the friendly character is always the taxi driver. i have a lot of tales from them that i can now write a book. they are the real gossip boys. not boy abunda. (lol) the worst one that i'll never forget was when i was on my way to makati from quezon city that usually takes 2 hours because of the traffic. it was the usual early morning to work except that i had a bad headache thanks to my heavy drunkenness the night before. so there i was, trying to get a nap when this taxi driver started talking about social issues that i entertained because it's normal talk and i don't want to be rude. then he suddenly shifted the topic to God and Jesus Christ dissing the belief of the catholic church. only to find out, he's a preacher of some religious orthodox as if i'm watching dating daan channel.
taxi driver 1: ..ayon sa sinabi ni hesus kay juan na nakasaad sa bibliya, itayo mo ako ng simbahan at ano ang ginawa ng katoliko?... (blah..blah).. mali ang interpretasyon!!!.....(more blah.)
me: (mute.)
it made my headache worse.
if there's the worst, there's also the best. as i was on my home from cubao that can only take around 30 minutes, i took a taxi. the taxi is old that you can smell the LPG from the outside.
the driver is the typical, wearing a plain white shirt that you'll know if he has not taken a bath when you enter the vehicle. he was thin, semi-white haired probably in his 40s. okay so i was stereotyping the person. until i asked if he has change for my bill and said no because he just gassed up with lpg. then suddenly we're having a conversation expressing our opinions about gas prices, economic state, political functions, international warfare, capitalism, government top secrets and other social relevant issues. i was in awe with this taxi driver with his intellect. it's as if i was talking to my sociology or political science professor. only to find out, he was a leader activist during martial law.
taxi driver 2: alam mo ba na ang oil natin eh hindi ini import? dyan lang yan galing sa palawan. hindi lang sinasabi ng gobyerno pero matagal na yan panahon pa ni marcos....
me: talaga ho??? eh di sana mayaman na tayo kung tayo ang nag e-export ng oil!! lalo na't wala ng oil mashado sa middle east.
taxi driver 2: kung sa yaman lang, mayaman na sana tayo ngayon! eh wala eh, nabubulsa lang sa mga politiko....
me: oo nga ho eh, na sa atin lahat ng natural resources....
taxi driver 2: oo nandito lahat... oil, semento, gold, tanso... eh anong ginagawa ng gobyerno? pinapa-manage sa mga dayuhan tapos sila makikinabang... (etc..)
and so on.........
i asked if he's still active and he said he stopped. i even asked if he is or was a member of NPA. he said no!! he just said that some of his friends became members because they were wanted during martial law. so i guess he's lying that he was not. he has a superhero syndrome that when they age, they retire and live a civilian life.
this is one thing i'm really interested about and i haven't had that kind of conversation for quite sometime now. so i glad i did with a stranger.
