BEST OF FRIENDS (a tribute to my father)

My father was a very friendly person. No wonder, he once was elected Mayor in our hometown. He had numerous circles of friends. Most of the time these people would gather around my father or vice versa, i.e., my father would gather them in our house over a drinking session talking about anything under the sun, i.e., agriculture, politics, silly green jokes, etc.

Aside from the various circle of friends he had, there was a man who frequently visited my father alone. His name is Mr. Dalipe Lucar. Mr. Dalipe and my father would talk for hours, face to face and one on one. This visitor was different because their conversation was not over a drinking session.

When my father was in his sixties I rarely saw him meeting his friends over a drinking session. By this time, as I was already in my adolescence, I was the one bringing my own barkadas at home for a drinking session.

In old age, my father was not as vibrant anymore as he was. This time, I noticed that Mr. Dalipe would now frequently come to our house visiting my father. As usual they would talk about the same topic that they both liked. Their subject matter was about religion and spirituality. I remember them sharing their views about the validity of the shroud of Turin, the 3 days darkness during the second coming of Christ, the epistle of St. John the apostle, i.e., about the revelation or last book in the Bible, etc. During the last few moments of my father’s earthly sojourn I noticed him reading the Bible and praying the rosary alone and he maintained his bonding with Mr. Dalipe. Eventually my father Priscillano M. Lozada, Sr. died in 1987. Mr. Dalipe on the otherhand died just a couple of years ago.

A few months back, I discovered a picture in our ancestral home. I asked my mother regarding this very old photograph dated August 12, 1946 taken in Baybay, Leyte. My mother replied that the one seated on the armchair is my father and the other person is Mr. Dalipe Lucar. They were both in their early twenties when the picture was taken. “They were best of friends” my mother said.

My father maintained a friendship since he was young and until he died…

To my father, I salute you! I am praying that you are now already in heaven with your parents and relatives, and of course with your best friend, Mr. Dalipe.

Happy Father’s day Papa Percing…