PUL-OY (Breeze)
San Vicente Sur Ilocos Sur RP to the World Series
GRETA – The Pearl
Greta Mario Manlapig
Humility is symbolized by the pearl, the way it was created by Nature, within it is peace and like the heart it throbs, the source of its glow and luster, and message when hope dims, “Don’t fear, don’t regret. Treat yourself well. Don’t let yourself become miserable. Be happy and thankful!”
Dr Abe V Rotor
Greta M Manlapig in her younger days; a living wall of honors and joyful memorabilia at her residence in Lagro, QC.
“Greta, a name that sweeps the gymnast floor, reverberates in roar and applause, breath-taking so swift the whole scene in a rarefied atmosphere flashed like passing wind, defining the finest body language in sports - gymnastics;”
Gymnastics, the ultimate test of balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, endurance and control – of alertness, precision, daring, the lesser would cower - – but not Greta who stood tall on the pedestal, the champion ;
Greta carried the torch to the ASEAN regional meet, shoulder to shoulder with other champions of the world raised the flame of international competition, not merely in the test of skills, but in strengthening the bond of member- countries;
There is a spring, an eternal spring, the source of such great achievement, Greta the pioneer blazed the trail of an expanding metropolis with other pathfinders, founders of the Lagro Elementary School and later the Lagro High School;
Primordium, the seed of any social institution to Greta, is based on “nature and nurture principle” yielding the true harvest of The Sower, under the ambiance of a beautiful family and home, she as model wife, mother and community leader;
If effective leadership is gauged through sacrifice and altruism, Greta would attest to that as teacher, coordinator, organizer, weaving the threads that secured the institutions now serving thousands of students, hundreds of teachers, the community as a whole;
Like the pearl, layer after layer, in brilliant luster, with varying tints, this gem grows with time, ever patient and understanding, Greta the guardian, preferred over residency in New York, to stay put here with her brainchild, in three generations now;
Greta writes a column in the Greater Lagro Gazette, she too, is a pioneer in community journalism - Enjoying where you are – an experiential- spiritual approach to keep traditional values in the midst of inevitable change;
Moralism in postmodern times, our era today with three generations in a chain, yet divided in domicile and transience, by opportunities, travel and affluence, confronts Greta in her golden years of life, yet unyielding to move out of the frontline;
In Enjoying where you are, Greta does not settle on neutrality, but only for the truth, never to, Go gentle into the night, but Rage, rage, rage, in the power of the pen, in the tradition of the elders, in the righteousness of formative conscience, in Carpe diem;
Carpe diem - seize the moment - while the clay mold is still fresh, love and be loved, smile, share your time with others, connect with old and young alike, keep memories fresh in laughter, reflection, and affection – to Greta these are lessons to live by;
Gymnastics, the ultimate test of balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, endurance and control – of alertness, precision, daring, the lesser would cower - – but not Greta who stood tall on the pedestal, the champion ;
Greta carried the torch to the ASEAN regional meet, shoulder to shoulder with other champions of the world raised the flame of international competition, not merely in the test of skills, but in strengthening the bond of member- countries;
There is a spring, an eternal spring, the source of such great achievement, Greta the pioneer blazed the trail of an expanding metropolis with other pathfinders, founders of the Lagro Elementary School and later the Lagro High School;
Primordium, the seed of any social institution to Greta, is based on “nature and nurture principle” yielding the true harvest of The Sower, under the ambiance of a beautiful family and home, she as model wife, mother and community leader;
If effective leadership is gauged through sacrifice and altruism, Greta would attest to that as teacher, coordinator, organizer, weaving the threads that secured the institutions now serving thousands of students, hundreds of teachers, the community as a whole;
Like the pearl, layer after layer, in brilliant luster, with varying tints, this gem grows with time, ever patient and understanding, Greta the guardian, preferred over residency in New York, to stay put here with her brainchild, in three generations now;
Greta writes a column in the Greater Lagro Gazette, she too, is a pioneer in community journalism - Enjoying where you are – an experiential- spiritual approach to keep traditional values in the midst of inevitable change;
Moralism in postmodern times, our era today with three generations in a chain, yet divided in domicile and transience, by opportunities, travel and affluence, confronts Greta in her golden years of life, yet unyielding to move out of the frontline;
In Enjoying where you are, Greta does not settle on neutrality, but only for the truth, never to, Go gentle into the night, but Rage, rage, rage, in the power of the pen, in the tradition of the elders, in the righteousness of formative conscience, in Carpe diem;
Carpe diem - seize the moment - while the clay mold is still fresh, love and be loved, smile, share your time with others, connect with old and young alike, keep memories fresh in laughter, reflection, and affection – to Greta these are lessons to live by;
Seminar-workshop for Senior Citizens 2015 in Barangay Greater Lagro QC. Greta in a practicum at the barangay garden, Greta, 4th from right, standing row, with workshop participants.
The dichotomy of aging – its biological inevitability and its golden rays of wisdom and counsel – makes life truly holistic and fulfilled, to Greta ageing is also reaping the greatest gifts of the Great Maker, gifts He gave though mostly were never asked;
To Greta these gifts are graces on condition they are reciprocated by goodness which she traces from childhood, from a large brood, a wholesome family, strict parents ruled by values of old, in a hometown where San Vicente Ferrer, one of the most learned saint is venerated;
It is a small municipality, now suburb of Metropolitan Vigan, seat of fine art (painting, sculpture), crafts (carpentry), vegetable bowl (cabbage, cauliflower, onion), above all, likened to a little Florence, a Renaissance center of arts, music, tradition, religious vocation, and various careers;
All professionals Greta takes pride of her family and clan in the fields of education, medicine, law, business, and others – models for today’s millennials and Igens (social media generation) - she, like Storming of the Bastille, raises the flag still -
Her arms, tired like Moses’ in the battle of good over evil, are sustained by her philosophy, that life must go on, never to surrender to a cause, gargantuan it may be, and the pearl, like a candle throughout the night, sends its brightest glow before dawn;
The pearl is an all-seeing eye, a symbol of divine omniscience and not sinister influence, its subdued radiance and luster humbles all stones because it speaks of humility - humility that cautions the world from chartless, drastic and unbridled change;
Humility is symbolized by the pearl, the way it was created by Nature, within it is peace and like the heart it throbs, the source of its glow and luster, and message when hope dims, “Don’t fear, don’t regret. Treat yourself well. Don’t let yourself miserable. Be happy and thankful!”
Enjoying where you are speaks: there is no retirement of the mind, heart and spirit, true to Greta’s gemstone its eternal flame speaks of immortality, in a Holy Triad of Connectivity with fellowmen, Nature, and a benevolent and omnipotent God, which is the basic pattern of all great religions;
Immortality is never losing the person whose life is an icon, whose thoughts touched the thoughts of others, her heart compassionate, her reverence and trust in God like Job, her family carrying the gifted genetic line and strict discipline expressed in the way Greta lives – that others may also live this way. ~
and former Barangay Chairman, Atty Renato Galimba in a Seminar Workshop on Education. Below, officers and members of Lagro Association of Writers and Artists Inc.
NOTE: Greta and the author are natives of San Vicente, Ilocos Sur. Their respective families can be traced to the same phylogenetic lineage. Their parents were contemporaries, so with the siblings of Greta and the author. ~
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