THE FATHER IN THEM

BlogPatrol, the traffic blog counter of this site tells me that Yahoo and Google Search had been leading net surfers here with "Felix Cabading" as the tag. Three from Canada, ten from the USA had visited us already and more are yet to come.

To us all, what a great lost of a friend, a relative, a father and how ever we may consider him. For my prior post here: MY UNCLE FISCAL FELIX CABADING , I'm sorry for not writing that Uncle Felix died of massive heart attack.
I'm sorry for not pointing up that he is Benguet's Provincial Persecutor.
That he was once an aspiring priest at the Saint Francis Seminary.
I did not tell you how he loves his Kalanguya culture. The tribe he was very proud of and in any way he can, tried to foster.
My apology for not enumerating all his achievements in line with his profession.
The list goes on for the many things I should and must have written.

I can only write why I held him close with the memories I want to remember such as these:

My father got preoccupied with our health when my mom died. Six girls he takes in turn for medical check up at Notre Dame Hospital. We always see uncle Felix who also takes any of his children to the doctor. So with our old family dentist, My Dad and Uncle Felix are regular "stage fathers" at Dra. Cutiyog's clinic. Most of the time, after our appointments, we give Uncle Felix a lift because he doesn't have a car.

Sometimes, he surprises us and arrives at our door in Tublay with his wide grin. He and my Dad would stay outside our home talking seriously while my Dad massages his fighting roosters. I wish I knew what they were conversing about. Dark falls and Uncle Felix would sleep over and always uses my old room.

Christian is one of his son who graduated from PMA. Among Uncle's Felix' children, only him became close to us and my sisters. When he was sent to Mindanao for his first assignment, his father always speaks of his worries and fears for his son. Missing him makes it even worse.

When I was in Malta, my sister Sharon phoned me that Christian's troop was ambushed. Uncle Felix who was holding back his tears as he tells my Dad, he had dreamt of his son before the incident. He continued that during the encounter, Christian was spared by the dead bodies of his troops that covered him. He got unconscious from his wounds and the enemy left knowing everyone was killed.


The Military man Christian had become is my Uncle's pride but frails him as a father. He would always and always talk fondly of his son when ever he sees my Dad or my late Uncle Alex, his co-seminarian back in the old days. Even when his son Christian got married, he came to my dad and asked him to go with him at his son's wedding in Mindanao. "Naka embaeng ngay ni naikamangan Christian, andi numan e maipanlastog ko"(Makes me shy facing Christian's in laws, I have no wealth to brag), he once said.

That's I guess the father in him...in them, always thinking they are not giving enough to their kids when they had given their all. Like my Dad said, "Felix and I may not be good husbands but our children matter most. We are not perfect but we are trying".