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Saturday, December 27, 2003
Lee: Jingle Bells
By Kelvin King Lee
Babble On
My aunt was scandalized at my striptease act and I had to explain to her what happened. After, of course, I got rid of the big red ants, which I could have sworn were lethal fire ants
WHENEVER I listen to the Christmas song "Jingle bells", I always think about my family, and not for any of the normal reasons that one would imagine either. We never went caroling or sang it together or anything of the like. No, my memories of the jingle bell song involve a road trip, ants and a rewritten version of that same song.
Some time back, when I was still in college, I remember that my family spent Christmas vacation at the Bukidnon-Davao border. An uncle of mine has a little cottage in that area, which is renowned for being a little Baguio since it is as cold as the summer capital of the Philippines. He invited the whole clan to spend Christmas there.
Back then, it would take about two hours to arrive and during the road trip on the way to Buda (Bukidnon-Davao), I had to go to the bathroom, but since there was none in the immediate vicinity and the nearest toilet was about an hour away, I had to hold it for quite a while. That stretched my bladder to its limits.
And it didn't help that some of my younger relatives, including my sister, started singing very loudly: "Jingle bells, Jingle bells, Jingle all the way!" You gotta love my relatives.
On that same trip, we were exploring the hilly area around the cottage in Buda. I was wearing a new pair of black pants which were feeling sort of itchy, which I thought was normal for a new pair. It was only when there were stinging bursts of pain did I realize that there must be another reason for the itchiness.
I took off my pants faster than a veteran stripper to find that there were big red ants in my pants! Somehow, while exploring the place, some ants were able to sneak their way into my pants to find succulent, tender meat. Me. Ouch.
My aunt was scandalized at my striptease act and I had to explain to her what happened. After, of course, I got rid of the big red ants, which I could have sworn were lethal fire ants.
My younger relatives, upon seeing my ant troubles, created their own version of the "Jingle Bells" Christmas song for me. Using the jingle bells tune, it went something like this:
"Dashing through the grass, with fire ants in his pants, over the field he goes, scratching all the way. Hey! Ants in his pants bite making his skin bright (red) What fun it is to bite and sing this funny song tonight! Jingle Bells, jingle bells jingle all the way!"
And that's why I can never listen to the jingle bells song without thinking about my family. They sure as heck make my life interesting.
* * * * *
Congratulations are in order for my athletic uncle, Jimmy King who will be the new president of the Sunday Runners Fun Run Group. His formal induction as President will be at the Davao Convention Center this Saturday (December 27) at 5 pm.
I can't think of a better person who deserves the position. You should see him, despite his age he has the build and athleticism of someone 20 years his junior. Uncle Jimmy is the ultimate athlete.
In fact, Sun.Star's own sports columnist Romy Sabaldan has virtually declared uncle Jimmy as the godfather of badminton in Davao City. Well, this just goes to show Uncle Jimmy isn't a one-sport man. Aside from being really good in badminton, he can run circles around most people too.
Congratulations to uncle Jimmy, president and king of the Sunday Runners! Keep on running! (Email me at babbleon@atenista.net)
(December 27, 2003 issue)
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