(This is the second installment of the seven-part series on “A Day in the Life of Peter Solis Nery”. Previously, the great PSN woke up with a big woody for life.)
WRITING PANAY NEWS
Over coffee, you think how you are going to pass the day.
How to live your 24 hours meaningfully.
You want to do three things that matter.
Just like the day before.
And the day before that.
That’s the kind of person that you are.
*
You set three meaningful to-do things everyday, and try to accomplish them.
And then, you spend the rest of your time dealing with emergencies, and little things in between.
Today, you will got to the bank.
Wire money to the Philippines.
You have a big project coming up.
A gift to yourself when you turn 50 next year.
*
And then, you will go buy some ice cream.
So far into this summer, you survived on ice cream.
Sure, you have done some cooking.
But when you are lazy, you rely on ice cream.
Ice cream for breakfast.
Ice cream for lunch.
Ice cream for dinner.
Why not?
You like your damn good bagel ice cream sandwiches.
*
Today, you also decided to write a few advance articles for your column in Panay News.
For more than six months now, you have discussed with your editor your plan to slow down.
Decelerate your pace.
Reduce your appearance from three days a week—Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays—to maybe twice a week?
But you couldn’t decide which days to keep for your column.
So, you keep your thrice weekly schedule.
*
You maybe deluded.
But you think that writing for the newspaper matters.
Sure, your editors give you feedback.
They say that they continue to print your column because you have strong followers and readers.
And you somehow believe that.
Because occasionally, you receive emails from readers.
*
And this much is true: for 18 years now, you have been writing for the Ilonggo newspapers.
And there is no one like you in the Ilonggo newspapers.
No one writes crazy like you.
No one is loved like you.
No one is hated like you.
But that’s you.
*
People cannot ignore you.
They love you, or they hate you.
Or they just love to hate you.
And somehow, you think that you are conflicted about that.
But not really.
*
You can easily brush these thoughts off.
You can say that you don’t really care whether people love you, or not.
Whether they read you, or not.
For as long as the newspaper prints your column, you just trust that the editors and publishers know their business.
You believe them when they say that you have a readership.
That you are relevant.
*
You cannot really be bothered by haters.
In fact, you enjoy them.
Because they look like total losers when they are foaming mad at whatever crazy thing you write.
And because they look like losers, you feel like a winner.
You are thinking, Someone has to win, right?
And you know that if it’s between you and somebody else, you have 99.99% chance of winning.
*
But seriously, it’s those who love you that make you care.
It’s because of those people who read you, and like what you write, that you cannot be careless as a writer.
You can still write crazy.
But you trust that those who read you with love and fondness appreciate your craziness.
You make them smile.
You make them happy.
You make them see things differently.
*
It is for them that you write.
To entertain them.
To inspire them.
To make their day.
To give them comfort and hope.
To express in words what they wanted to say, but cannot.
You want to make them feel that they are not alone.
Not totally miserable.
*
You write about heartaches.
Because you have known plenty of them.
You write about your pains.
Even when you are totally happy at the moment.
And why not?
You are a writer.
You are imaginative.
You write what inspires you.
Your column doesn’t have to be a diary.
*
Sometimes, you write about past lessons learned.
Even if you write them in the present tense.
There is no rule against it.
If things are true and sincere, they are timeless.
And you believe that your experience in the past may help someone in the present, or the future.
So, you write whatever you want to write.
Because you are sincere. (To be continued) (500tinaga@gmail.com/PN)
