Sto. Nino - remembering the innocence

Yesterday was the feast of the Sto. Niño. We often see images of the Sto. Niño dressed in different attires: as a farmer, as a cop, as a fireman, a boy scout. It usually indicates the occupation of the owner of the image. How do I dress the Sto. Niño as a civil servant pretending to know IT? Sometimes we also see a naked version called Sto. Niñong hubad which is also supposed to be a love amulet. It could be  blasphemous to think that the owner could be a macho dancer?

Yesterday's homily mentioned something about remembering the innocence. We adults have many worries, compromises, and guilt. The kids have it much simpler. They never worry at all. They always manage to have a good time. They play a lot with friends, classmates, anybody, even with strangers. They fight occasionally, at times to the point that the parents get into their fights as well, but only to patch things up as quickly as it started. The adults' quarrels caused by their kids' fights last longer, even if the kids are alright already.

I don't know exactly how and when we lost the innocence. We are a bunch of cynics now. Don Henley's song rings in my mind. Isn't it good to have that childlike innocence again?

Before the end of the innocence

Remember when the days were long/ And rolled beneath a deep blue sky/ Didn't have a care in the world/ With mommy and daddy standing by/ When "happily ever after" fails/ And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales...
...Who knows how long this will last/ Now we've come so far, so fast/ But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us/ I need to remember this/ So baby give me just one kiss/ And let me take a long last look/ Before we say good bye...
...But this is the end/ This is the end of the innocence - Don Henley "The End of the Innocence"

I met with some of my elementary schoolmates still based in Manila for a few hours of banter over pichi-pichi, barbecue, and originally San Juan fare pancit from Aling Banang and Big Scoop ice cream. There was plenty of food to go around for the eight of us who made it to the feast. Some of us have not seen each one for over thirty years. This is catching up bigtime.

I had to give them something, a small token for finding time to meet a classmate who came all the way from the south. I knew copies of the latest scandals will be a good give-away. I was not wrong. It was well appreciated. We went online for a video chat with classmates now based overseas but we were only half-successful. Still we had a good chat with those sacrificed sleep just to stay with us.

We first knew each other when we were in the age of innocence. As I recall now, we did not even had romantic notions then. It was the age for fairy tales, the happily ever afters. After thirty-five years, not everyone has her happily ever after, but they live more happily even after. That is what matters.

Today we can talk without embarrassment about anything. And I mean anything and everything. Someone in the group said this would not be possible a few years ago. We are once again at an age when we can get away with most things. It's a big jump from our simple innocence then to the harsh cynicism today. Don Henley sang about the end of the innocence and one's need to go back, to take one last look, before we all say goodbye. I think that's the reason why we like these mini-reunions.