Thursday, May 16, 2013

Day 16: Superfriends


When I was a kid in Davao City, we had limitless TV time.  A buffet of soaps, lots and lot of soap operas with the endless drama and slapping and yelling and murder. Always murder. Secret, unsolvable murder, the reason being so they can bring that character to life later.  Some woman stabbed to death in Episode 20 always ends up coming to life one or two seasons down the line.
Dallas, anyone?  How about Dynasty?  How can I forget Flor de Luna?!?  And our favorite AnnaLiza!  Amusing plot lines and it got all of us hooked!  

Then there was Sesame Street with my favorite characters: Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch and darling Mr. Snuffleupagus, whose first name is Aloysius.  My lovable Mr. Aloysius Snuffleupagus who was sort of like a superhero because he was invisible.  

But our pick of all the shows, my personal favorite was this one with the Japanese superheroes called Star Rangers! Just the mere mention of the title spoken in my head gives me joyful chills right now. My two sisters, Leslie and Joey always fought over Star Four with me.  She was the only girl with the nice matching pink outfit. My brother had four male stars to pick from and we had one!  I just clicked on a YouTube clip of Star Rangers dubbed in English from the 70s.  This made me smile. Someone commented “Godfather of all rangers!”  Talaga! These super friends gave me permission to imagine myself a superhero, too. In pink! My siblings and I would run around the backyard yelling "Star One...Star Four!" and with our makeshift capes conquered our world right there in Ladislawa Village, Davao City.  Star Four always saved the day.  MY Star Four.  That was if my two sisters didn't get dibs on pinky.

Today I blog about a different kind of superhero, one who has super powers, yes, a lot of it, but not so much to fight the regular bad guys but are here to raise, restore, rejuvenate and make you ROFL during times when all you want to do is ROFD. (D for dying and no, not from laughing either.)  On this blog post, I'd like to shine a bright light on them, just like Batman's big, bright bat-signal in the sky!  I'm hiding them behind superhero names because, obviously, they need to protect their superhero identities. :) Ginormous super thank yous go to my Wruddy who set the tone from her Day 13. I'm giving her the biggest compliment by making her gaya-gaya.
So, ladies and gents, without further ado, a roll call of my Superheroes, Part 1. Because there are many and it needs at least three, four, five parts to cover them all!

Superhero Numero Uno: Let's call my first super friend SheeMa. Derived from Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, who is the female counterpart of Tarzan. Sheena has ability to communicate with wild animals and learned how to survive and live in the jungle. SheeMa is the same way, though not so much talk with animals (though maybe in secret she speaks with the butterflies in her garden?) but communicates with so much God-centered proficiency with her (wild)young and with her (wild)friends.  She cares for them/us with the fierce protection a wild mama tiger gives her cubs, thus, you guessed it, the Ma in SheeMa. She has a way of getting her point across, always blunt and brutally frank, but always with so much motherly/sisterly love that the sting is quickly forgotten. Sheena an expert in fighting with knives, spears, and bows, and improvised with makeshift weapons. SheeMa is the same way but with scissors, glue guns, knitting needles and kitchen gadgets i.e. KitchenAid blenders, George Foreman grills and automatic can openers.  SheeMa and I have come a long way, a very long way back since university school days. Her fierce love and loyalty for her friends and family is some kind of super power that continues to save me and others. “God knows best so rest easy, Chiqui!” is the best power line SheeMa has passed on to me. For that I am forever grateful. I love you, SheeMa.

Superhero Numero Dos: This one is definitely Cat Woman(CW) all the way. My shero #2 is a NewYorker through and true. Yes, she loves, nay, adores cats.  She once had three of her own.  She is as sly and sleek and sexy as a feline and has that cold persona on the outset. But, unlike the famous Cat Woman character who is cold and menacing, my CW, on the other hand all warmth and juiciness and will ply you with pawing affection, adoration and full acceptance. You know in your heart that CW will never, ever judge you. I was very lucky to have come across the path of this muse of mine during a time when my own battery pack was so low, almost empty. She pumped me with kick-ass knowledge on the art of writing, something we both love, and a sense of shut-the-front-door demeanor towards the nay-sayers in my life. The high-octane Nu Yawker sauciness and biatchiness she possesses reawakened my own sense of Me-ness. No, not meanness that self-assuredness is sometimes mistaken for. This super shero is misunderstood, alright. But, hey, guess what. She doesn't give a flying fizz!. That's her number one superpower. “You care about other people's opinion too much and you'll lose yourself, Kat.  Do you!” she reminds me all the time. For that I am grateful. I love you, Cat Woman.

Superhero Numero Tres: This one's male.  A feminine male because, yup, he's gay. Happy AND gay. Let's call him Leafy Fly, a play on his real name Life's way too serious already and I appreciate it when witty waffling with some wonder friends happens.  There's no lack of witty banter with this wonderful winged creature. This one is quite special because he was able to somehow unlock the superpowers in me that I thought were a goner! He got me performing and singing again and in such a super powerful way, too. Opera, mama. Opera!  He is an amazing singer/performer and never fails to make your heart and soul take flight when he sings.  He can also be quite catty, just like Cat Woman and will not hesitate to put you in your place with a quick swat of his tongue.  If you make the sorry mistake of showing lack of groundedness, a misplaced whininess or lack of grace, you get that slap in a short string of snappy words and you are put to right faster than you can say Superfly!  LeafyFly is super loving, too. Endowed with a very sensitive heart, he can connect and empathize with you in just one flap of his powerful wings.  “You have so much love and light in you, Chiqui. Use this to touch and elevate other people's lives; use this to elevate your life and fly high!” are his words. For that I am grateful. I love you, LeafyFly.

On the next round of Superfriend features, I shall continue with three more  heroes in my life. Their pseudonyms: The Challenger, Major Reeses Pieces, and Victorious Venus!

Until then, be a super friend!  You're a super hero, to one or to many.

Know it or not, you are, you are!  
           Love your superfriend on the page,  Chiqui*Kat                                                               
     

 


[Note: Leafy Fly is a drawing of Leafy Nexi Fly adoptable taken from Abigale94 of DeviantArt


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