Time flies. Suddenly, like a blast from the past, we are reminded that it’s been one hundred years since a John Gokongwei Jr. came along to contribute his share to build the economy, one goal, one enterprise at a time.

Whether as Papa John or Big John, he was a name, a presence, an institution. In those early days when I lived in Malate and did my shopping and supermarketing in one of his malls near my apartment, I would see him seated on an unremarkable chair near the elevator. He sat there by himself, watching and studying the people who came in and went out, whether they were shoppers laden with their shopping bags or simply tourists who needed to fill their eyes with the merchandise acquired through window-shopping. At any rate, he observed them like a scientist studying a specimen in the lab.

Big John’s frustration, as he told it, was that he had to buy his extra-extra-large shirts from abroad, his size not being available in Manila, not even in his malls. What was readily available was junk food, which he liked and kept within arm’s reach, at home. Sweets, chips, fries, whatever, they were scattered throughout the house, even those that were manufactured by rivals in the business.

It was inevitable that Big John’s daughter Robina and I would meet and become friends. We have the same alma mater, though Robina belongs to a younger class. Robina is John’s eldest child, but it is Lance who was destined to carry on as his father’s heir. “Lance has the head for figures,” Robina, aka Mrs. Perry Pe, told me.

I have a feeling Robina’s name is hers alone, and thus it resonates, as in Robinsons Galleria, Robinsons Land. The first time I met her son, Justin, he was quick to tell me about his dream project: “Someday I will come up with something sweet – a candy or cookie – that nobody will be able to resist. It will be a big hit, I assure you.”

Such self-confidence in one so young! Justin reminded me of his Uncle Lance once upon a time. It was Lance’s first job and that was to examine the first batch of brassieres that had arrived, for his inspection.