95 and up
MEDIUM RARE
When I complained to our theology teacher that the grade he gave me was unfair because there were no corrections on my test paper, he replied, “One hundred is for God, 98 is for me, so 95 for you.”
95. A good number for those leaving their 94th behind. Today is the 95th birthday of the first lady who has since set the standard for all incoming FL’s. Imelda Romualdez Marcos built the Cultural Center, International Convention Center, Heart Center, Kidney Center, Lung Center and transformed Philippine General Hospital into a first-class healing center, so much so that doctors and nurses in the emergency clinic told me they wanted IRM back as their patron saint if only God would answer their prayers. (This happened years ago when I had a small accident and they treated my bleeding forefinger like I was a first-class patient.)
To be fair to all succeeding FL’s, Mrs. Marcos had 20 years to exercise her soft power and charm. (When I attended a Filipino mass in Rome, at which she was a VIP guest at Julio Cardinal Rosales’ installation ceremonies, an Italian lady asked me, “Is she the empress of Japan?”) Senator Ninoy Aquino, who predicted the sinking of CCP at half an inch every year, mischievously referred to IRM’s projects as “Imelda’s Center.” Critics called attention to government funds spent to build a theater for the arts, but her friends said it was their private donations that were tapped for the construction.
Today, as a neighbor of Heart Center, I’m proud to report that based on first-hand accounts of relatives and friends, the hospital is staffed by the most capable medical staff — they’re young and competent with a capital C — and they won’t kill you upon your discharge with a huge bill.
Meanwhile, Batangas City’s preeminent citizen, Tony Pastor, a young 94, sent me these tips on “how to live to 100 years old, from Ikigai, the Japanese secret to live a long and happy life”:
Stay active, don’t retire. Take it slow. Don’t fill your stomach. Exercise daily, gently. Connect with nature. Live in the moment. Surround yourself with good friends. Follow your passion. Smile. Be grateful.
Tony, you forgot tip no. 11: No wife, long life.