Today was spent with my brother and cousin taking care of our shipment to Aklan (hence the first hand advice on shipment in my previous blog). We started in Makati, went to QC, then to Guadalupe, then to the domestic airport, then to the centennial airport, then back to Guadalupe, and finally back Makati. In short, we drove around. A lot. Andropot still had to go back to Antipolo, so mas kawawa pa talaga sya.

I expected it to be a sad day. All of us were victims of the flash flood. My grandparents lost everything in their ground floor, and at 70 years old, they now have to look forward to cleaning up inches-deep mud from their home (My cousin told me there are a lot of people helping them, buti na lang). My cousin’s family lost everything – their house is a bungalow so they were not able to save anything except their pets and the future of their car is still uncertain.

A few minutes into our excursion, and we were all laughing and crying. A large part of it had to do with the fact that we were able to send out cargo and cash to our families. Then again, when we started talking about the flood, we saw a reason to laugh (crazily). My cousin called it a bad “black comedy”. Here are some of the things we laughed about:

· We got a big surprise when going out of the Cebu Pacific office, Ate found a cargo sticker stuck to my shirt with the words “Text me. Edward” and his phone number. It’s my first pick up line. Lol! But anyway the staff there were really patient with us so I won’t make any comments na.

· She has two brothers in Aklan – but there is only one pair of slippers for them. She was laughing and crying imagining her beloved brothers walking in that much mud barefoot.

· She also laughed about their furniture – it was bought less than a month before the flooding (specially selected and shipped from Iloilo). They were teasing their mom because her first words as she saw the rising flood were “muebles ko!!!!!!!”

· They placed their cat and dog on top of their cabinets. Imagine that! A dog and a cat on top of a little cabinet. Hungry and wet. Overnight. Both pets survived.

· We also laughed about how Aklan will probably be less polluted in the few next days – because everyone is walking. I think na-redefine ang concept ng “walking distance” sa Kalibo – because everywhere is now “walking distance”.

· Another phrase redefined – “proper hygiene”. When there’s mud and dirt and little water, how will Aklanon’s define cleanliness in the next few days? Pre-Frank, water is relatively cheap and widely available in our province so its not unusual for people there to take 2 baths a day. Post-frank, my cousin’s family had to fetch water from a well 150 meters away. On foot. With this in mind, is a aoth worth the effort of walking300 meters and lugging along a bucket of water?

I know laughing about the situation has its inappropriateness. But somehow the laughter came naturally to us. I think we found comfort in our shared loss and grief. I think the laughter also sprang from mild hysteria. But whatever caused it, laughter is really the best medicine – from anxiety, fear, guilt, and grief. We felt more positive and hopeful J Thanks ate! I hope the next time we meet is under better circumstances.

P.S.

Please do not think that just because we can laugh about it, the situation in Aklan is less dire and urgent. It still is.