Every club, group, or organization needs someone like our Nellie, Nellie Lumbaca to you, the busybody who never gives up, never tires, never says die, the Nellie who is indispensable to our Plaridel, the association of journalists who’ve at least 20 years experience on the beat or as editors and publishers.

Last Wednesday’s lunch was a Christmas party. It was a birthday party, too, being the 22nd anniversary of Plaridel and the first meeting under our new president, Evelyn D. Quiroz succeeding Roly Estabillo. At my table were Evelyn, Gen. Cris and Mrs. Maralit, who’ll be leaving on Dec. 27 to go back to Maryland, USA; Sonny Valencia; and Hector Villacorta, who has left the Land Transportation Office and is now with the office of Senate President Tito Sotto.

Highlight of the lunch was a raffle — surprizes that took up quite a big space on the stage — such as two TVs, some bottles of wine, tins and tons of cookies, beaded wallets, etc. Evelyn Q, are you my good luck charm? I won the 58” TV!

If Plaridel is 22, Nellie – lucky for her and us, she’s not a journalist — has been with us for 22 years. In all that time, she knows each of us and our bad habits — she knows where to catch us, at home or wherever. Twenty-two years of Plaridel, you’re a saint and martyr, Nellie!

Another surprise was the traffic — or rather, the absence of a traffic jam, allowing me to navigate Manila-Quezon City in 80 minutes! Can we finally lay to rest the old fears of Baclaran Wednesday (therefore also Quiapo Friday)?

If my experience was a fluke, what’s the reality? Was everybody avoiding another five-hour jam on EDSA-Ortigas? Twelve days to go before Christmas. . . True, Grab and Lalamove can now deliver our gifts for us; even so, their vehicles will still take up space on our streets. Speaking of which, and recalling an old friend who is no longer with us, she was fond of saying, “At our age, do we still need to exchange gifts?”

Wherever you are, dear friend, I can only say that the older you get the more sentimental you become; surely gifts are part of that sentimentality.