the eldest brother
technically, vince was the first born. he is the eldest only by default.
kuya was born an old man. he is the one named after our grandfather afterall. he is a true katipunero by virtue of family roots both in name and history.
in grade school he was a boy scout patrol leader since grade one. by the time he was in grade six he was the in front of the whole school ... ok i will not be giving him much due respect here by telling it like this. so, let me just do this in the descriptive approach as he is the one who made cut shorts my story of dorothy's travel though the yellow brick road.
i'll just paint a picture of my eldest brother then. he tells his story differently. he tells people about himself by telling stories from books that he has read, the values he has acquired and the characters that he identifies himself with or try to emulate. as much as he wants to remember all the details he loses some information from time to time. when he was younger it was not like that he was always good at absorbing lessons both by understanding and learning them by heart. even names and faces and specially numbers. he is very disciplined and very head strong. he works best under pressure. he tries to get things done by their deadlines with major considerations for allowances. he refuses to leave things to chance.
in character and demeanor my kuya is very quiet. he looks like he is always brooding. yes, he does that a lot in fact but most times he is just thinking of things to be done, calculating time, figuring out carpentry works getting done by mang bitoy at the new storage room while he is away. he is thinking why the electrician has not replied yet and gets irritated because he could not reach him through the landline and has to think of how to get a replacement that he can trust. he grew up in constructions sites after all and spent his early working days in sales at a constuction supply store.
but he does not get irritated by people or by the things others do. he gets irritated by things he has no control of because he is pressed for time to get things done. he may even look a bit grumpy because he could not find decent or enough supplies of art materials in a book store or simply because he could not find his parking ticket. he looks mean but he is a very gentle soul.
he has his own way of talking to people. he talks straight to them firm yet kind. except of course when he was a kid when he fights with bullies by fist or by intimidation. he still does that to street kids to get them out of the way for a while because he cannot spare time or change or maybe because the kid begging was mean. he can flash a dagger look instinctively but yes admittedly he really looks stern. he still gets in fights in bars because of that look. the look when he gave the other boys when his 'anak' was intentionally spilled with beer on his shirt. kuya is instinctive fraternally, paternally and maternally. while very rational he is also very instinctive. a skill he acquired from being a boyscout. observant and acts upon his gathered information. a boyscout at heart. he learned to distinguish plants and have grown to love them. of flowers, his favorite are well not that fancy - suntan and sampaguita. he likes the insignia of the BSP, a coat of arms, the fleur de lys. once a boy scout always a boys scout. until now one of his favorite mottos is: never leave your buddy. he is one that can be counted upon, i guess. at least i believe in it. he has not left me or any of my brothers yet. he was a born natural protector to his little brothers and he did too as best he could. he is very protective of the people he loves but not too much as to strangle them.
he is also a gentle man. he likes opening doors for ladies and the elderly. he crosses streets on the car approaching side of the road. he is also considerate of other people's feelings. he sometimes must be wary of the things that he says even on simple carpentry advices he automatically gives.
he teaches instictively too but he teaches insightfully. in tutorial sessions he taught princess lessons about life through words of geometry. in an art lesson he tried to teach about life in the language of paints, brushes and strokes. he has his own ways of speaking to and sharing things he knows with people. he likes to 'teach' because he loves to learn.
some nights he goes to bed early so that he can get a lot of things done the next day. he likes staying up late and work but sometimes he just has to take some rest to be able to do more.
maybe that will do for now.
- - -
an excerpt from my journal for kuya
at the end of the day he still feels sorry when he corrected mang bitoy's spelling of plyboard. of course, he just wanted others to learn what is correct, what is right. mang bitoy didn't mind though he felt embarrased by it. he was still painting by 10pm. he'll be sleeping again by the back entrance door and will leave for bulacan at 4:30am with mom and maryann. kuya will have to wake up early tomorrow to fix breakfast and baon. and yes he was very irritated with himself because he forgot to do something very important. he already has it in his priority list, almost half done. he is looking forward to another productive day. he has to put off writing for zip on some other night again.
