I live in Quezon City. My favorite Auntie No. 3 lived in Quezon province for most of her mar-ried life. I go up and down Quezon Ave., QC, whenever I go to Manila and return to QC.

Quezon City happens to own some of the widest, longest roads, the same way it harbors tree-lined streets and avenues. Before it was turned into a parking lot, Quezon Memorial Circle was a park with a garden full of trees. (On one of its sidewalks many years ago, a friend found a box carrying an abandoned baby girl. Finders keepers, the baby is now a fullgrown woman.)

What’s not to like about Quezon City? It’s home, plus home is not far from the National Science Garden – what a beautiful name -- which is home to the weather bureau, which goes by the hope-ful name of PAGASA. The big malls are in QC, so is the one and only Heart Center, the hospital with a heart for patients with or without cardiac issues.

Cook enjoys going to market in QC’s public markets, more than its supermarkets. She likes the haggling, I think, and getting away with murder. And then again she says that on a rainy day she does not have to wade in floods, “because QC is higher” than other cities in Mega Manila. Aside from the elevation (if that is what it is), our local government is faithful about keeping our streets clean starting at 5 a.m., the streetsweeper arriving an hour before the sun to do her job. As for garbage collection, the truck arrives faithfully around 8 a.m., sometimes the collection happens twice a day.

Today is not Quezon Day, not even in QC, but this little piece was inspired by the versatile actor Jericho Rosales playing Manuel L. Quezon, after whom our city is named. In a recent interview with Julius Babao, Jericho said he researched the former president’s life, paying attention to MLQ’s character and personality, even the way he spoke, to do justice to the role. Actors know it’s not easy to imitate another person’s voice or what one might call their voice mannerisms, but you didn’t look and sound like you were acting on the big screen, Jericho!