rapidly growing population. This has displaced so many wild and exotic animals that once thrive peacefully among themselves, untouched by man and his so-called modern civilization. Sadly, we have changed the world, and more sadly, for the worse.

Because of rapid changes in the environment, our behavior and how we interact with our surrounding, this has changed so much the evolution of diseases. Before diseases of pathogenic origin could easily be diagnosed based on patient presentation and his signs and symptoms; today it is very different. There are diseases with overlapping signs and symptoms and there are also diseases of unknown pathogenic origin. This early part of the century sees the emergence of quite perplexing diseases and exotic pathogens seldom heard of last century. AIDS was the scare of the last century. There was only one. Today, every year there seems to be a new disease with a very long name and an equally tongue twisting pathogenic origin – Ebola reston virus causing massive internal bleeds, SARS and the bird flu caused by the avian flu virus and the most recent swine flu caused by another virus yet to be identified. These are the newer diseases of pathogenic origin which may be caused by man’s continued exploitation of his environment.

Where have all these viruses come from? Obviously, as their names tell us, they are not of human origin. Their vectors clearly are not humans first – monkeys, birds and pigs. However, why are they causing the human race now and the world so much trouble? They have mutated. They cause no harm in their original hosts. Because man is never their primary host, these viruses to man are harmful. We are not meant to be their hosts. How come they have been unleashed to the world of man? Why have they not stayed with the monkeys, the birds and the pigs? Simply, it is because man has disturbed them. We started clearing the forests and the monkeys moved closer to us. We disturbed the peace migratory birds enjoyed along their long distance sojourn for winter. We started feeding pigs with whatever science has formulated and started devouring pork grown from drastic maintenance cost cuts. In pursuit of better life, we have made our lives worse.

The moral of all these sad scenarios of people dying of diseases never heard of before is simple and straight forward. We need to bring back clean surroundings again. We have to approximate back nature as it was originally created. This is a big problem. Environmental damage and pollution have become a global concern. Countries have come to good measures on how to stop the continued destruction of Earth – the only home we ever got to live on. Each of us too has to do our own little things of further harming the environment. Recycle whatever can be recycled. Save water because supply is dwindling. Go green and hybrid. Walk instead of ride. Raw instead of fried. There are so many that we can do to help. Unless we do our share, nature will continue to strike back. I don’t want to hear next year of a canine flu virus and die as a result because my poor pet dog thinks of me as just another viral host.

MAKE IT HARDER, HAVE IT LONGER...

Exercise Harder, Live Longer and be Happier

I have always been a health buff. My passion to good health started way back when I was still in high school. My motivation then was the trimmed body that went with good health. When one is trimmed, it is a lot easier for him to engage in any activity without getting too much tired and stressed out. When one is slim, he can also get into any style. He is always in fashion, so to say. When I got a bit older, in college, my motivation still and unfortunately was the trimmed body plus the muscle that started puffing. It was all fun then to exercise myself to "kill" level. I seemed not to get tired at all then. The result of my hard work and the adrenaline rush just kept on pushing me to add some more reps. Even when I started working in the hospital, I still pursued good health by exercising and eating sensibly. It was all natural, no drugs and I was so proud of the result. My good health and trimmed body then were the result of my dedication, discipline and hard work. Unfortunately, everything started to wean off.

Although I was so sincere with my exercise regimen and eating pattern then, when-ever I had problems with my work, I observed that I ate more than what was needed to maintain my basal metabolic functions and sustain me through my daily activities. I knew then that it was not correct and I had to change this bad habit. When I was still in the hospital, I did burn enormous amount of calories doing my cardio. I rode my mountain bike and did about 20km sprint everyday. I so loved the rush that came with the wind against my sweat. When I was with my bike, I forgot the worries of the day. My day just did not stop with the bike though. I also conducted aerobic sessions with the senior citizens. When they expressed that they wanted me to help them rid of arthritis and other degenerative diseases, I volunteered to be with them. I always finished my day then with a good amount of another calories burned. Everything changed though when I became a teacher and started working in school.

The pressure of work in school was just too much for me. I started lagging behind my workout and cardio and began putting on some weight. I learned to diet when before I just ate sensibly. My eating binge when depressed became worst that from as trimmed as 32 inches I bloated to 38. I could no longer do push ups when before I could manage a decent 30. I could still bench press though but my abdominals got weaker. However, whenever I was at work, I often did abdominal contractions to help me with my back problem. Because I did not workout regularly anymore, my biceps and delts were no longer as prominent as before. My asset, my quads, were as perfect than ever. I still run and do a lot of brisk walking. I have well-defined quadriceps courtesy of my several years of mountain biking. What I fear now, however, is I easily run out of breath. I get tired fast and I am today carrying too much weight. I need to trim down. I promised myself this before summer vacation started.

