11.24.2008

one, two, three.. drop dead!

i just gotta blog this one.

i saw kuya bodjie at the mrt!! hehehe. i was this close *makes that thumb and forefinger action thingy, with matching squint at the left eye for exaggeration*, this close to dropping dead at his feet, convulsing with unexplained happiness at seeing my childhood hero just a few feet away from me. hehehe. those who grew up in the 80s watching batibot just might share my elation, witnessing something close to a phenomenon, that of seeing kuya bodjie sit (lucky he was able to, hehehe) amidst the everyday mess that is the mrt ride. really it just seemed yesterday, watching kuya bodjie tell a story, contorting his voice to be "in character", and delighting at how creative and imaginative he was with the drawings and sketches he did to complement the story he was telling; and the "batang batibot" just clapped like eating his next burger is dependent on it.. of course, with "batang batibot" i mean me, glued to the tv singing "bangkang papel" or "kapit bahay nyo", some 20 years ago, hehehe.

ah, time flies really quickly. now, the batang batibot is a tired employee caught in the daily grind of his life, riding the mrt and anxious to go home to start a half-remembered yoga routine, half remembered because nowadays blogging took up most of his "awake" moments. hehehe. and then this happened. feels like i'm like a kid again. the moment i saw him until i alighted at my train stop, i felt giddy--like a kid learning to ride his first bike; i've never been so starstruck like this. having worked in a media organization before, it has been a common thing for me, seeing tv personalities on a daily basis; passing mr famous singer smoking in the corridor before he goes on air, you catch a strange whiff and you get to decide that his fart smells exactly like yours...so what's the big deal with kuya bodjie? the kuya bodjie experience is different because he comes from a time in my life that is removed from all these worldly gentleness you are now reading. i mean, it was a time when gentle was really gentle, ya know. hehehe. so there.

watching him sitting and fiddling with his celfone, i observe that he's gone considerably old and tired-looking--not like the very animated, youngish kuya bodjie lost in the telling of his tale, we knew from way back. now thinking it over, maybe that was the character and this was the real kuya bodjie pascua--serious and haggard, just like everyone else; silly of me to believe everything the headwriter wrote. then again, it just entered my mind, writing this, that maybe its not kuya bodjie but just someone who happened to look like kuya bodjie. hehehe. no wonder no one in the mrt car was making a big fuss out of it, staring and oggling at the poor man like i did.

ah, i'm just tired, ya know. this is what a tired gentle mind is bound to make up, sooner or later. :)

photo credit http://zshali.multiply.com/journal/item/160/Ibalik_ang_BATIBOT

14 comments:

jamie da vinci! said...

i LOVE kuya bojie! he is the only person i look forward to seeing when watching batibot waaaaaay back (when dinosaurs still roamed the earth, as it seems). his story-telling segments were the highlight of my mornings. i still remember how off i felt whenever they didn't have kuya bojie during the show.

i got to see him again many years later while watching a play at the CCP. he played padre damaso. he can play the most nefarious character known to man, but in my head, he still will be the multi-talented storyteller of my younger days. he will still always make me smile :)

nagpapicture ka sana!!! :)

gentle said...

haha. nga e. i wish. 2nd tym ko na natyope approaching him. baka kase mapahiya ko. pano kung isnabero ang kuya. just last week i was at ccp running the length of the ramp back and forth... nauhaw ako, made my way sa likod to get to the canteen para uminom ng tubig. guess kung sino nakita ko. sigh.

Niel said...

I think mabait naman si kuya Bodjie, pero hindi ko rin sya nilapitan nung nakasabay ko sya sa bus. Parang respeto na lang sa space nya. Plus I get an impression that he was not in a good mood that time. Siguro ibang iba lang sya in public kesa dun sa character nya sa TV.

OliverTwist said...

also saw him many times, parang seryoso na suplado, pero i don't know kasi i never tried na lumapit. yeah i vividly remember him from batibot, sa kanya ako natuto ng storytelling... hehehe...

thanks pala sa pagdalaw sa aking blog at sa pakikinig sa podcast ko. kelan ko kaya makikita pangalan ko sa blog stack mo?

thanks ulit, sana bumalik ka to listen to more episodes.

gentle said...

@ neil - well said, yup. respect for private space. :) bsta, hehe kulang na lang ngumanga ako kanina. aliw pa rin ako sa nangyari hehehe

@ olivertwist - thanks for pointing it out. added you na.

Abou said...

hanggang ngaun kinakanta ko pa rin sa isip ung theme song ng batibot ha ha pati na rin yung kantang alin, alin ang naiba

Beaugarte said...

Ibalik ang Batibot!!!

Tara na, sa sinekwela (ooops, ibang show pala yun)..

Anonymous said...

yeh he's just like any other man.. pero sa TV kasi ibang iba ang character nya.. high upbeat and very optimistic.

at sa kanya ako natutong magkwento sa mga sibs ko ng kung anu-ano.. namana ko ata imagination nya when it comes to storytelling. I can still remember "Planeta Nguyam-yam".. if you ever heard of this story of his way back..

fave ko din si Pong-pagong, Sitsiritsit at Alibangbang! alam mo yun, yung naghahanapan silang dalawa.. sitsiritsit, alibangbang..wahahahaha! Ibalik nyo ang Batibot!!!

Your post here reminds me of my childhood memries.. just great. thanks!

gentle said...

@ abou - hehe. katuwa no, how one show and one person can be that influential to a generation.

@ beaugarte - para sa kin wag na. kaya sya espesyal e, coz it defined for our generation a brand of kid entertainment na matatawag nating atin lang. kids nowadays have cartoon network to and disney channel din naman defining their brand of entertainment.

Anonymous said...

here's the thing...

kuya bodjie is not the same without ate siena...

do miss batibot though... kahit na kapanahunan ko ang kaluskos musmos... hay, my AIDS (age is definitely showing)

gentle said...

@dylan - yep to all you said (tamad ko no? :), plus add madam bola at irma daldal hehehe.

@dingbat - kaluskos musmos? huwats dat? *goes to ask my ate* hehehe.

Anonymous said...

ayoko si madam bola kasi amgal bagal nya. nyahaha.

natawa ko nung mabasa ko yung comment mentioning KALUSKOS MUSMOS

wahahahaha! cant help it, wahahaha!
hindi ko rin kasi alam yun. di pa ata tayo pinapanganak..lolz

spongeBAB said...

hey gentle star struck ba? sana nga nag pa-picture ka, batibot kid din kaya ako hehe

Chai said...

Kuya Boji. He's one lucky guy.

I know the chords to the Batibot song. hahaha.