Free Ice Cream

Store owner gives out free ice cream during blackout. Modified detail from an original photo by KC Cruz, GMA News TV.

News back home of power lines going down after being hit by strong winds from a passing typhoon.  Came quickly the dread of rising waters reminiscent of the terrifying floods from last year.  The number of fatalities continues to rise, 23 as of last count, among them a mother and child crushed by a falling tree and a man taken away by rushing river waters.  Darkness and the feeling of complete loss of power.

We also had a few hours of power failure last night, made us remember how terrible Cape winter can be for those who struggle outside without proper shelter, let alone heating.

Then this morning I chanced upon a photograph of a store owner back home who was giving away free ice cream.  It was no use keeping it when there was no electricity.  So he was giving it away.  The original photo is by KC Cruz, and it appears at the GMA News TV site.  Click the artsified image to get to it (if it is still there).

I think this small act of kindness is worth noticing.

About matangmanok

Jim Pascual Agustin writes and translates poetry. Sometimes he tries his hand at essays and stories. His latest book is BLOODRED DRAGONFLIES, published by Deep South in South Africa. Check out the official blog page for Bloodred Dragonflies. In 2011 the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House in Manila released BAHA-BAHAGDANG KARUPUKAN (poems in Filipino) and ALIEN TO ANY SKIN (poems in English). The same publisher released his most recent poetry collections SOUND BEFORE WATER and KALMOT NG PUSA SA TAGILIRAN. In 2015 a new poetry collection in English, A THOUSAND EYES was released. His first collection of short stories in Filipino, SANGA SA BASANG LUPA, was released in 2016. UK publisher The Onslaught Press launches his poetry collection, WINGS OF SMOKE, worldwide in February 2017. San Anselmo Publications released HOW TO MAKE A SALAGUBANG HELICOPTER & OTHER POEMS in 2019 followed by CROCODILES IN BELFAST & OTHER POEMS in 2020 - both books can be purchased through their Facebook page. View all posts by matangmanok

2 responses to “Free Ice Cream

Leave a comment