unsolved mysteries

1. feb 26. my father comes home with a looooong dent along the passenger side of his car. black scratches running from the front door handle to the trunk. mom asks what happened. dad says he was "only running at 50" when a car backing out of a parking slot hits him. he didn't mention being at fault, or running too fast for his (and other drivers') own good. no mention of the probabiliy of being too blind-eyed to his surroudings. but being an eyewitness to his lapses in spotting oncoming vehicles (in at least five occasions, i should note), it makes me wonder just how complete the story is.
   
2. march 4. libis. 10:30 pm. miel and i are on our way home from our tuesday run at the fort when traffic slows down. we find a toppled over van -- lying on its right side, precisely parallel to the island, as if it was deliberately pushed over to be displayed on its side. No injured persons arounds, nor any other car that may have caused the accident; only police checking the vehicle out. how did he get into that position?? if it was running full speed and the driver jerked the wheel, wouldn't it have at least spun out and hit another car? how did it get into its perfectly aligned pose, scratch-free?
3. march 5. katipunan-C5 underpass. 11:15 pm. motorcycles zoom past as miel and i approach the flyover (northbound, turning from libis to katipunan). we drive leisurely as we listen to incubus' crow left of the murder. on the flyover, we take the left-most lane to go into the tunnel, and find a motorcyclist lying face down on the road: helmet off, his motorcycle about three meters ahead of him. only one motorcyclist backtracks to see what happened to the guy. miel stops at the side of the road. while i frantically call my mom to ask for an emergency number (117), miel steps out of the car to check the guy out, along with the other motorcyclist. miel returns to the car. the guy is still alive. while i continue attempting to reach the emergency hotline, passers-by slowing down at the scene stare hard at us, as if we caused the motorcyclist's accident. with my mom's permission, we leave the scene to escape the accusing glares. along katipunan, i am finally able to report the accident to mmda.
4. same night. while reporting the whole incident to mom over the celphone, she tells me that my brother is stuck on commonwealth avenue. tells me that he stopped to have dinner, but now the car won't start. miel and i stop over to accompany him until help arrives. my brother demonstrates the problem. turns the key, switches on the headlights, honks the horn -- shows the battery isn't discharged. but, turning the key further, wouldn't start the engine. so we wait until my dad and jake arrives and attach the jumper cables. the engine finally revs up. man on the street says it may be the alternator. hmmm.
5. still the same night. lying down on my bed, i give miel a call to say good night. i think about the day, the night, the past week, the past month, and realize how frequently miel and i see road accidents. i can't help but feel so thakful that we are spared of those incidents. that we are so blessed. i also couldn't help but ask...why?

road rage #4

Para saan ang signal light ng sasakyan? 'Di ba para ipaalam sa ibang sasakyan kung saan ka pupunta?

Pansinin ang unlapi sa pandiwa na ‘yon. FUTURE TENSE ‘di ba? Hindi mo binubuksan ang signal light HABANG pumupunta ka na sa direkyon na gusto mong puntahan. Hindi mo siya binubuksan habang kumakaliwa o kumakanan ka na. Binubuksan mo siya BAGO ka lumipat ng lane; bago ka lumiko; bago mo pihitin ang manibela.

Pero ang masmalala pa dito ay pag HINDI ginagamit ang signal light. Yung mga taong bigla na lang magse-swerve papunta sa lane mo, uunahan ka sa parte ng kalye na dinadaanan mo, at ipapahamak ka sa pamamagitan ng pag-gitgit sa sasakyan mo.

Ewan ko ha, pero para sa akin, ang hindi gumagamit ng signal light ay isang tanga. Bakit? Kasi ang signal light ay isang mahalagang parte ng sasakyan. May dahilan kung bakit siya kinabit. Nandoon siya para tulungan ang drayber na ipahiwatig sa ibang drayber kung saan siya pupunta, para hindi sila magkabanggaan. Para makaiwas sa disgrasya. Para masmaayos at masmabilis ang daloy ng trapiko.

Isa siyang COMMUNICATION TOOL. At ang hindi paggamit nito ay maihahalintulad na din sa isang taong hindi gumagamit ng kanyang bibig. Binigyan ka ng Diyos ng kagamitan, ng kasangkapan, upang makausap mo ang ibang tao, para maiwasan ang gulo sa mundo—hindi ba’t tanga ka para hindi gamitin ito? Para kang isang kampanyang walang poster; isang aso na hindi gumamit ng tahol; isang negosyo na hindi naglagay ng pangalan ng sa harap ng tindahan.

May gamit, may layunin, may dahilan kung bakit nandiyan ang mga bagay sa mundo. GAMITIN NATIN ANG MGA ITO.