August
THE Carriedo Waterworks was inaugurated on August 23, 1870. Don Francisco Carriedo, a Spanish engineer and philanthropist, was responsible for the construction of this early water system that supplied water to Manila for more than a century.If you miss water service anytime this month owing to poor weather or poor water delivery and distribution, remember Don Francisco and his pioneering work.
August holds many memories. We have only two national holidays—Ninoy Aquino Day (August 21) and National Heroes’ Day (August 26) but the rest of the month is busy. August is National Lung Month, Sight-Saving Month and National Language Month.
There are special days and weeks. August 1 is Family Planning Day. August 18 is National Seafarers’ Day. We are exiting from Breastfeeding Week. Soon it will be National Hospital Day. Of course National Asthma Week will have its time. The third week is National Coconut Week. Don’t forget Diabetes Week.
On August 23, we remember the heresy at Pugad Lawin. Ninoy Aquino was assassinated on August 21, 1983. The infamous Plaza Miranda bombing took place on August 21, 1971. On the same day in 1901, the US transport Thomas arrived in Manila with 600 teachers. The Jones Law passed on August 29, 1916. The RP-US Mutual Defense was signed on August 30, 1951.
The first atom bomb ever used in war fell on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, followed by a second blast in Nagasaki on August 9. Japan surrendered on August 14. On August 13, 1961, the east-west border was sealed and construction began on the Berlin Wall.
Several notable institutions are observing their anniversaries this month. The Commission on Elections. The Philippine Normal University. The Social Weather Stations. The Supreme Court. The Land Bank of the Philippines. Bank of the Philippine Islands. The Presidential Management Staff. The Bureau of Internal Revenue. The Philippine Independent Church. El Shaddai.
Let’s offer a toast to Bolivia on its national day tomorrow. Keep the glass raised for Switzerland (August 1), Ecuador (August 10), Singapore (August 9), Indonesia (August 17), Malaysia (August 21), India (August 15) and Pakistan (August 16). We have just marked 40 years of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Yo, Elvis Presley died on August 16. Get out those costumes and guitars, guys. Don’t forget your wig, grandpa.
Iraq celebrates
IT was one of the most inspiring and unforgettable moments in sports.
THE intense gunfire that blanketed Baghdad and other parts of Iraq last Sunday was not to kill or maim but to celebrate a national holiday—Iraq’s 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the 2007 Asian Cup in Jakarta.
It was not an easy feat for the Iraqi national football team. The Iraqis could not train on home turf. The first three coaches who were offered the job of organizing the team declined. It was a Brazilian, Jorvan Vieira, who accepted the challenge.
The team was put together under expedient circumstances from all parts of Iraq. The team captain Younis Mahmoud is Turkman. Goalkeeper Noor Sabri is Shiite Arab. Hawar Mulla Mohammed is Kurdish. The others were Sunni Arabs.
It was Iraq’s first. The Saudis were three-time Asian Cup champions.
When the skipper scored the winning goal the stadium erupted. He ran across the field, his teammates behind, before they collapsed in a heap, flushed with their victory. The autonomous Kurdish region celebrated. Iraqi refugees and immigrants from Damascus, Syria, to Dearborn, Michigan honked horns and waved flags.
For a moment there was unity and overpowering pride in the bitterly divided nation. Hard work, patience and team play among the athletes made the victory possible. There’s a lesson there for the rest of the Iraqis.
Right place, wrong dress
CANADIAN Deputy Foreign Minister Leonard Edwards will have an amusing story to tell friends and family when he returns to Ottawa.
He was the only guest to show up Wednesday at the Malacanang state dinner wearing the Barong Tagalog; the rest of the male guests wore suits and ties.
Edwards, like all the foreign ministers and representatives to the Asean ministerial meeting and the Asean regional forum, was provided with a barong, the diaphanous, finely embellished shirt, for the traditional group picture and certain functions.
The state dinner hosted by President Arroyo called for suits and ties, the formal wear for such occasion. Edwards showed up in the elaborately woven barong. He put on a brave face and a wide smile as he greeted hosts and fellow guests. The AFP story added:
“He did not appear to be the happiest man in the room when the group’s photo was taken—and he ended up in the front row.”
Worse things could happen—such as when two or more famous ladies show up at a party wearing the same dress. At the recent Kennedy Center Honors, one of Washington’s biggest nights for celebrities and gorgeous fashion, four women, including First Lady Laura Bush, wore the exact same $8,500 Oscar de la Renta dress. The three guests could only look at each other, but Mrs. Bush took decisive action. She went upstairs and changed.
