January 28, 2025, Pasay– Three robust boys came to me with a request all too familiar, even back at Home Base I: Would I be so kind as to support their youth basketball league, with a small contribution? In a Metro Manila that is all too overrun with urchins thrusting out hands or paper cups, this was worth the small contribution that I gladly offered. Of course, the urchins were there, too, one hanging on my arm for a split second, but I am mindful of the futility that accompanies piecemeal rendering of small change. Like those who want millionaires and billionaires to pay off the national debt of the United States, the folks who scold others for not giving on demand to the people in the street are barking up a limbless tree. The Big Dogs don’t have enough, even collectively, to pay off the debt. The rest of us don’t have enough to keep paying the world’s destitute, ad infinitum. It’s simply best to support programs that can raise up the people; inspire and enlighten, educate and empower them.

I arrived at 10:30 a.m., in Apollo 11 Village, in the Barangay of San Gregorio, in the southeast corner of Pasay, and close enough to the gradually cleaner, but still rather fetid, Estero de Tripa de Gallina, to be a bit pestered by mosquitoes. Apollo 11 Village was in a festive mood,as many were gathered for the 75th birthday of a local matriarch. The scene even became a tourist attraction, with a few European visitors taking pictures of the birthday singing and cake cutting. I demurred on that front, out of respect for the lady and her family. My mission at that point was more quotidian: Walking to Mercury Drug, a mile to the west, to pick up spare razor blades. It was irksome to me, to have a day’s growth of beard, and my razor handle not fit into the blade. (For whatever reason, it would be more cooperative the next day).

My beloved contacted me and talked about all the things that had been going on in her life, over the past two weeks. She is always up front, so long as I give her the space that any person needs and deserves. We may well get closer, this time around. This visit may be a “return to forever” (with apologies to Chick Correa). It will, in any case, be memorable and nurturing, at least for me, and hopefully for both of us.

Here, for fans of the technojazz of the 1970s. is Return to Forever’s Majestic Dance, from their “Romantic Warrior” LP. Yes, it is an acquired taste for many, but I have grown to admire Chick Correa, Wayne Shorter, Al Di Meola and the rest, for their dedication to consciousness raising.