Why Did I Get Married?

Just for the sake that someone would personally handle my wake and funeral, I will get married.

Game Changer

When death hits home, you realize just how fragile life is.

Cliche as it may sound (but) life is indeed too short to be spent dwelling on regrets and other trivial matters.

Suddenly, petty quarrels among family members remain just that - petty.

Death makes sure see the bigger picture.

Isn't it ironic how death turns out to be the best teacher in life lessons?

Queen Of The Night

Whitney Houston was my biggest crush back in grade school.

All my classmates knew that. In fact, I received condolences on my Facebook account. What gives?!

Mom was alarmed that I had a thing for black women.

During puberty, my infatuation with Whitney waned. After all, she did The Bodyguard.

She went on to become one of the biggest music superstars of this generation. To simply put it, Whitney Houston was The Voice.

Dead at 48.

Whitney was quoted as saying, "Crack is whack."

That has got to be the best advice I heard from anyone.

Rest in peace, Ms. Houston. May you find the greatest love of all in Heaven.

Love Hurts

What is the world coming to?

A 13 year old boy killed his 16 year old gay lover. The shooter later committed suicide.

Apparently, the 13 year old kid is the youngest sugar daddy in history. His folks found several remittance slips issued by their son to the 16 year old.

A husband was shot to death by his wife because of his philandering ways.

Both shooting incidents happened in a mall.

I guess it's true what they say. Love does hurt.

I'm Ready

A recent medical scare got me to thinking about death.

I have always been an optimist. But this time, I wanted to look at the worst case scenario.

In case the lumps found on my neck would turn out to be fatal, I was ready to accept my fate.

I was ready to die.

I felt I have accomplished something during my lifetime.

I have been everywhere. (Although, I still wanna go to Europe and visit friends in Australia. But I digress.)

I do not have a family of my own. I have no kids (that I know of). Therefore, I need not worry that they will be fatherless.

So if worst comes to worst, Raft3r is ready.

Besides, death extinguishes debt.

All Dogs Go To Heaven

Raft3r saw 3 dead dogs on the street today.

Three.

I don't care much for most humans. But I love all dogs.

To quote my wifey: "In many ways, like God, dogs are love."

Death And All His Friends

Why someone would kill himself is beyond me.

I know times are hard and life can be pretty unpredictable.

That, however, does not give a person the right to take his own life.

Life may not always turn out the way you want it to be. But you pick up the pieces and move on. You don't simply put a gun to your head.

The one thing I detest most in the world is a coward.

Road To Dead

We were not the closest of buddies.

We did not see things eye to eye in political and religious matters.

We did not share a lot of things in common.

You loved Kokey. I hated (and still detest) anything Kapamilya.

But this I know for a fact, you were my friend and your presence will be missed. Terribly.

Thank you for inspiring me to be strong and courageous in times of adversity.

God now welcomes you as His new angel.

Brenda P. Santos
July 15, 1981 - February 02, 2011

Here Is Gone

Junjun. September 08, 2006 – January 22, 2010. Carnapped.

How To Save A Life

After the nth attempt in ending his life, my friend asked if I can accompany him to Star City.

Raft3r gladly obliged.

We never talked about the incident. I did not want to complicate matters. So I kept my mouth shut and never bothered to ask questions.

Raft3r concentrated on letting him have some fun. My friend deserved it.

For 60 bucks a pop, we were in.

It was a good thing I did not purchase the all you can ride tickets. Long lines awaited us in most attractions we wanted to try.

We settled with loads of parlor games – like who could shoot the most hoops, catch the most fish, score the biggest stuff toy, down the most number of bottles.

While most of our group shied away from Star City for fearing of being sighted in such a jologs (cheap) place, Raft3r learned one important lesson.

Jologs or not, the smile plastered on my friend’s face that night made the trip really worthwhile.

Live Like We're Dying

My best friend is a jumper.

He is suicidal.

Every time he is faced with a problem his solution is to jump off a building. Well, that and a few other surprises.

But he has never been successful at killing himself. After all, he is still alive.

To celebrate the Holiday Season, he decided to stop eating entirely.

I should have known better. All the telltale signs were present. Raft3r texted and called him on Christmas. He didn’t reply to either.

On the last day of the 2009, I was informed of his condition. I hurriedly rushed him to the emergency room.

The doctor said he was all stressed out.

It does get tiring saving him all the time. He never learns.

Four Weddings And A Funeral

Wait.

Lemme rephrase that.

The title should read Four Funerals And A Wedding.

Yes, you read that right.

For the past thirty days, Raft3r has been to enough funerals to last a lifetime.

Death is not funny. In fact, it alienates people.

For the past weeks, I have witnessed four friends mourn over the death of their loved ones. It is not a lovely sight.

Imagine retelling the story of how one of your parents passed away to every visitor. The agony is unimaginable.

By the end of the month, Raft3r is invited to a wedding. I don’t like weddings. These days, getting married is like suicide.

The death total - by then - would be five.

Death Becomes Her

Someone died right outside Raft3r’s house yesterday.

Even for Malibay, that rarely ever happens.

Apparently, a middle aged woman collapsed on the street from a heart attack.

Sprawled to the ground, she was immediately surrounded by curious villagers.

Instead of calling for help, people just gathered around her and stared in amusement.

A relative of the woman knocked on our door to ask for help.

They wanted a car to bring her to a nearby hospital. We readily obliged.

Even before they can take her to a doctor, she passed away.

I do not know the woman personally. I would like to think she has already lived a full life. But I can’t help but think about her unfinished business on earth.

Death is already an accepted part of life. It is the uncertainty as to when death will come knocking at your door that is the hardest to deal with.

Die Another Day

Would you kill someone you love?

That is the question.

Raft3r knows how crazy the human mind works. But what does it take for someone to take the life of another?

Extreme jealousy? Lousy sex? Body odor?

Just when you think you know someone, that same person changes right before your very eyes. I may have quoted Clara’s Heart on that.

But ever since the first time I heard that line, it never left my consciousness. It made such an impact that my distrust for people began at a very young age.

I become automatically suspicious if someone is very nice to me.

Raft3r believes there is always a motive to all our actions. That motive is often selfish.

The Cure

Probably one of the greatest inventions of mankind is movie making.

There is something to be said about going inside a dark place to watch other people’s lives unfold. Voyeurism is such a thrill.

My favorite move of all time is The Cure.

It’s a small Hollywood movie that was released in the mid nineties. It’s a heartwarming coming of age story.

It starred the late Brad Renfro and that kid from Jurassic Park.

Renfro also starred in The Client. Despite his young age, Renfro was such a sensitive actor. 

It’s too bad that a life of violence, alcohol, and drugs took the better of him.

Life offers us choices. But it’s always a gamble. You win some and you lose some.

For many of us, we go through life choosing the wrong path and trying to make amends in the process.

In Renfro’s case, it was way too late to make one. He was 25 years old.