About me (3)

A Toyota fan.


I am the fourth son with three older brothers and one younger sister. I am tempted to say that I was my father's favorite, but that might start another debate between us siblings. So, let me just say that I was my father's pet.

When my father was still assigned at the Theft and Robbery division of the Western Police District, I believe he used me as a convenient excuse to get away from the Sunday chores of filing paperwork for the week and manning the store. Sundays should have been rest day anyway, so my Dad did all the paperwork at home and would go to the station with assignment done and me in tow.

"Hey I'm taking my kid to Luneta later!" was often his excuse to his colleagues whenever asked if he can man the store for the day.

So Sundays was Luneta day for me and my dad. He wasn't making much money at the time and Luneta was free. After Luneta, we'd go to Araneta Coliseum to watch basketball. I don't know how much tickets cost those days, but I remember we'd get the cheapest bleacher seats. My father was a big Jaworski fan. So Toyota was his team. And naturally, I became one too. But even then, I never liked the Big Barelling J, and had Francis "Mr. Clutch" Arnaiz as my hero.

These dates were supposed to be a secret between me and my father. But being very young, somehow my brothers were able to extract from me the information that we'd been going to the basketball games without them. Haha! Of course they resented it. And in rebellion became diehard Crispa fans. And so, that was how our house was divided come the epic championship games between Toyota and Crispa. Me and my father for Toyota, my three older brothers for Crispa, and my baby sister, Switzerland (she was too young to care). Of course, much to our dismay, Crispa won far much more than our Toyota. I still hate with a passion Billy Ray Bates to this day.