Chicken soup is best for convalescent; when dust gets into your eyes, blow your nose

Dr Abe V Rotor
Response, Book Launching Living with Nature in Our Times

Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday (www.pbs.gov.ph)

Some time ago a good old friend asked me, Abe how can you go back to nature? Are you going back to the farm. Don’t you like to live anymore in the city? Are you selling your car.

Yes, I answered. No not my car, that’s my only car. Yes, I can live with nature. Oo nga naman. We talked and talked, until we were back in our childhood – I mean, childhood. This was when my father got sick. And this is how I came to learn that chicken soup is good for one who is convalescing, yon’ galing sa sakit - nagpapagaling.

True. Totoo. Chicken soup is good for the convalescent. However, there are specifications of the kind of chicken to be served. First, it must be native chicken. Karurayan is the term in Ilocos for a pure white native chicken which does not bear any trace of color on its feathers. It is preferably a female, dumalaga or fryer, meaning it has not yet reached reproductive stage. It is neither fat nor thin. Usually the herbolario chooses one from recommended specimens. He then instructs and supervises the household in the way the karurayan is dressed, cut, cooked into tinola (stew) and served to the convalescent. He does not ask for any fee for his services, but then he takes home one or two of the specimens that did not pass the specifications. (The more affluent the patient is, the more chicken the herbolario takes home.)

Chicken soup as a convalescent food is recognized in many parts of the world. Because of its popularity, chicken soup has become associated with healing, not only of the body – but the soul as well. In fact there is a series of books under the common title Chicken Soup - for the Woman’s Soul, Surviving Soul, Mother’s Soul, Unsinkable Soul, Writer’s Soul, etc. Of course, this is exaggeration, but nonetheless it strengthens our faith that this lowly descendant of the dinosaurs that once walked the earth of its panacean magic.

Try chicken soup to perk you up in these trying times - with all the rush, tension, various ailments, and expensive medication. Ika nga, bawal ang magkasakit.

But first, be sure your chicken does not carry antibiotic residues, and should not be one that is genetically engineered (GMO). By the way, I was a participant in the rituals made by this good herbolario. I was then a farmhand and I was tasked to get the karurayan. Our flock failed the test, but I found two dumalaga with few colored feathers. I plucked out the colored feathers and presented the birds to Ka Pepito. They passed the criteria. Three days after I asked my convalescing dad how he was  doing. “I’m fine, I’m fine, now.” He assured me with a big smile.

Writing a book such as this needs advice. This time I needed one outside of the farm, and away from the village. There’s no one else to my mind but someone in the academe. I went to the dean the Graduate School of UST. She went over the manuscript and after a few days, I went to see her again. In the message for the book she said the most beautiful things that encouraged me a lot to continue writing about Nature. She said, and I quote.

“Living with Nature in Our Times can be lumped up into one word - awareness. For today’s trend in progress and development, spurred by science and technology, and spun by globalization cannot undermine the need to answer a basic question, “Quo vadis?” (Where are you going?) To where are we headed as a civilization?”

The dean continued, Living with Nature in Our Times gives us practical knowledge that elevates our awareness on three levels: that of our perception of the things around us by our senses, that of our perception of the inner stimuli that affect not only our physical being but our psyche and emotion, and the third which occupies the highest level of awareness – that which is beyond mere perception because it requires us to imagine, plan and anticipate the future.

Living with Nature in Our Times cautions us while walking on the busy lane of change. It reminds us to retrain our senses and to hone our sensitivity to better appreciate the best life can offer. Only when we are close to nature are we able to truly appreciate its exquisiteness; only when we heed the old folks’ good advice can we truly appreciate the beauty and bounty of nature.”

I could say no more, overwhelmed by the dean's message. Then I realized. Mataas nga ang expectation ng reader sa libro ko! Did I write enough? Am I understood as much as the listeners to my radio program, Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid do? Baka naman hindi ako maintindihan ni Ka Pepe at si Aling Maria.

It was a weekend and it was the tail end the monsoon – the best time to be on the farm. I did the final editing of the book here – the farm where I grew up, where I got my stories, experiences I still remember, in a small town where I used to listen to old folks. This time I am one of them.

This same old good friend I told you earlier came to visit me. I took him out into the fields. It was harvest time and a time of festivities of sort in the fields. The maya birds came by hordes, A gust of wind blew and my friend winked, apparently napuwing. And he started rubbing his eyes. Huwag, I said. Just blow you nose. He laughed.

“Just do it.” I said. He did once, twice, each for each nose, covering the other. Harder. He looked amazed. The puwing is gone! Success! (You can try it later.)

My friend who grew up in the city complained again. “My tooth aches,” It lunchtime. Sayang. We were going to have lunch, picnic style beside a farm pond we call alug.

