Footprints of a Friend...
Posted on Friday, 15 September 2017
Footprints of a Friend….
(Tribute
to Ruel Lucentales)
By:
Apolinario B Villalobos
When we were young
He said, “I will be
great someday”
I said, “I have the
same dream.”
He was diligent in
his studies
And even excelled in
other fields
Despite odds that limited
our quest
That we hurdled to
satisfy our needs.
After graduation in
college
He said, “I want to
raise a family”
I said, “Go ahead,
get a wife oozing with beauty and sanity.”
He got a beauty and
both raised two children
Who grew to be caring
and responsible
Making them both
happy and they did not ask for more.
When we met again
He said, “Somehow, I
will try my best to help others”.
I said, “That, I hope
to see”.
He was braving the
danger along the way
As he visited
settlements of evacuees.
With him was a jolly
entourage clad in blue chalico -
Brave men and women,
pride of then Region XI’s DSW.
When he was to be
promoted
He said, “Friend, I
will be transferred to Manila
I said, “Go ahead,
consider it as part of your destiny”.
Then I saw him on TV
braving the thick ashfall of Mt. Pinatubo .
Skipping meals and
being away from his family for days
Became just part of daily
routine enjoyed by him -
And all these he did
without a single complaint.
When told about our
class reunion in August 21, 2010
He said to a
classmate, “Ed, I will surely be part of our homecoming in Notre Dame.”
Ed said, “You must,
as the rest are expecting you to be there.”
Others were told and
were elated that at last, he could make it, come what may.
He was excited, of
course, to meet classmates last seen more than twenty years ago.
But, a slight twist
of his destiny changed all these
When on a fateful day
he breathed his last
The day that bore his
final footprint on the sands of life
That bore witness to
his greatness -
As a struggling youth
with a dream
As a patient brother
to his siblings
As a loving husband
to a beautiful wife
As a doting father to
two caring children
As a worker who cares
for his colleagues and those in need
As a man who did not
fail to look back
To his footprints
while on his way to greatness
To fulfill his
destiny…
To you Ruel, our
friend, our brod, we say:
YOU ARE, INDEED,
GREAT!
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