TRAFFIC was bad Tuesday night. No, make that terrible.
It took me almost an hour to reach Fuente Osmeña from Robinson’s Galleria and I was lucky because the friend with whom I hitched a ride changed his mind about passing through Gen. Maxilom and instead took a detour through Imus St.
My Frankahay Ta co-anchor, Titus Borromeo, was not as lucky. He found himself in the middle of a maddening gridlock in the street named after our famous town hero and managed to get home late in the evening. Yesterday morning he complained that he had back pains. That was the price he paid for sitting behind the wheels for three hours.
I’m sure many others have their own tales of woe. It rained heavily Tuesday afternoon but it was not an excuse for what happened. We have a traffic problem, rain or no rain.
What disappointed me was the absence of traffic policemen and enforcers in the areas that we passed through. The only exception was Imus and that the traffic there was orderly illustrated the good things that can happen when someone with authority takes the time to sort things out of veritable madness.
The fact is that the rains had less to do with the traffic than our own lack of discipline. They say that a crisis brings out both the best and the worst in men. That may be true but never when the crisis involves being caught in a monstrous traffic jam. There, it brings out the worst only.
That is why we need the enforcers and the police to be present during those occasions. They are the only ones who can instill discipline. Our drivers are totally incapable of disciplining themselves.
***
When Skycable failed to come to terms with the National Basketball Association on the broadcast of NBA games in the Philippines, I engaged a second cable TV service provider. Buying a “load” from Cignal meant putting more strain on an already overburdened pocketbook but I thought it was worth it especially after Lebron James joined my favorite Los Angeles Lakers.
This season, Cignal is not broadcasting NBA games either and I feel cheated because the blackout came when the Lakers were a winning team once again.
For six years, the Lakers have been shut out of the playoffs and I kept telling myself we will be back next year. And just when we’re beginning to see signs that the Lakers are indeed on a comeback, we cannot watch the games anymore.
Life is so unfair.