“People disagreeing on all just about everything,
Makes you stop and all wonder why
Why only yesterday I saw somebody on the street
Who just couldn’t help but cry
Oh, this ol’ river keeps on rollin’, though
No matter what gets in the way and which way the wind does blow
And as long as it does I’ll just sit here
And watch the river flow. “ – Bob Dylan
Quite easily, it might have been about a tale related to me of a middle-class homeowner further up the block and our subdivision garbage man… And also about their eventful conversation by the house gate. The home owner, just recently wakened, after sleeping off the effects of his graveyard shift the night before, had casually greeted his pal, the garbage guy while the latter piled his already-collected trash neatly unto his motor cart.
“have you watched the senate hearing yesterday?“ he asked. The garbage man replied, “ No, but I pretty much got juicy bit segments of it loudly repeat among drivers by the taxi stand and the security guard posted at the entrance.”
“ It’s also trending on social media. Isn’t that exciting, it’s like 2016 once again and we’re at the threshold once more of something historic.” The home guy, hardly able to contain his excitement, added, “another victory for the common man”.
At that, the garbage guy could only nod politely.
When his route finally reached our house, our friendly neighborhood garbage guy shared the recent brouhaha going about, as casually as if it were ‘chismis’ (gossip), closet Marites that we were. Incidentally through the years, small talk between us two had already been an established ritual, even before the pandemic. Sometimes, I would offer him extra jobs and gave him extra whenever we had plenty of garbage.
Finally I asked, “what’s your take on all these senate hearings? “ With his trademark sheepish smile he said plainly, “what’s it to me? For the most part, it just distracts me from my daily route, kapoy and back-breaking as it is. Nothing has changed for me or us poor folks.“
Perhaps a grain of truth there. “What’s in it for me”, rings loudly like an annoying alarm. If one really looked closely at whatever hearing the political circus dishes out as a whole, without equity in terms of benefits and opportunities, the so-called victory for the common man is just idiotic fantasy.
