RAY Butch “Elvis” Gamboa of Motoring Today was in Europe and so, he was absent. Dino Directo of Manila Standard was in Cagayan Valley to honor an Isuzu invite and so, he was absent, too. Chief editor Ira Panganiban of Wheels Magazine was with Dino and so, he was likewise absent.
For that, they missed half of their lives’—uh oh—happiness.
And that “happiness is a warm gun” thing was a virtual gathering of eagles, that is, insofar as those present in the occasion were concerned.
“You are not here, I am sorry for you,” said the honorable host aka Danny “Sir John” Isla, talking to no one in particular when the midnight sun was up.
Jeff Reyes, a Top Gear heavyweight, came in first, bundles of marinated spare ribs in tow. When finally roasted on orange coals, perfect for the Macallan!
“I only do this once in every decade,” said Jeff of his masterpiece marination.
They blended well with Joy Isla’s baked mussels, broiled, sweetish tilapias (Sir John gave me one whole for my rice-less dinner) and fresh pineapples unmistakably ripened by the sun.
Ariel de Jesus, the most maverick of Toyota’s colorful array of young turks in the not-so-distant past, who is now with Wurth, would soon arrive, followed by Vernon B. Sarne, the one chiefly responsible for putting Top Gear to where it is now: No. 1 motoring magazine in the country.
“This is a no-miss party,” said Vernon, now doing the soon-to-be-must-read column, “Don’t Drink and Write,” at Business World. “Better than all the car parties combined during Christmastime.”
Aris Ilagan, the former Balita editor in chief and also now Top Gear’s motorcycle editor, would arrive next, armed not with a bottle but a pair of crutches and the video of his horrifying bike accident only a while back.
After watching the crash on Aris’s mobile phone—he bumped into a car at 60-70 kph, hurtling about 20 feet in the air before crashing down on a highway in Silang, Cavite—we could not stop wondering how Aris was able to escape from serious injuries.
“His helmet wasn’t fake,” Jeff offered. “That saved him.”
“Masamang damo lang iyan [bad weed],” joked someone.
“I saw a white wall while I was up there,” said Aris, who was lucky he suffered a mere minor leg injury. “This is second life.”
Sunny Medalla, also a former Toyota big shot now based in Singapore as BMW’s No. 1-ranked Filipino exec in the Lion City, would soon arrive, with a distinct single malt named Lagubulin(?).
“It’s been ages, Sir, since I saw you in a bar at T. Morato in QC,” he said to me.
Next came Glen Dasig, the Peugeot PHL president, Johnnie Walker Black in hand.
“Did Dong Magsajo deliver?” Glen said to me, referring to Dong’s article appearing here last week.
Last but not least was Brian Afuang, formerly a fellow Top Gear columnist now one of Business World’s blue chips.
To summarize, the night was in the name of happiness—and a bit more.
Isn’t happiness the main antidote to the three killer words having each two ss, namely stress, depress and pressure?
Happiness can come in many forms.
Baguio’s Des Bautista, bantam in build but derives pleasure in driving his huge Peugeot van, calls an afternoon poker session with his City of Pines pals like Rose Bowl’s Mr. Nang “eternal happiness.”
As the line of an immortal song goes, “Be happy, don’t worry.” That’s the favorite of Oscar Villadolid, a media idol from another era.
For the record, I was also originally on the distinguished list (ahem!) of Cagayan Valley-bound media hounds until I found out—to my horror—that the Isuzu trip had conflicted with Sir John’s bash.
Quickly, I informed Isuzu’s Nora L. Liquido about it. She understood it quite well. Thank you, Nora.
And what was the party all about again?
Oh, well, it was for a sentimental reason: Farewell party to the Alabang house of Dan & Joy.
It’d soon be sold, including the music studio—which is so state-of-the-art that Ariel DJ’s fervent prayer is to spare it from the sale.
“I’ll give it a thought,” Sir John whispered in my ear as I was busy doing the drums of the Eagles’ “Hotel California.”
First, how many gives?
PEE STOP Happy golden wedding anniversary to my Comadre April & Compadre Admiral Louie Fernandez (Favorite: Toyota Corona). Cheers! It is not every day that we see a couple celebrate 50 years of their marriage by exchanging “I do’s” all over again. Before them were also “Fifty Milestone Members” Atche Pat & Pareng Jake Ayson (Favorite: Innova), and Comadre Fel and Compadre Bert Bravo (Favorite: Previa). My three compadres are three of the finest gentlemen I’ve ever known, whose marriage they have kept successful all this time because they heed this counsel from Fibber McGee with canine devotion: “My wife and I had words—but I never got to use mine.”