|
By Aurora I. Toldoya, C.P.A. (Phils)
West Covina, California
Some years from now, when I am 65 and older, I want to spend my remaining years in our small town of Pandan. Pandan is a coastal town located at the northernmost part of Antique, Philippines. It is a quaint town like most towns, where almost everybody knows everybody, where everybody is a relative, so you may say.
I love this town of my forefathers, the beautiful beaches, picture-perfect hillsides, mountains, sunsets, bat caves, rare birds, rivers and springs. It is a place that you might say, he or she is at peace. It is ideal to spend and enjoy one's retirement years, write memoirs and spend one's retirement dollars.
 To me, retirement means, an early morning walk on the beach, wetting my feet on the very edge of the wave recessing to the sea. And as I go through the entire length of the town's seashore, I want to bend over and pick-up whatever catches my fancy. I want to watch the birds as they fly and dive into the sea catching fish, seashells, and seaweeds. I want to walk along the shoreline with my beach friends, talking, laughing and reminiscing.
I want to laze around the beach as we used to, when we were young. Lay there. Look at the sky. Watch the clouds as they change formation. Smell the sweetness of the sea, and inhale the salty wind brushing through my hair. I want to watch the sunset as it changes color and fades into the horizon. I want to sleep on the sand and dream. And on some lazy afternoons, as I sit on the sand facing the sea, I may let my mind wander and think of life eternal.
I want to watch children play along the beach, fishermen pulling in their boats with the day's catch; men, women and children helping the fishermen. I want to watch live fish as they are laid out on the sand, still kicking, wriggling, and trying to get back to the sea.
But alas, gone is my dream, clouded by MMDA's plan of making Semirara a dumping site. Semirara island with MMDA's plan will be toxic, foul, and as a potential source of diseases, is just 2 kilometers away from where I plan to spend my retirement.
I will raise hell come what may. I will shout to the world. NO. NO. NO. Do not destroy my little seashore, not my small quaint town and NOT MY DREAM.*** |
