The Bus Ride

It's been quite a while since I last entered this site. Actually, it's been almost a month. Not that nothing has been happening to me. It's probably something more of being too busy during the pre-holiday season. Add to that the trauma I received from comments I got from my previous blogs, both within the site and personally.

Frankly, it was one hell of a joyride for me, to see the multiple anonymous comments battling it out like foes in the Jerry Springer show. But for a friend not talking to me after reading my blog is another thing. And that is what made the whole blogging thing traumatic.

On to my story.

Last Monday, I came in to work wearing formal office slacks and a brown shirt. I was wearing my pants too high that one of my friends approached me, handed me a CD case that very much looked like a Bible case, and told me to open the plastic bag I was holding. And then one of them told me to ask for donations as I looked very much like a preacher from another religious sect asking for donations for the church inside a moving bus. "Peace be with you all," I should have said.

After that, I became known to myself as Pastor Don.

Yesterday, I wore a similar get up, that is, high-waisted office pants (black) and a collared shirt. Add to that a pair of black shoes with un-matching white socks. I tell you, it is sooooo Michael Jackson. I wasn't aware that I was wearing white socks until after I reached the office, until someone mentioned it to me! Sheesh!

After playing a very rough game of badminton, I boarded a bus going home. I was really expecting to see a preacher, after so many years of not seeing one, doing his thing in the bus. So there I was, patiently observing the people around me. In front of me were two homosexuals. They weren't together, though. One was a lesbian, the other a gay guy. I thought, "A bus could really hold a diverse mixture of cultures and people." Beside me were a couple groping at each other. Talk about intimacy and privacy!

And then, as we were about to reach our destination, what do I notice? A guy with a back pack handing out envelopes to people! I don't know if it was mere coincidence or fate. He was not the traditional preacher. In fact, he wasn't a preacher at all. He was a representative of some organization for the disabled. I was just in utter amazement at the fact that I came very close to meeting a preacher once again. And what did he do to convince people to give him some donations? He had a small tambourine and he played it while singing some off-tune Christmas carols!

Had I not been too tired last night, I would have stood up, opened a plastic bag and passed it around. I would have begun my new career in spreading the Word of God.

"Brothers and sisters, the end is near. Have you ever thought about where you would want to be in the after life.....? Giving is much better than receiving.... In giving do we receive graces not on earth but on the after life...."

"So please, empty your wallets and donate to my church.... this is a stick-up!"