Friday, July 13, 2007 Yap: Bruce Willis mauled in Bogo By Januar E. Yap Meanwhile
“UNBREAKABLE” is a movie by M. Knight Shyamalan. The story revolves around a reluctant and invulnerable hero pushed to the wall by the villain with the very apt name of Glass, whose bones break at the slightest nudge.
Our hero never for once fell ill and figured unscathed in not a few accidents, the last one, a train crash, was the grandest staging by Glass himself, supposedly to identify his antithesis, the unbreakable hero played by Bruce Willis.
In a world more real, Bruce Willis comes to life as Alex “Chief” Badayos, rich in calcium and tough on the rib cage. The latter proven by how it holds his diaphragm during videoke sessions. It was not clear how many in the mob took turns in trying to test his bones. What was clear is that they mistook Alex for being the bone of contention.
It was, of course, a relief to have seen Bruce Willis emerge at the newsroom to tell his story. The relief came by way of bantering, one of which was Insoy’s idea that Chief could’ve said he was from “Ang Lungsuranon” instead of admitting in earnest he was from this paper. That would’ve saved him the trouble.
“It’s always best to do what the mob do,” suggested Mr. Pickwick in Charles Dickens’ “The Pickwick Papers.” “But suppose there are two mobs?” asked the character Mr. Snodgrass. “Shout with the largest,” replied Mr. Pickwick.
But then, of course, with Chief being the Bruce Willis of them all, it was natural to suspect some knowing souls in the crowd recognized him and were just as unscrupulous to throw the punches anyway.
For a time, Chief and I shared an apartment. One time, fire broke out a few houses away. I rose to wake him up in the other room. With a panicky look, Chief rushed out of the house and I thought he was out of his mind. But, no, he panicked because he didn’t have his camera with him.
Some say focus, others say it’s passion—putting life and limb, including the rib cage, in the line of fire. We don’t pray for fire, but under duress, dedication gets its direst test. It is one thing to find yourself at the right place and at the right time, and it’s also another to seize the opportunity.
Chief’s not alone, as far as this paper is concerned. There is, of course, Amper Campaña, equally dedicated. (Although I’m not sure the shot on top of this column counts as among his feats.)
The bantering continues. Seeing Chief claiming his 15 minutes on television, the newsroom gets a tickling on their funny bone. A case of Bruce Willis starring in “E.R.” or “Grey’s Anatomy” beats FPJ, God rests his soul.
All that because, fortunately, nothing worse happened. Meanwhile, those responsible must be brought to the fore. Not to test their bone, but because the law got a bone to pick with them.
