Tiyoy's Tales: NENE ALICE, THE ELDER BROTHER I NEVER HAD

Every little boy needs an elder brother to look after him, to protect him from bullies, to learn about the facts of life, a buddy perhaps or just plain mentor. I did not have that luxury because i am the eldest son in the family. For all intents and purposes, Nene' was my elder brother. She disciplined me and taught me the ABCs of life. Mama was strict as a teacher but was a softie as a mother. Papa did not spare the rod when the situation demanded but daily discipline of a naughty brat was not his forte. I learned from Nene' valor; to fight even if the odds are not in my favor. Sheer guts and the will to survive in a fight was imbued in me by her in my young age. (Circa 1950, i was 7 yrs old and Nene was 18). I had a cousin named Buloy who was 3 to 4 years older than i was. Of course he was much bigger too. One time i went home crying, Nene found out that Buloy bullied me. She got mad at me for being a sissy with this admonition: "Go back and fight him one-on-one. If you will refuse to fight him, i will beat you up and you have no chance to retaliate and get even. If you will fight him, you can even out-fight him if you are brave enough". I chose to fight Buloy and Nene' even accompanied me to watch how i fought. True enough, i lost the fight but i was able to sneak-in a few good punches too. After the fight was her critique and i felt good i fought a gallant, though losing fight. SCORE ONE FOR MY ELDER BROTHER. Some weeks after that, i was playing with my favorite chick, (Tuod-tuod nga manok Jongjong, ha. Not the chick in your mind). Another cousin, Pedro Juanco, pissed on my chick. Without any celebration, i punched him real hard in the face. We were of the same age but he was fat and bigger. He cried and went home, offering no fight at all. ANOTHER SCORE FOR MY ELDER BROTHER. Her lessons paid-off. Then there was that incident where i got hurt really bad and Nene' was there for me, all the way. I was playing with my pet beetle (Salagubang in tagalog, Labuglabug in ilonggo). I would throw it in the air, it flies away and i would recover it. One hard throw i made and it landed in the property of Nanay Anit Palencia. Of course i wanted my beetle back but i was afraid to pass thru the front gate of Mrs Ford. (Hehehe, we kids were afraid of her. Ma sungit). I did the next best thing, climbed over the fence made of barbed-wire. As luck would have it, i fell from the top of the fence, my right leg getting entangled with the barbed wire. The wound was nasty, skin and flesh were left behind in the barbed wire. The wound was deep and wide and long. (To date, the scar remains as a reminder of my folly as a kid). Nene' was my guardian angel again. Papa was a pharmacist, a profession allied with Doctors, Nurses, etc but he was afraid to see blood, much less to see open wounds like what he saw in my leg. Mama and Nening were there but my elder brother ( Nene' Alice) took control of the whole situation. She applied some 1st aid steps, fetched Tatay Inok Palencia who gave necessary medicines and sutured the wound. (The suture was not done very well. The scar looks like a huge centipede with many legs and a long tail). I remember, she did not even get mad at me, nor play the blame game on me. She was just there to look after me. THANK YOU LORD, FOR ELDER BROTHERS!