The joy of spending time at malls —Pinoy Seniors

By Willie Jose

One afternoon, while I was at food court of the Scarborough Town Center enjoying my cup of brewing hot coffee that I bought at the Second Cup, my cellphone rang, Jojo Taduran, a veteran journalist, was on the line inquiring  “Nasaan ka?

Well, I said, “come over here at the Town Center and I’ll treat you to a cup of coffee”. But in a few minutes, Jojo was in front of me, holding a large cup of coffee, saying, “ How are you my friend?”

While talking about our seniors, Jojo said that some of our kababayan seniors who can afford to travel back and forth in the Philippines, it simply means a 6-month vacation back home and another six -month stay in Canada, specifically in Ontario.

“ Only in Ontario province that allows Canadians to stay outside the country in six months time, without affecting their OHIP. So most of them come back just right in time for the filing of their income taxes. For me, I would stay in the Philippines for only 1 month and a half, baka apektuhang yun pensions ko”, he said.

But what about the rest of our seniors who cannot afford that kind of lifestyle, where can we find them these days?

These cold days, some of our kababayan seniors can be seen joyfully warming themselves up and whiling away their time with their friends in what seems to be a never-ending   chatting, sipping coffee, having lunch or dinner, munching snacks and window shopping in malls and other shopping centers dotting the City of Toronto.

Even on ordinary days, one can easily spot these seniors milling around or huddling with their friends in the coffee shops and food courts of the Cederbrae Mall, Fairview Mall. Eglinton Square, Eaton Centre and the Scarborough Town Centre.

A few days ago, while I was at the Scarborough Town Center, I noticed a group of Pinoy seniors composed of three women and four men, most of them probably in their 70s lightheartedly chatting, laughing while enjoying sipping the brewed hot coffee. With the help of a walker, one woman was hopping from one table to another where her senior-friends were seated on, engaging with them in small chat, while munching some snacks.

Though, the four men were all wearing baseball caps, their white gray hairs were still visible; the elderly women’s hairs were not all white or gray but a combination of white, gray and brown colors, probably the effect of hair coloring.

I noticed two women were massaging their hands and while a guy was   stretching his arms, suddenly one of the men stood up, walked with his cane and as he walked past a group of seniors, he waved his hand, probably signaling to his friends that he was going home as it was almost past 3 in the afternoon.

While watching these things in front of my eyes, I could help thinking that these seniors truly deserve some breaks in this life now. And since they have worked hard all their lives --they should enjoy spending   time at their own choice—just to be   with their friends in the twilight of years.

In the course of my frequent visits to these shopping centers, I have met some seniors who are retired doctors, executives, media men, businessmen, ordinary workers and employees; they have confided to me their common sentiment that “ life is so boring at home” and that is the big reason why   they have to spend their time in malls.

Going to malls is also a good way to exercise their aging limbs and a positive means to re-vitalize both their mind and body. Just visualize the lively atmosphere prevailing at malls—full of people, full of life as people come and go--and for the old people, this kind of atmosphere is enough to throw away the blues.

Vince, one of the mall’s regulars, said that   although the Pinoy seniors have different groupings, they are united and solid since they have known each for a long a time.

“I come here to de-stress myself at tulungan kami dito (we help each here) although not necessarily financially, but by way of   giving encouragement and advice as we share with others our problems and other anxieties”, Vince said.

Vince also said that spending one’s time at malls is a form of   de-stressor because some of these lolos and lolas are being used as caregivers by their children and in-laws to look after their grandchildren, so going to malls is one way they can take rest and spend their day-offs from “ work”.

The seniors’ gathering in the malls also serves as an employment agency because these elderly although retired from work have still some good networking; they are always at hand to help refer people who are looking for work to some of their connections, Vince said.

Mang Sid, a former businessman, who I have known way back home, told me that while having their snacks, or sipping their cups of coffee at the food court, they could have some discussions on issues affecting the Philippines such as corruptions, politics, scams and other tidbits, adding that “ ang bisyo dito ay kuwentuhan lang”(our only vice here is sharing stories).

 But on some occasions, our kababayan seniors would have some kind of partying too either held at homes or ballrooms — dancing, potluck get together, sing-along and even out-of-town group tours.

Mang Pete Flores, 75, a former Bulletin photographer, is the favorite companion of the seniors at the Town Center for the simple reason that he’s kind, always ready and willing to use his old Cadillac car and he himself volunteering as the driver of the group for some partying.

So, next time, you meet some Pinoy seniors at the malls, just simply smile at them and say hello —kamusta na po sa inyo-and that would be enough to lift their sometimes-sagging spirit.

(Williejose1@gmail.com)

The Day our Scholarship program died

By Willie Jose

Honestly, I don’t know how I could write this piece without being affected emotionally as we—alumni of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila based in Toronto—are witnessing the impending end of our scholarship project— a program which has been closest to our hearts all through these years.

One Sunday afternoon last month, we gathered at Ollie Bermudez’s home in Mississauga not only to hold a Spring get together but also to discuss   who among us would be interested to be the next   president of the group.

 Of course, this gathering would not be complete without lots of chatting, greetings and some sumptuous food on the table: fried chicken, inihaw na isda, laing, sinigang na baboy labanos salad,suman and ube desserts.  

After a while, we began formally discussing who’ll be the next president of our group—the issue was finally settled when Ollie Bermudez reluctantly accepted the post, though fearing that she might be overwhelmed by the responsibilities of the office. Eventually, she calmed down when told that some of the tasks will be farmed out to rest of the alumni.

However, out of the blue, the conversation veered on the scholarship program that with our ages now--most of us are already seniors--there seems to be no option but to wind it down.

 I think the old drive is not there anymore; we have lost our steam and as they wont to say “ the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”.

However, while discussing the winding down of this project, most of us seemed very comfortable and relax —there wasn’t so much discussion, no debate, just a simple and silent acceptance to let it go. And we were all in agreement that it’s about time we ended our scholarship program.

Regrets? None at all--- maybe because we think that we have done our best to make this project a real success.

Frankly, we had this little uneasiness ending or winding down the scholarship--it was like swallowing a bitter pill with a relaxed smile

But since most of us are either retiring or have retired from our secular work, it seems that we don’t have much choice but to accept the reality that our circumstances have changed, that we are not getting any younger.

Who knows in the near future, some younger batches of alumni might join us and infuse our group with their zest, thereby becoming instrumental in reviving this scholarship.

For so many years, this scholarship has been the epicenter of our group’s activity; we have helped hundreds of students becoming what there are now: nurses, engineers, accountants, social workers and other professionals who are now working in various fields of endeavor.

We also take pride that this scholarship, which we launched in 1995 in Toronto, has inspired other PLM alumni in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Australia to set up their own scholarship projects.

However, just like any man’s death, we don’t want this scholarship to suffer an abrupt end, so we’ve decided to wind it down until the last batch of scholars have finished their courses.

For the meantime, we’ll be holding more social gatherings to strengthen our camaraderie and to find ways and means by which we can still continue helping our beloved alma mater.

 As Canadians would say, “ Anyways, Dani, have you received all the payments for our group tour in August, Eh?

It’s time to relax, folks!

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We all long for the happy times of the Labor Press Corps