“Sumasakit din ang aking ngipin,” I said, … “na hindi ko matikman lahat nito,” savoring the aroma of the food being cooked. It’s like the proverbial grandmother’s pie.

“Hindi ako nagbibiro,” He said.

“Okay press the base of your jaw, like this,” and demonstrated how. Open your mouth and feel the attachment of the jaw, it’s the hollow part. Press it long enough until the pain subsides. He did it and held it there.

“Okay ka na?”

“Masakit pa rin.”

“Saan ba ang sumasakit?” Para akong dentista.

“Doktor, nga si Dr. Rotor,” I heard a kindly old woman nearby.

“Dito sa left.” My friend opened his jaw. “Mali ang pinipisil mo, eh. Ang pinipisil mo ay ang kanan mong jaw.”

A whole banana leaf was laid before us. We sat on the grass. A tabo of water was passed on to each of us to wash his fingers before eating. Then, like the old faithful Genie had arrived, we were partaking in a banquet no five-star hotel could match.

There were hito, martiniko, broiled medium rare on uling, pesang dalag (mudfish) stewed with green saba and a lot of tomato and onion, and kuhol with tanglad. Rice is newly harvested upland Milagrosa! Miracle talaga sa bango at sarap. Everyone was quiet. How could you talk with your mouth full? Now and then a dog would come from behind begging, licking.

“How dp you eat this kuhol," my friend asked. Ganito "lips-to-lips,” Matunog. It tells your host you like the food very much. “Ayaw, eh” Pukpukin mo muna ang puit.” Paano? Kumain ka lang. Then we had ulang (river crayfish). Hindi ba masakit kumagat yan? He whispered.

“Hindi naman alimango yan, eh. At patay na. Sigue kumain ka lang.”

With or without toothache, we had our fill.

Masakit pa ba ?

Ow.. Ouch.. Ow.. This time tiyan naman niya ang sumasakit.

Oo nga naman. Pag meron kang kaibigan na katulad nito. Either you want to live long or … forget him.

Living with nature is fun, live life best – it’s more than The Good Life. It is Renaissance Part 2. It is Postmodern Renaissance. It is Living with Nature in Our Times.

NOTE: Living with Nature in Our Times is a sequel to The Living with Nature Handbook published by the UST Publishing House in 2003. It won the National Book Award in 2005, the highest honor bestowed to a book and its author. 

There are 35 chapters in this new volume grouped into four sections. Enjoying Nature’s Bounty has eleven chapters, which deal with such hobbies as Home Gardening, Landscaping and Hydroponics. The second section, Understanding Nature’s Ways, has nine chapters. Mystery of the Fig Wasp is a recent research, while The Mosquito is an update about this deadliest creature on earth.

The third section, Conserving Our Natural Resources has seven chapters which include The 7Rs in Pollution Management, and Farming Peat Soil, a frontier of agriculture in the Philippines. The fourth and last section, Harmonious Living with Nature, has eight chapters which remind us of the importance of maintaining good relationship of man and nature. Topics include Health and Values and Walking with Nature.

Many of the articles in this book were taken from the lessons presented on Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People’s School-on-the-Air). This is in response to listeners requesting copies of the lessons. Like in the first book, Living with Nature in Our Times is distributed by the publisher and National Book Store Quezon Ave., QC and other branches.
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Odd Trio: Fish, Reed, Red Dragonfly

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday (www.pbs.gov.ph)

Lesson: Poetry on nature, with sociological theme

A red dragonfly perched on a reed by a pond

Aimlessly I sat by a pond,
     suddenly I wasn't alone;
a red dragonfly came flying by,
     to be my companion.

Ah, you also need rest, I said,
     quivered its last strain of flight,
its foothold too, came to a stop,
     calm the pond, what a sight!

Whereupon a strange creature
     rose from the deep and broke
the watery image of peace,
     peace I read from the book.

Peace returned to the pond again,
     but where’s my red dragonfly?
The reed stood prouder still,
     for the next passerby. ~

Light at the Edge of a Forest, AVR 2011

Shipwreck - Paul on His Way to Rome

Shipwreck - Paul on His Way to Rome

Mural Painting and Poem by Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog

I am reprinting from my collection the poem (from the original draft) that accompanies this mural: Shipwreck - Paul on His Way to Rome. The mounted copy of the poem attached to the mural might have been misplaced when the mural was transferred out of the old museum to its new location - after fifteen years.

Shipwreck - Paul on His Way to Rome, by Dr Abe V Rotor

There are crossings ahead unexpected,

     no light, no guide; to the lesser, the end

of dreams and riches told but ne’er granted;

     but to Paul the beginning’s yet at the bend.

There is Caesaria where the laws of men

      may deny the just. There’s a friendly Malta –

goodness begets goodness in every brethren.

     and there, too, a Herod, an Agrippa.