This morning I woke up with the renewed vigor to exercise and start losing weight. My motivation now obviously is no longer aesthetics but more of becoming productive and be of help to others. How can I be both productive and of help to others when I am sick? I also do not want to die earlier than what is expected of me should I have been healthier. I slept late last night (actually this morning, 2a.m.). I will sleep earlier tonight so I will be more refreshed and my muscles rested. Because I was starting all over again, I did so much stretching and moderate cardio before I got into full running. I did about 30 minutes of stationary jogging and shadow boxing then proceeded to sit ups. I minimized rest time in between. I only did upper body today - traps and biceps. Hopefully, tomorrow I will do lower and the delts. I still have to pick up my pace. I still have to experiment what is really best for me. Another problem that I have to address to is my binge eating when depressed and pressured. With all these things in proper perspective, I hope I'm on my way to another new self.

The task ahead of me is definitely difficult. There will obviously be rough roads. What is good with me, however, is I am always passionate with things I have started. With some behavior modifications and proper time management I know I will make it. Whenever I exercise to be healthy and trim, I always have a picture of me at the end. I often imagine how will I look like, how will I feel and how will others react about my new self. These offer a lot of motivation for me to do a lot harder as the days go on, and they create a positive vicious cycle. Because the motivation is intrinsic, I know I will sustain with what I have just started today. When before I was so motivated to be healthy, to exercise and be trimmed because of how I would look, today my mission is even greater. I do not want to be sick earlier than expected. I don't want to be debilitated and be useless. I know I still can do so many things to help myself and the community. I know there are still higher reasons for my existence. I have slowly discovered some but there are still some more. I just cannot afford to miss all these things just because I die young. The world has so many beautiful things to offer. How will I enjoy them when I am already six feet underground?

FEELS LIKE I'M IN HEAVEN

The Birthing of the Culture of Appreciation

To teach another thoroughly is the best way to learn for yourself

- Tyron Edwards

I have been very clear that this year I am so tired teaching and administering the school. There are so many reasons why, some of them you may have known. I have also made known that I moonlight as a college teacher in a local university just a stone's throw from my high school. I thought before that I was so tired at the end of the day because I still had classes until eight in the evening. This has been going on in my mind that for the next academic year I have decided that I can only be one of the three. I cannot be all the principal, high school teacher and a university professor. I want to concentrate in college, so I filed my resignation last February 23.

As per labor laws, my resignation would have taken effect today, March 23. But until today I have been running here and there doing all three - principal, teacher and professor. Being the high school principal, I have to see today that everything will be ready for Wednesday, our scheduled graduation day. I have delegated though almost every work there is to be done. We had our practice of the graduation ceremony at the cultural and sports complex today. Everything went well except for some minor voice problem with the Alma Mater song. In the afternoon, I attended the School Board meeting with the Mayor. I was tired, dead tired.

The university finals will be this coming Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. I have exams for all these days. Definitely, I will not be able to administer my final exam for Eng 2 on Wednesday. I am available though for both my Educ 107 and Ed Tech 2. Luckily, I already have prepared all my test papers for the three courses. Today, I reviewed my freshmen English 2 class. In the course of our review, somebody muttered that until today she is still confuse with the basics in English grammar. I have been telling them though that you cannot be an overnight genius for English grammar. This they have understood. What made my day was when somebody added that she has learned so many things new about the language with me.

I decided to teach because I want others to learn too what I have learned before. I want to share what I know. I was humbled by the comment. With this class, I have always been absent for unfortunately sometimes my schedule was just really in conflict with some of my duties in high school. In as much as I would like to arrange for special classes, we could not seem to agree on which day and on what time. To compensate for my absence, every time I am present I really exert much effort for them to understand the course-Writing in the Discipline. I love writing. I have been writing ever since I knew my alphabet. Writing comes as second nature to me.

What I have taught these students cannot be found in one single book. I have taught them almost twenty years of my writing experience and training. I made them realize that the skill of writing in whatever form can be learned and that it can be learned with ease and with much fun. In my heart I knew I have not done anything extraordinary. I just did what I have to do, what I think must be done for them to learn. I was not expecting that to my college students it was so much. They were so thankful of everything. Unfortunately, in high school I never heard of such sincere appreciation of my labor. Remember, this I think before was what our high school students lack-the appreciation of the work of their teachers. In a more than unexpected place, I got what I have long expected from the students who ought to have appreciated more my effort.

