IF STUBBORN had a name, it would be Nelson C. Bagaforo.
You brought out the best and the worst in us. And no, this will not be a tribute that will praise you to high heavens like a saint, because we know that you will be the first one to laugh at our faces if we did that.
That was how you lived, you called out the hilarity in even the most touchy situations. You even laughed at the face of death. Four times you did that, four times you jumped right back in the ring and lived life to the hilt again. Thus, human frailties are nothing but something to pound on and smacked until the hilarity of it all comes out, much like how we now laugh at "patay-gutom" and not find anything offensive about the word.
Still, we can't help but wonder who among us now live in dread of having her hair yanked from behind. We will laugh at that, too, if that happens.
You defined your life, you never compromised. You took under your wing the young reporters and challenged their weaknesses, toughing them up with your acerbic comments, making them just as defiant as you in making life's choices, and as impeccable as you in constructing their stories.
You dressed impeccably, and worked the same way. Sometimes you were misunderstood, but most of the time, you were loved.
Rest in God's divine peace, NCB, Sir Ne, and Don Nelson.
***
Nelson, former News Editor of SunStar Davao before he went on medical retirement, died on April 27, 2018 (born on January 23, 1964) from complications of a lingering illness. His wake is at St. Peter's Chapel in Koronadal City. Burial will be on May 5, 8 a.m.
Other details will be announced later.