I Would if I Could

Boy ain’t this virus something.  I’m sitting here looking out my window, seeing the blue sky and scattered white clouds , some trees and thinking.  I’m thinking that my ass hurts a bit cause I been sittin here so long listening to music and thinkin.  (Now Chuck, don’t change the spelling here cause I’m doin it on purpose).  You see I’m too old to run out on the street and yell “I”m tired of this shit” so I just mess up a bit of my spellin in protest.  Hell, that don’t hurt anybody and it keeps those barangay guys from beatin my ass.  COVID-19, what a pain this word has brought to the world.  Now, when this shit is over there will be books written, songs wrote, poems written and politicians talking their bull shit, that’s for sure.  Me, I’ll still be sitting on my constipated, old sore ass.  I’ll be thinking about Face Book, and that is not much to think about.  I’ll be wondering why so many people all of a sudden want to tell everybody what meals they are making for themselves.  So many of them look terrible and a few look interesting.  But I’m thinking who cares what they are eating.  Me, I’m just lookin to see something that tells me how to get rid of my constipation.  You know, during this lock in my favorite moments are when I can take one hell of a good dump.

I’m thinkin about missing my wife even though I kind of like having the whole bed to myself; and not getting up early even on the days the bed is supposed to be made.  You see, my wife is stuck in Hawaii because they close this Clark Airport down and Asiana Airlines has cancelled her return ticket twice.  Now she had to buy a ticket on PAL for 2 May, if it doesn’t get cancelled.  We call each other on messenger which is one hell of a good invention.  Man, you can actually see each other which ain’t too bad because even though she got to be a bit senior, she still looks pretty good.  Too bad I can’t say the same for myself.  She isn’t in Hawaii for pleasure she is there because she reached the age of 65.  Now please not that most of the expat men living here in Angeles City never run into this problem because they marry women young enough so that when she reaches 65 he is already long dead.  My wife was young when we met but we happen to like each other enough that we’re still together and I did not die yet.  You see, she is not a US Citizen and doesn’t even have a green card.  Hell, way back in 2011 we thought of getting her a immigration visa  but neither one of us wanted to live in the US long enough for her to become a citizen.  Now we see that was a big error in thought.  Before she turned 65 I got a notice that in order for her to keep her Tri-Care medical benefits she had to have Medicare part A and B.  (Sorry folks, this is all US stuff I am writing about).  In order for her to keep this benefit as a non-citizen she had to fill out a form and send in to Social Security for approval.  Thanks to the VA Manila outreach program they helped on this.  Her application was approved and now she has to 30 full calendar days in the US twice a year.  So she left for Hawaii on 27 Mar and return on 5 Apr.  She stayed at a hotel on Schofield Barracks, an Army Post so she could visit our son there.  Thanks to the virus she is still there. OK, I got that out of the way, sorry for long explanation but I wanted to warn those American guys coming over here to find a gal to marry to be careful on that age bit.  So, the Mrs will be back in May, hopefully and I already know that one of the first things she will be doing is (not sex) but changing the curtains.  I can’t figure out why women want to do that every six months, I figure every two years or so is good enough.

Thinkin’, still doin’ that.  This time I was thinkin’ about Las Vegas when I was first stationed there in 1962 and what a great small town it was.  I loved it there and after-a-while made it my State of residence.  It was a great place, real friendly but over the years it got bigger and bigger.  Bugsy had a great idea when he built the Flamingo and the Mafia came in and made the town.  The town changed when Howard Hughes arrived and that was the beginning of a change that changed the character of the town.  It grew but but the friendliness disappeared and it just seemed different. Now, the Virus has arrived and turned off the lights.

I arrived in Angeles City in 1977.  It was still a small City with many dirt roads, not that many places to eat, and many small bars to go to.  If you went over the Friendship bridge it was dark and spooky at night and martial law was in effect.  But the town had character that over the years has disappeared.  It is much more commercialized now but still the bars blaze with life at night.  But along came the Virus and now all is still.  I loved Vegas and I love Angeles City but even Martial Law was not as bad as this covid-19 but the many barriers that have been erected, manned by Barangay officials give’s one the feeling of a war zone without the shooting.  It feels like we are one step away from Martial Law maybe it is a rehearsal.  No liquor sales as the Government does not trust its citizens to drink at home peacefully.  I have heard of Expats going through beer withdrawal pains.  Pot bellies are diminishing. It is so quiet, imagine, no loud motorbikes with loud mufflers, no loud Karaoke music day and night, peaceful sleeping except for a neighbor that has a dog that can’t stop barking.  I just saw a news flash that the Government is running out of cash.