for our lolo
vicente katipunan sanchez
kuya was born an old man. he is the one named after our grandfather afterall. he is a true katipunero by virtue of family roots both in name and history.
in grade school he was a boy scout patrol leader since grade one. by the time he was in grade six he was the in front of the whole school ... ok i will not be giving him much due respect here by telling it like this. so, let me just do this in the descriptive approach as he is the one who made cut shorts my story of dorothy's travel though the yellow brick road.
i'll just paint a picture of my eldest brother then. he tells his story differently. he tells people about himself by telling stories from books that he has read, the values he has acquired and the characters that he identifies himself with or try to emulate. as much as he wants to remember all the details he loses some information from time to time. when he was younger it was not like that he was always good at absorbing lessons both by understanding and learning them by heart. even names and faces and specially numbers. he is very disciplined and very head strong. he works best under pressure. he tries to get things done by their deadlines with major considerations for allowances. he refuses to leave things to chance.
in character and demeanor my kuya is very quiet. he looks like he is always brooding. yes, he does that a lot in fact but most times he is just thinking of things to be done, calculating time, figuring out carpentry works getting done by mang bitoy at the new storage room while he is away. he is thinking why the electrician has not replied yet and gets irritated because he could not reach him through the landline and has to think of how to get a replacement that he can trust. he grew up in constructions sites after all and spent his early working days in sales at a constuction supply store.
but he does not get irritated by people or by the things others do. he gets irritated by things he has no control of because he is pressed for time to get things done. he may even look a bit grumpy because he could not find decent or enough supplies of art materials in a book store or simply because he could not find his parking ticket. he looks mean but he is a very gentle soul.
he has his own way of talking to people. he talks straight to them firm yet kind. except of course when he was a kid when he fights with bullies by fist or by intimidation. he still does that to street kids to get them out of the way for a while because he cannot spare time or change or maybe because the kid begging was mean. he can flash a dagger look instinctively but yes admittedly he really looks stern. he still gets in fights in bars because of that look. the look when he gave the other boys when his 'anak' was intentionally spilled with beer on his shirt. kuya is instinctive fraternally, paternally and maternally. while very rational he is also very instinctive. a skill he acquired from being a boyscout. observant and acts upon his gathered information. a boyscout at heart. he learned to distinguish plants and have grown to love them. of flowers, his favorite are well not that fancy - suntan and sampaguita. he likes the insignia of the BSP, a coat of arms, the fleur de lys. once a boy scout always a boys scout. until now one of his favorite mottos is: never leave your buddy. he is one that can be counted upon, i guess. at least i believe in it. he has not left me or any of my brothers yet. he was a born natural protector to his little brothers and he did too as best he could. he is very protective of the people he loves but not too much as to strangle them.
he is also a gentle man. he likes opening doors for ladies and the elderly. he crosses streets on the car approaching side of the road. he is also considerate of other people's feelings. he sometimes must be wary of the things that he says even on simple carpentry advices he automatically gives.
he teaches instictively too but he teaches insightfully. in tutorial sessions he taught princess lessons about life through words of geometry. in an art lesson he tried to teach about life in the language of paints, brushes and strokes. he has his own ways of speaking to and sharing things he knows with people. he likes to 'teach' because he loves to learn.
some nights he goes to bed early so that he can get a lot of things done the next day. he likes staying up late and work but sometimes he just has to take some rest to be able to do more.
maybe that will do for now.
- - -
an excerpt from my journal for kuya
at the end of the day he still feels sorry when he corrected mang bitoy's spelling of plyboard. of course, he just wanted others to learn what is correct, what is right. mang bitoy didn't mind though he felt embarrased by it. he was still painting by 10pm. he'll be sleeping again by the back entrance door and will leave for bulacan at 4:30am with mom and maryann. kuya will have to wake up early tomorrow to fix breakfast and baon. and yes he was very irritated with himself because he forgot to do something very important. he already has it in his priority list, almost half done. he is looking forward to another productive day. he has to put off writing for zip on some other night again.
for our lolo
vicente katipunan sanchez
posted by the lowly gardener at
6:19 AM
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