Bong

I arrived at the New Bacolod-Silay Airport just in the nick of time. About 5 minutes after I checked in, it was already boarding time. Good thing I was in Bacolod. If that happened in Manila, airport officials probably will refuse to allow me to check in.

I arrived in Manila around 7am, sleepy and a bit tired. I just wanted to rest inside the taxi. But that didn't happen. The taxi driver was very talkative. He talked about his life and just about everything. Aside from being a taxi driver, Bong is an embalmer. He would tell me he is on-call all the time. He would just go to funeral homes if they need him. He's planning to work in Australia as an embalmer by the end of the year.

That's not the only interesting part. Bong is also a former stuntman. He did stunts for veteran actors- both the lead stars and the kontrabidas. He would jump during explosion scenes or drive a car upside down or be a robber in a bank robbery scene. This was in the 1980's at the height of Pinoy action movies.

Bong has 7 children- all girls. Even if he is only a taxi driver, all his children are in school, from grade school to college. He also told me his dream is to help children of Payatas. He also told me how he dislike drivers who fool passengers by hacking the metro. He also told me that people must smile often.

He told me a lot of stuff, I just forgot some. I'm just typing non-stop now because I might forget this tomorrow. In the end, it was indeed an interesting ride.