I was thinkin’ about the many poor here who are day laborers and now have no money and having a hard time finding food.  I think of many of the live-in bar girls who were not able to go home and have no money or very little food.  I miss seeing my friends at ThiHi  but I was able to deliver a sack of rice to them to help with their food.  I know that the owner is still trying to care for those still on board.  Naturally they are bored to death.  There is no unemployment payments in this country but food packages are delivered and some charity organizations try to help out.  It is hard to help when citizens are not allowed to leave the house.  Hopefully things will loosen up before the beginning of the rainy season.  I suppose that there will be a big jump in the baby population in the next 8 or 9 months.  I was thinkin’ how do you have sex with no touching or kissing?

I found myself thinkin’ a lot about friends, old and current that I don’t get to see now.  I don’t even bother to get dressed every day as I don’t feel like making the effort to go down and up the stairs.  I am grateful I still have a small staff that make my meals and bring it upstairs to me so I am not going out.  I try to keep in touch with people through Email, FB and messenger and sure is different from the days when I only had the old land line telephone.  The TV and computer are blessings and access to Netflix sure does fill up a few hours of the day and night. I am at that DNR age so I sure am happy when I am still able to open my eyes every morning and find I am still alive and not in a hospital.  I hurt for all those I read about being sick and dying because of this Chinese Wuhan Virus.  Yep, I am not worried about offending the Chinese Government.  I could go on a lot about that deceitful country but I will let you folks do your own research.  I will just say this, they are not to be trusted.

On a more light note I was thinkin’ about Thi-Hi and one of the ladies I spoke to before all this lock down stuff started.  Her name is Ruby Janet Barrios and she is 48 years old.,  Sadly, at that age she is still working in a bar and I hated to see that.  Now, I know I usually feature a younger lady but I figured, what the hell, maybe some senior citizens out there might want to correspond with her.  She ain’t no beauty and no dog either, she is in-between with a personality to boot.  I just hate to see this gal reach 50 and still be in the bar.  Naturally her kids are grown and on their own so no problem there.  She lived with a foreigner for years until he died and now she is still trying to make a future for herself.  I think she would make a good companion for someone.  I have a picture of her and I am hoping my Friend Chuck can insert it for me.  She is from Davao City, E-mail: rjbarrios4@gmail.com.  FB: Barrios shy.  Drop her a line, she is fun.

After writing about Ruby I don’t know why I thought of Doris Day dying at 97 years of age.  Why did I think of Ocasio Cortez AOC telling us that there is a helium shortage and soon helium filled balloons will be banned.

I got to thinkin’ about “Air Rage”.  I read that air rage is up 30% and yet some Air lines are planning to reduce space in coach (cattle car) as they try to add more seats.  Then I read that the US Government is planning to bail out some Airline Companies because the virus has caused them to lose money.  Why, when you fly domestic they could care less about your comfort and nearly charge you for the air you breathe.

I wonder how many knew that a Chinese company with close ties to the Communist Party signed a secretive deal a few months ago that gives  it exclusive development rights for the entire Island of Tulagi that has a population of only 1,ooo people.  They were shocked @ the news as there were no consultations.  The Island is in the South Pacific and served as a South Pacific Hq for Britain and then Japan before being won back by the Allied Forces in WW2.  That is not the only Island in The South Pacific they have gained rights to.

Now here is some good news.  I read that 30% of women in the Philippines watch porn, the highest percentage in the world.

Oh gosh I hate to write this one, but what the hell.  A scientific fact – a dog extracts more information from sniffing a pile of shit than a human does watching CNN.

The Mayor of Angeles City began, at last, confiscating modified mufflers on motor bikes.  This was something that should have been done a long time ago and thanks to Mayor Pogi Lazatin it has started.

For those who like to know details LGBTQIA  stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/Questioning,, intersex, asexual and the last PI pride march had 79,ooo participants.  Nothing like staying informed in this strange world we live in.

A Muslim overheard talking to a friend: “We kill them on 9/11 and they elect 3 of us to Congress, stupid infidels.”

I would so much like to write about the bars and restaurants but they all stand dark and empty.  Some places still have take-out meals like Envy and Paisano’s. I was surprised to hear today that Pure Gold is open but not sure of the hours.  I think it will take a long time before everything opens up again.  Maybe there will be a gradual opening and I hope that will be the restaurants.  It was emphatically stated by the City that the bars will not be opened right away.  I expect some bars to never open and many to be sold.  I will try to keep up with that as it happens.  I know it has been a long time since I lost wrote and I regret that.  I love communicating with the readers I still have but I find it a bit harder to type without a lot of errors.  I loved the years I had as Harry the Horse and that will never leave me.  As long as my body allows me to get up to my chair and computer I will continue to write to you via this medium.  If I happen to not wake up some day then my friend Chuck will let you know as he has access to this site.  Until that time continue to be kind to horses.