Matina Aplaya

A couple of days back, my uncle messaged my wife asking what my number is as he was inviting me to go with him, and another cousin, to Matina Aplaya.

When my wife reached me, her first reaction was "What's in Matina Aplaya? Monkey Business?" :-D hmmm... she does have a point as we never visit the place nor even pass by the area even though it's just behind the mall she works in. I'm beginning to sense something though ... what could she be implying ..... but maybe this is for another story.

Yes, I still remember that time when Mama went sleepless for days. She undoubtedly was troubled. She would talk to her friends, talk to her siblings, and sometimes just end up thinking deeply, alone, in the sofa, all through out the night. I was in my last year of high school, and while I had the impression that time that we would go bankrupt, my parents didn't make me feel that. My daily routine did not change significantly. My life was still as comfortable as before.

So the day came and I got dragged to check out the area - Matina Aplaya. My mom and her brother, my uncle, won parcels of land after battling an estafa case for more than 20 years in court. Yes, it took that long. It went all the way to the Supreme Court. Not only are these land not enough to cover what was originally owed, relationships soured over that long period of time. It was a waste of everyone's time and resources.

I think that time we really would have been bankrupt if not for family and friends in the community who were gracious lenders. I don't know the whole story. Mama never told her side. Papa never mentioned anything. Me and my cousins were never allowed to hear what the grownups were talking about. I just heard snippets of what happened 20 years after, when the case was about to be resolved already, all a little too late. I also found folders with mama's records when I was cleaning her closets. Mama is a great record keeper.

And not everyone was gracious too. I also heard of those that went all out, pressured mama in all possible ways, to get their way.

I will forever be grateful to those that helped mama during this very difficult test in our lives. I wish I knew more. I wish I could return favors. Regardless, the experience has taught me to be gracious as well when caught in the same circumstances. I may not be able to return these favors anymore so I hope they will be comforted by the thought that their actions have made me want to be as gracious as they were/still are.

So you see, I admire mama very much. I'm a proud mama's boy and I wish I had her tenacity. Even with all that she faced, she fulfilled her promises and still managed to accommodate those that asked for her help. What we enjoy today, we truly all owe to her. That is what I believe.

The pictures show those parcels of land now. One now being used as a main highway, another probably a portion allocated for right-of-way. Ottoke? What do we do now?

The saga continues ...

(My one big idea is to build a TOLL gate :-D what do you think? )

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On a side note, I'm back with a blogpost after 9 years! admittedly, blogs are no longer the way to go, it's now 2023 and people are crazy for tiktok videos, short videos / stories / reels! Reading the book StoryWorthy by Matthew Dicks has made me want to pursue this again though.