This little winged creature landed on my daughter’s finger without a warning… Fascinating.
BUTTERFLY TRIVIA: The magnificent color of butterfly wings does not come from pigmentation directly on the wing, but from the tiny scales that hang on the wing like shingles on a house roof. These scales are so small they look like powder when rubbed onto the fingers.
Do you know the best way to make easy money? Here is a story.
Whenever Cristina needs or wants money, she will go to her grandmother who dotes on her very much because she is a favorite. Employed in a decent paying company and already has the economic power to buy things for herself and indulge in a few luxuries like high tech gadgets, expensive clothes, shoes and accessories, and eating out in full service restaurants, Cristina never forgets to let her grandmother pay for some of her expenses. Who should question her? She is her favorite and besides she is her grandmother. Never mind the other grandchildren. It must be her and her alone.
One will know when she needs money. She will comb her grandma’s hair or touch or hug her, which is void of sincerity actually but has to be done. She will stay in her room and talk to her about anything, taking a ride at whatever story her grandma will be telling. After all being patient has its prize.
Of course, there are times she buys pasalubong for her grandma or tokens. These, too, will be equivalent to a much larger amount of money, even ten times bigger.
Nobody does what she does in their family. It takes guts and the absence of real love and conscience.
Last year, Dodong gave her mother a bunch of flowers as Mother’s day gift. She received it with a dry smile and a thank you. Relatives came that day last year and Dodong waited for her mother to say a word of appreciation, or a story about him. He wanted to hear ‘good words’ from his mother. Well, he thought like this because he had saved money for that special occasion. All his life he had been with his mother and had not thought of marrying and leaving her alone. All his life he dedicated to her, in servitude to her. She was the reason why he worked hard. But that day last year seemed like one of those ordinary days to his mother. The bunch of flowers was left alone on her table, unattended until the flowers and the ferns and the leaves wilted.
Then Mother’s day came again this year and they have a visitor who had not visited for a long time – her sister and her children. His sister brought three flowers for his mother. His mother’s eyes widened with glee and thanked her daughter with a bright smile for the flowers. After his sister left, “Oh, Dodong, how many years had your Ate forgotten to visit us?” his mother asked. “Four years,” he replied silently. “Four years, and it’s the first time after four years, and even before those four years, that she had given me flowers from her heart.”
“Given you flowers? How many? Three? What about the bunch of flowers I gave you last year? They did not come from the heart? How do you know if they come from the heart or not? What, are you blind, unfeeling? Have you not cared for me at all? Or noticed me and what I have been doing to you all these years? Every child of yours had left and I remained and you do not even see me!”
One day, someone knocked at the door of a disabled (half-body paralyzed). It was a burly man who handed the disabled a letter that says:
To whom it may concern:
This is to appeal from your benevolence. The Christian Youth Organization, **** Chapter will have a fund-raising project for their annual Summer Basketball Fest which will be held on the first month of the second quarter of this year.
In this regard, we would like to solicit any amount which you would lovingly share. This will greatly help these teens develop love, camaraderie and unity.
Signed,
Chairman
Christian Youth Organization
Enraged, the disabled returned the letter and said, “Look, I am less than capable of earning money but I just don’t ask money. I work to be useful!”
The burly man went away without a word.
Philippine folklore tells many things about the kapre. Here is one funny story.
Ed went home at dawn, at around 3am, from a night out (which lasted till the wee hours) with his boss. On his way to the house, he met old man Cris, walking hastily and looking very pale. “Ed, I saw a kapre in front of your house, near the tree. He was even smoking cigar!”
Now kapres are known to dwell on top of trees smoking cigars. They are big, very tall, dark and hairy creatures known to scare people.
“Where did you see it, Mang Cris?” Ed asked.
“There,” pointing with his head but not bothering to turn, almost trembling.
Ed had goosebumps but he had to fight the growing fear. He suddenly remembered his father’s tales. Though he did not entirely believe the stories about those monsters, he cannot help but think what if it is possible.
When he walked in front of the tree where Mang Cris alledgely saw the monster, hairs raised up to the back of his neck. He hastened to reach the door of the house, struggling to fight the fear within and continued inserting the key. He silently turned the doorknob not to wake everybody in the house.
Ed wanted to laugh out loud. There in the sofa was his son’s friend, long hair, big, and dark.
The next morning, he told his son the story and his son asked his friend if he went out at 3am to smoke. He said yes.
“I therefore conclude that there are no kapres,” said Ed laughing.
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