THE MISADVENTURE OF STEVIE, WILLIE AND SCOTTIE

When Young Men are Simply Boys

Curiosity, they say, kills the cat. Today, true enough, it got three of my junior students in trouble. I was walking along with my colleague-teacher to a local diner where we usually take our lunch. We always pass by a group of older Spidermen with their fighting kaka. I believe these anally fixated morons should not be there. Besides being a public place, thus a nuisance, most high school students pass there too, and the group has always been a sight worth an adventure. Our young men just did that and I was so frustrated, disappointed and angry. Three years with these guys should have been enough to have made them more prudent in making decisions.

I asked my friend-colleague for me to be with the junior class where Stevie, Willie and Scottie are. He was supposed to be with them in English Literature at 1p.m. He consented to my request. I got inside the room; I thought I hear a pin dropped. This has been the class who was once the blunt end of my childish temper blasts. They knew how angry I can be. They knew how insulting I can be. I was very happy, they remembered both well. I was not there, however, for either one of them. I planned to just give them a pep talk on the right values. I wanted to be calm with them and talk sense of what I envision them to be.

This class also takes Christian Morality under its own class adviser. It was therefore a lot easier for me to make the students understand what I intended to talk. I started with conscience. I moved to service, one of our core values and made a very specific reference to stewardship. I made them understand that being with the Spidermen, enjoying what they loved best, though revolting, goes against the moral notion of integrity of creation. Don't get me wrong! It was not my intention to be so damn preachy nor was it ever my ambition to be a man of cloth. I am more comfortable naked.

These boys were not as damn as the older Spidermen. These boys were just there out of curiosity. They have been warned not to go back and be so adventurous. Why so much of a jerk? Why so much of a dick head? Because I care for my students. I cannot bear to see them grow into the Spidermen we hate them to be. Those men with their kaka are nurturing early childhood conflicts which until today are left unresolved. Our young men are not like these older men. We teach them what is life, and that life is complex but it can be lived to its fullest.

I was frustrated, disappointed and angry today. It was because I care for my students. They became more adventurous and ventured beyond what is morally acceptable. They may be young to understand what the hell I have talked about, yet still they have to hear it. More so, to not act on it. I don't want them to go back where they have been. I don't want them to go there where they should not be. Life is just a matter of conscientious decision-making. To live life to the fullest is a matter of being a prudent judge of actions. If you have known nothing good will result out of your decisons today, then by all heart go against what you desire. Do not act based on a wrong judgment. Stevie, Willie and Scottie have been forwarned...nicely!

MEN AND THE SIZE OF THEIR TOYS

It's Not Size that Matters but How You Play Them

In our country so obsessed with sheer luck and easy money, it is not surprising that even in the holiest of holy places one sees men with their small toys gambling their lives away. The object of their obsession is the eight-legged kaka of the biggest class of them all, Insecta. Under the glaring heat of the sun, older men with nothing much better to do engage in kaka fighting just outside the Perpetual Adoration Chapel. Their cacophonous jeering that surprises the poor eight-legged creation excites the latter to grab hold of whatever it can and starts immobilizing its poor prey with pristine white sticky web. The prey is its own Classmate, another eight-legged kaka of the biggest class of them all, Insecta.

Are we this savage that our sense of fun and what is entertaining is to prod innocent insects to kill its own? These big, old men with their unequally small toys have not realized that in a way they are altering ecological niches which may ultimately lead to environmental collapse. We cannot just simply allow organisms, however small, to start killing its own or they will soon become extinct like most animals of the Kingdom where we pride ourselves to belong.

Or are we so foolish and dumb that we find so much fun in so mundane a thing as fighting spiders? I thought we are the most intelligent animal. Now, I am beginning to think that only a few of us are really intelligent. How in the world can any sensible, rational, bald ape think that killing is fun, that urging others to kill their own is so satisfying more than what ejaculation ever does to one’s own phallic obsession. Men have definitely changed. Their toys have become smaller. Their brains have shrunk and have sunk down to settle in between their legs.

Or are we so very poor that whatever chance we have to get rich easily, we grab just like the poor kaka does to its own brother, maybe. Who knows? But when you look at this group of older men, there are even some who are publicly accountable because they are public servants. Maybe these dumb men believe that it would be a disservice to mankind if they allow the spiders to proliferate uncontrolled, so being public servants who are ever ready to serve without a grumble, they start killing Spiderman and rid the town of Tobey McGuire. What the heck has happened to us? Marvel Comics?

Whether we have grown so foolishly callous that being entertained by spiders killing their own or that we have grown so dumb poor that shooting Spiderman out of the picture brings us extra income besides publicly (dis)servicing the people, one thing I am sure of is that men should no longer be judged based on the size of their toys but on how they play them. Should a man be so anally fixated that he cannot seem to grow out of his obsession to destroy what is in order, to enjoy mayhem and absolute bedlam, then however big his toy of destruction is, does not make him more of a man but an old, dumb, bald ape regressing to when all his world is centered to what has caused him too much anxiety today – his small penis!