788 replies to this topic

[Macman]

Hey, PT, I knew you were a racing aficionado, but it never occurred to me that you might travel to the States for it. My older son lives in Saratoga Springs, and my ex-wife lives in a nearby town. When I go back for a visit next May, that's where I'll probably stay. By the way, my younger son, who lives in Westchester County, is still without power.

Macman

[Macman]

If anything about this country gets to me, it's the poverty. There are huge homes here, surrounded by huts that house families. Some of them are without bathrooms, evidenced by the fact that the occupants bathe discreetly with water from basins in front of their abodes.

The other day, my caddie called me. He may have had to borrow money for the call. I say that because he often can't return my texts because he has no load in his phone. I could tell that he was very nervous. It seems that his 10-year-old son was crying because he couldn't complete a school project because it required some things he didn't have. My caddie asked me if I could advance him 800 PHP. I know some people might be reminded of the "sick buffalo at home" thing, but I don't think so in this case. He's a nice guy. He said, "My son is everything to me," and I believe him. He kept apologizing to me for asking. I had to caution him to tell no one about it; not the other caddies or the club members. I know that their reaction would be very negative ("You're spoiling them." "You're setting a bad precedent." "You'll never get it back." etc.) First of all, I don't want it back, and secondly, we're talking about $19 U.S. FFS, these guys are rich by any standards and in any country (business owners, politicians, et al), and yet I have to slip my caddie a tip surreptitiously so as not to rile my playing partners. I do understand the concept of spoiling the locals; the Korean managers of this club were paying the caddies 1,000 PHP for 18 holes when they or their guests played when the standard fee is 300 PHP. That created a situation in which then caddies only wanted to work for the Koreans, and caused some bitterness on all sides. In my case, we are only playing 9 holes. The caddie gets 150 PHP, and I give him 20 pesos (50 pesos when we play 18 holes). THAT'S 48 FRIGGIN' CENTS U.S. for God's sake. One of my playing partners gives his caddie of 25 years 30 pesos for 18 holes, nothing for 9. Oh, well, I'm the Ugly American. Sue me.

Macman

[dixon cox]

("You'll never get it back." etc.) First of all, I don't want it back, and secondly, we're talking about $19 U.S.

Only you know for sure the circumstances surrounding this and the guy in question, so it is your call and your call alone to make.

I would have probably done the same thing too. In fact, I do it from time to time so long as the numbers are within reason and it doesn't impact on me. Everybody deserves a chance.

[Macman]

Thanks, DC. I appreciate those comments. I figure that, worst case scenario, I learn a valuable lesson for $19.

Macman

[petesie]

Humanity costs nothing Mac.

The only downside is that once the need yet again arises then the pressure may be on the caddie from his family to ask his boss again, then the sadness will be on you perhaps to say no and this may create a stigma between you...but I'm sure you'll rise above that.

I'd just focus on the pleasure the guy had giving this to his son...from little acorns etc.

[Macman]

Yeah, thanks, Petesie. I thought of that, and kind of dread the day when I might have to turn down a request like that. I hope I haven't opened a Pandora's Box, but I just couldn't say "no" this time. It will be interesting to see if he offers to pay it back. I'm guessing that he won't.

A long time ago, my younger son went with some friends to Mexico. They were whooping it up in some of the border towns. He persuaded his buddies to cut the Mexico part of their trip short, and came back into the States. He told me that he just couldn't enjoy himself because of all the poverty he witnessed. He also brought back a boatload of crap that he purchased from the little street kids, and he dumped some of it on me.

Macman

[Macman]

Ya gotta love The Philippines. After church this evening, Angel felt like eating out, so we went to probably the nicest hotel here. They were piping a Cebu FM radio station into the dining room. Holy cow, I felt like I was in the States 60 years ago; Sinatra, Doris Day, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, Jo Stafford, Guy Mitchell, Rosemary Clooney (George's aunt), Pat Boone, among some others. I'll bet that a lot of the FMs, even those from the USA, probably only heard of half of these singers, if that much. It's an interesting phenomenon. I am constantly hearing people like The Carpenters, The Lettermen, Fra Lippo Lippi being played here. I must say, for an English-speaking foreigner (especially older ones) who would like to live in Southeast Asia, there are a lot of pluses in P.I.

By the way, the dinner was delicious, but I'm beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable being out at certain times. There is a definite crime wave occurring here lately. My friends say that the terrible economic times are spawning it, and they feel it's going to get much worse. At the end of one of it's news stories, the local weekly paper said, "These are but a few of the killings, robberies and hold-ups that have been reported in a period of two months in this city. Some victims don’t even bother to report anymore, preferring to keep mum about their experiences." Oh, great! Here I am, a beacon of pale skin that cries out, "Come and get it." Angel doesn't want me to take my walks any more, but I can't do that. I must admit that I'm a little nervous though.

Macman

[thailover57]

Doesn't sound like much has changed since I was in Cebu 20 years ago for a project. Our group was told that kidnapping foreigners for ransom was one of the more profitable enterprises in the PI. They hired drivers for us who had been trained in evasive driving techniques to get back and forth from the office to the hotel. Meals were spent together at the hotel.

We went to a mall one night and I felt like that beacon you mentioned. At 5'10", I'm not the tallest guy around, but I sure stood out above most of the locals in the mall. Be careful, Mac.

[Macman]

Yeah, thanks, TL. I'll be careful. So far all the crime has been against Filipinos, but I guess it'll migrate to wherever the cash is, and I'm sure they think all foreigners are rich. If we go out at night, I'm going to leave my wallet with my credit and debit cards at home. I'll just carry some money and my Philippine ID (driver's license and ACR card).

Macman

[Macman]

As you can see, thanks to a couple of FMs, I was finally able to get rid of that idiotic "want2cts" moniker. I am now officially "Macman". Thanks, guys.

[Macman]

Just a short update on the growing safety concerns here; our landlord has had some family problems, and is so short of cash that he has asked Angel and me to pay our rent a couple of weeks early for 2 months running. He also hinted that we should alert him a couple of months early if we plan on moving because he doesn't have our 2 months security deposit. If we give him advance notice, we will have to live rent-free to recoup our deposit. So when he springs to have a lock installed on the gate (which has been unlocked since we've been here), and also buys a chain and padlock as added security, I know that the situation is very tense indeed. Also, our local mini-market has always had one security guard with a sidearm. Now there are 2 guards, each equipped with a handgun and 12-gauge shotgun.