Remembered by (Sabong News)
Author
CTALK
Date
AUGUST 13 2021
Back when I first took over my father’s game fowl (sabong) farm I barely had any money except for my monthly salary. As we cleared the over growth of grass and shrubs I remember seeing my wife sitting under an umbrella reading a book as it rained, since the only trees we had at that time were mostly coconut trees and we had to start from scratch. Later, our first quarters was composed of a one-bedroom shack with just enough space for a bed and bags, a small adjacent toilet and a tiny roofed area where we cooked meals and ate. It was more a workers’ barracks than anything.
After a year, I started a lanai project made of recycled wood, a concrete floor and no walls, just mosquito screens. Privacy was provided by a tarpaulin (trapal) that we would roll down whenever it rained or got too windy. What we built and when we built were always based on the availability of funds. The lanai was very practical and it did not take long before family members started to stay for the weekend, along with their yayas. After one sleepless night crammed with adults, numerous cellphones ringing through the night and our baby Hannah waking up, my wife declared “Enough!” we cannot have a barangay inside a 36-square meter space.
And so I ventured to build a house by marking the length and width. Then I marked where 12 posts would go. How I would do it and when I would do it, like I said, construction would be determined by the “availability of funds.” I literally saved money “footing” by “footing” for foundation, then post-by-post, and I-beam-by-I-beam. After six months or more, I finally had 12 posts, which caught the eye of my neighbor Senator Ralph Recto who was driving by and assumed I was putting up a chapel and becoming a full time pastor. The project was momentarily stopped since the money for roofing material was still subject to availability. Then one day my dear departed friend Dominic Sytin, whom I had been helping out in his business back then, came to visit and saw the unfinished structure with partly rusting metal beams. So I explained the situation and he excitedly said, “I just changed the roofing in our warehouse! Would you be interested in using them here?” Of course I was and we left it at that.
A month or so passed by during which the roofing material was delivered and installed. But when I saw the roof I did not have a patchwork of used odds and ends, Dominic sent brand new roofing material! I was very grateful, embarrassed and miffed all at the same time. But Dominic figured that if he sent the used materials and the roof leaked he would be embarrassed and never hear the end of it from me. Many years have passed and every time it rains, I remember Dominic and our roofing story.
When Typhoon Glenda hit Batangas province many years ago, our place in Lipa was badly hit and many trees were trashed, broken in pieces or uprooted. My sister took photos of the damage and posted it on Facebook and one of the “first responders” was none other than Dominic Sytin, who freaked out from the photos and was already talking about sending backhoes and heavy equipment from United Auctioneers in Subic. Luckily I made it to the farm before the troops moved and I called Dom to tell him it looked worse than it was. Just a lot of trees down but not much else. Without asking, Dom sent an honest to goodness full size large chainsaw that was a bit of an overkill. But it made small work of all the trees we had to clear and chop up into slabs or firewood. Last week, one of our 20-year-old pine trees was uprooted because of continuous rain and termite damage. Once again, I remembered Dominic as we used the huge chainsaw.
Recently I visited our church grounds in Lipa City and I saw two big power generators that Dominic provided at cost and free of shipping many years ago. That spirit of helping and generosity has been carried over by his brother Rommel Sytin, who also helped me set up a small back-up generator for the farm. This has been a great blessing because it allows me to keep broadcasting our show AGENDA even if there is a power outage in Lipa City. You might think that I’m missing my friend Dominic so much that I have to write about it. But actually, life’s little events can be vivid reminders of the goodness of people in our lives. It is also a valuable lesson for many who may be striving for significance or legacy acts or programs, believing that only “grand gestures” and institutional grants qualify. That, my friends, is farthest from the truth.
Every time the rain pours as it has these past few weeks, the gentle rumble on the roof reminds me of Dominic’s gift. Each and every time the electricity fails or is cut off by weather or maintenance and the hum of the generator overtakes the silence, I am reminded of Dominic. Even the whirr and chipping of the chainsaw and the firewood it makes reminds me of Dominic. These gifts have become solutions to challenges in the farm but they have also become things to remember him by. May we all carry on the tradition of giving and leaving behind “things” that make life easier for people and for us to be remembered by.
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