On a stormy night for Rome, Paul’s last mission

     to plant the Seed in the very heart of power,

was a grave at sea, but greater was his vision,

     on the weathered rock a tree rose like a tower.

To live one must almost die is reference,

     but is he willing to die that others might rise?

he is truly brave, and there’s the difference,

     to one who deserves to walk with Christ. ~

Rarely can paintings stand by themselves, so to speak, and tell the viewer what it is in terms of characters and events in history. Owing to the subjective nature of art, it is not unusual to miss the message if the viewer fails to appreciate its historical background, and would rely only on his personal perception. This is often the case with most works of art, more so if the situation does not warrant adequate time and effort to study the particular piece. And to think of the explosion of art forms and styles that dominate our postmodern world.

On the other hand, it is also dangerous to rely on ones own interpretation based on personal experience, and bias. In The Gleaners (a favorite painting of the SPC congregation), for example, an early nineteenth century painting of three old women gleaning leftovers of wheat harvest at sunset - all that the painter, Millet, wanted to show was a rustic country scene that evokes a romantic feeling (romanticism). But years after, Markham a political analyst and socialist, interpreted it as a serious subject, a social issue of injustice and repression. Now this is crucial to being a professor in humanities, and a curator of a museum, two posts I assumed for fifteen years.

This mural is based on the life of St Paul, bold and daring and unstoppable in our present terminology, that nothing could possibly bar his way in propagating the faith. So deep was Paul's loyalty, yet he never met personally his Master, for He was already long dead when he became His faithful servant. This scene is a proof of Paul's determination - determination on a philosophical level, with a purpose - above all, a cause. Which is the essence of the last stanza:

To live one must almost die is reference,
but is he willing to die that others might rise?
He is truly brave, and there’s the difference
to one who deserves to walk with Christ. ~

Why the painting in the first place?

As caretaker of St Paul's Museum, I wanted to focus as centerpiece the works and teachings of St Paul. There must be some other meaning, more than responsibility. I wanted the young Paulinians to learn more about St Paul's life as the Paulinian way of life, to appreciate the meaning of courage and sacrifice, of service and scholarship. (Paul wrote practically a third of the Bible.) For fifteen years with countless guests and friends visiting the museum - repeatedly for many, mostly Paulinians - the mural became a visual aid - vision of the sense and vision of the future. ~

NOTE: In response to requests, this post can be downloaded to serve as lesson, reference, and for whatever purpose it may serve, except publication. Request to view the mural has been endorsed to St Paul University QC

* Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday (www.pbs.gov.ph)

Emptiness in Amihan

Emptiness in Amihan 
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog

 

Eerie and quiet atop Antipolo hill 

        When Amihan blows in the cold Siberian wind,

        summer ends with the last footstep of guests, 

     their loneliness preserved in this emptiness, 

      their pain relieved - that, we can only guess.  

Fish Therapy

Fish Therapy
Dr Abe V Rotor

 Albino Oscars display unique design with a colorful background.  At home, QC.

Pisces in the constellation

swim among the stars; 
fish in a home aquarium

soothe the day's scars. ~

"Death, thou art mean."

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday (www.pbs.gov.ph)

Death of palm trees - millions of them on one Palm Sunday throughout Christendom,
exacerbating poverty and destroying the balance of the environment

Death of land productivity: Spent soil caked by drought and continuous cropping.  
San Ildefonso, Ilocos Sur

Death of a seashore: Illegal squatting on the seashore in the guise of tourism
 Matabungcay, Batangas

Death of consciousness: Mallard Duck gleaning on a pond - a tetrapack! 
San Mateo, Rizal
Death of wildlife: Orangutan perched on a ledge - no escape.

Death of an estero (tributary), the result of unabated
pollution and siltation. Pasig River, Pasay City MM

Death of simple devotion: Excessive candle offerings result in pollution, 
fire hazard, and emission of toxic fumes, waste of energy notwithstanding.
Manaoag, Pangasinan

Death of an agoho tree killed by unscrupulous pruning is
now crowned with ferns and mushrooms - symbol of death.

Death of cleanliness and orderliness: Trapped rainwater breeds dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

Death in the guise of technology: Transmission towers emit radiation 
deleterious to health and environment in heavily populated areas 
in Metro Manila.

Death of a camphor tree - aftermath of

Typhoon Ondoy in 2009. UST Manila

Death, thou art mean;
you come with Diogenes,
a lamp in the daylight
amid quest of greatness,
when light is seen only
in the glitter of gold
and in the genius of man,   
then creep surreptitiously 
late in the night. ~

Part 2 - Disturbing Signs of our Times

Part 2 - Disturbing Signs of our Times

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog

Armageddon warning

Surreal view

Gays take the street

Shadow of Death 

Swarm of locust

Nature crucified 

Fiery sky forecasts typhoon

* Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday (www.pbs.gov.ph)