The man with the bike , An ode to chief.

"Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans
Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground,
The emptiness of ages in his face,
And on his back the burden of the world.
Who made him dead to rapture and despair,
A thing that grieves not and that never hopes,
Stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox?
Who loosened and let down this brutal jaw?
Whose was the hand that slanted back this brow?
Whose breath blew out the light within this brain?"

- -From Edwin Markham's The man with the Hoe inspired by Millet’s painting, Man with a Hoe of 1860-2

Imagine. Everyday starting at 5:30am you struggle to get out of bed to eat breakfast, to brush your teeth, to take a bath, to try to figure out what to wear, to be frustrated with the LRT, to run for the 8:15am bundy clock, to hide at the pantry so that you boss tralala won't see you, then to get at the armored car, then start your tough regular tellering work, then be pissed when your boss wants to "be" with you at the office while she struggle to figure out what to do...TOUGH work!

But, imagine not having to have eaten at all not because you're on a diet, but because you don't have enough money to eat. With a meager/delayed salary, you'd rather save it for your family. Also, everyday, you use your bike to go to work from Antipolo to Pasay...save on gas...save money...

This is what chief does every single day and every night. Until that fateful night. when he can no longer pedal his bike. He was found near the Pasig river, still holding his beloved bike. He was not even able to get home, to his family.

We call him chief. As in chief of the security, being the senior and all. he supervises the security/safety measures of the unit. He's almost 60 years old. He was suppose to retire this end of month. Retire he did, that Monday night...