My Worn Books and Reflections on Reflecting...

Recently an office-mate was rushed to the hospital. I showed up the next day in his hospital room, bringing with me the health insurance forms from the office, 3 books and a wall charger. He was quite amused with what I did. The books were, as I told him, to get his mind off his illness. The other two items were much more pragmatic, since the forms were a standard requirement for hospitals and the wall wart was for his (and the spouse') phones.

Anyway, the books I brought for him were Edad medya: mga tula sa katanghaliang gulang by Pete Lacaba, The Kite of stars and other stories by Dean Francis Alfar and Connecting Flights by Ruel S. De Vera. All three of these are what I would term are 'reflective' books. The stories can relate to anyone Filipino. Most of us will be able to see something of ourselves in them. Most the stories in these three books either fill us with remorse to rue for our past mistakes, make us want to fall in love again or fill us with empathy for things that happen to complete strangers that we share something in common with.

Sadly, days after, the books were returned to me unread. Well, I try. That's the important bit. Right now, though, I am revisiting Connecting Flights. What's the point of books that have pristine spines, flawless covers and smooth pages if they've never been read? So I always say, read a book. Lend it to someone. Share the joy of reading. Human experience isn't just about what you yourself have had the opportunity to have. It's also about pondering on what other people have experienced or thought of or have made theories about. So for now you could say I am 're-connecting' with Connecting Flights as my main medium.The venue isn't as important as the thoughts that go through my mind as I experience the mental missives of Filipinos missing home as they write from other places.