#Johnny

Hubby and I stayed up late last night to watch JOHNNY: The Juan Ponce Enrile story on ABS-CBN. JPE's life is very interesting, I always thought he was born rich because he is a mestizo. JPE grew up poor, was taunted a bastard (he had a different father from the siblings he grew up with), was stabbed by guys over a lady, became a guerilla during the war and was tortured by the Japanese. After the war, his father found him and JPE said all he asked from his father is a "good education." I also did not know until now that Armida Siguion Reyna is his half-sister.

Of course the story gets a a little "hazy" during the Martial Law years because, well, I just don't know. I was a wee child when Ninoy was assassinated and I vaguely remember the Ninoy Fever. To me, anything related to Marcos seemed "bad". So I found it hard to shake off doubts when JPE absolved himself of any wrongdoing during the Martial Law.

I digress: curiously, the documentary made me miss my lolos - I wish I knew their stories. My paternal grandpa was the more talkative one but he died when I was only 9. My maternal died when I was 18, but he stayed mostly in the barrio and was quiet when he had a stroke. I will never forget though that he taught me and my brother the cha-cha while we were scrubbing our sala floors with a bunot. Our elders, especially those who lived through the war, have fascinating stories to tell and I regret not hearing my grandparents' versions.