The seven people you meet on the street

This is my own version of my favorite book "the seven people you meet in heaven" and this just happened last week.

The guard
I met him a couple of times before whenever i had the chance to be in McDo El Pueblo and he does'nt fail to bring a smile to my face everytime i had an encounter with him. He is the most and I mean this with all my heart, the most friendly and accommodating guard i have ever met. :) While walking towards the fastfood resto, a few meters away, i already saw him waving at me and my husband and i gave the "was he waving at us?" look. and yes, he was waving at us and greeting us with "good afternoon, dito na kayo kumain." we will really go there as i was scheduled to meet someone but you know the feeling that he gives you, the very charming way of greeting you and inviting you for lunch. While entering the fastfood, i glanced upon him talking to another customer who was satisfied with his service. i don't know, his aura was really contagious. :) He even asked for my parking ticket and volunteered to have it validated. I remember the time when i had a dress up there, he was very accommodating helping me with my stuff and showing me the room where we can set-up the decors. He was genuinely nice. And it's comforting to know that yes, there are still people like him.

The teller
I'd always go to the same banks i'm used to primarily because it's convenient. Maila is one of the tellers that I became acquainted with. And it took us a while before we really got to know each other by name and those small conversations while waiting for the print out of my deposit slips turned into longer talks. :) I like that she is fascinated with my daughter. She does'nt give me special treatment at the bank, i always line up but i'd always hope that she'd be the one to queu me. :)

The homeless
I know i've written about this guy before here in my blog and seeing him again on the street brought some memories. From the moment i learned how to drive, i managed to pass by the same route from my then office to home. as in the same route, and side of the road etc. And at one intersection in ortigas, i always see him. He begs for food or money. What sets him apart from the other who would ask was that he walks using his bare hands. He has polio. He can only walk using his two hands and right food and he would literally crawl to my window asking for whatever i can give him. I used to buy a pack of bread for him and give everything just so he has food and i would consciously pass by his "territory" the same time i always see him just so i could give whatever amount i can. When i resigned, i never saw him again. I changed routes. But one day, i saw him again and he was still asking for money, he was still crawling to the window but he grew up. After a man gave him money, I saw him walking towards the side street and he sat and lit his cigarette. And beside him was a plastic of rugby. My initial reaction was anger. I thought that many people try to help him so he might as well help himself. But come to think of it, i could'nt judge him. Nobody can. And then there was guilt. I thought that i could have helped more but was'nt able to.

The mother
I meet a lot and I mean a lot of moms. I meet them everyday of my life. I schedule meetings with them for the kid's parties, i share with them the struggles we all go through as moms and i laugh with every comic stories they share with me. The other day I met her. She's preparing for her daughter's birthday in october. what sets her apart was her daughter is a test tube baby. yes, i thought i'd only know about it in the net but the daughter that she was carrying was a product of 10 years of waiting, lots and lots of needles and treatments, financial struggles and emotional battle. She was teary eyed talking about her and i was more teary eyed listening to her story. I though i felt her pain, her joy, her doubts, her fears. And she reminded me of the bliss when i gave birth to simone. She reminded me that i'm blessed that we did'nt have to go through that but i'm inspired by her that she embraced everything with a leap of faith. She and her husband is a couple who has gone through a lot. And she was honest enough to admit that she fears of having another baby. Aside from having to go through everything, she fears more that she won't be able to give the same love as she has for her daughter now. and i quote her saying, "eto na yung lahat-lahat ng love ko e, baka wala nako mabigay sa susunod and it's unfair". Honestly, i can totally relate to what she said. But of course, there will always be enough love for our children. I'm sure God is willing to provide all of those for us. :)


The boss
I was just two months of a fresh graduate when i had my first formal job and it's the only job i learned to love before i resigned to venture in something that i love more. I was introduced to him while he was cleaning his desk and from then on, i always called him "tito ocs". He was one of my bosses. He taught me how to be organized (but im not sure if i learned right), he taught me to be objective all the time, never mind what people say as long as you do your job. He taught me that it's always nice to be early, if not on time. And most of all, he taught me that bosses, as bossy as they seem, have soft hearts as fathers. I would always remember him talking about his children and how proud he is of them. I knew I'm one of the few people he can share his fatherly stories with and i'm so glad he did. He would always tell me that i'm like his daughter and at times, he would ask if he made the right decision when it comes to disciplining his kids. he's needs a little loosening of the belt, hehe. beneath the strict and serious father image, his face emits this pure joy when he talks about them and i will always treasure those small talks over coffee. Thank you tito ocs and your passing was a big shock. I thought i should have seen you again but you know that you will always be my tito ocs. :)

To be continued...