one may not realize how funny dr david’s words were. if you knew him before, you would have found him very very entertaining.
I’m reminded of the time I first knew him at the Listening Center. Having just read his poems published in the Philippine Collegian, I had envisioned an old, serious and dour man, about 35 years old. I was surprised not just because he was only 24 and boyish but, more importantly, he was funny! He had this list of ‘rules’ (which I now regret not having kept) one of which was: “Don’t put your feet up on the table. We already know your socks are clean.” or something like that. Re-telling it, it doesn’t seem so funny now, but together with the other tongue-in-cheek ‘rules’, it was really hilarious, esp. to a 16-year old sophomore, sheltered by her grandmother and her colegiala upbringing while in grade school.
He also made fun of his friends’ books. He had this quip, “Puro Point, Panay Barter”, referring to “Poro Point” by Alex Hufana and “Panay Barter” by Ric Demetillo. And this “syllogism”, “If G, Daveyd. If T, Markase. Therefore, Girry Acay.” Again, he was referring to himself, F.G. David, and his friends, F.T. Marquez and Gerry Acay, then an instructor at the Philosophy Department. fg’s jokes and quips were inexhaustible and quite spontaneous. In those days, he made fun of friends and acquaintances, but I was spared. However, when we got married, it seems that I was fair game as well. In the beginning, I was quite onion-skinned about it all, but as the years wore on, I became accustomed to it all, esp. when I realized that when fg was full of jokes, that meant that he was in a good mood. Good mood meant we could also tease him and/or ask for favors.
Last December 13, fg had been gone for exactly one year and five months. And all that while–no jokes! I miss them all, even the corny, trite ones.