Blessings are the cellphones

When my youngest aunt died here in Manila, one of the
difficult part was informing my Lola, my grandmother who was in Ilocos
Sur or about six-hour drive north.

My aunt died on March 31, 1997. My grandfather died only
two months before that – February 2, 1997.

It was left to me to inform our relatives in Ilocos Sur that
my mother and older cousin Tess were on their way to Ilocos the next
day with my aunt's remains.

Telegraph was not fast enough then for our purpose.
Finally, I called the Governor's Office of Ilocos Sur to ask how I
could contact the town of Tagudin. I then called Tagudin's Mayor.
The Mayor's Office radioed the Barangay Chairman (village leader) of
San Miguel with my message. The Chairman relayed the information to
one of my uncles who happened to be a barangay kagawad.

It took many channels to relay my message.

But with cellphones and text messages now, it's so easy to
relay bad news.

My younger cousin Jocelyn composed the message that our
grandmother died yesterday and sent it to all of us in less than an
hour after my Lola died.

sayong
02-05-06