I just realized that it’s nearly graduation season again, and that the Seniors are getting ready to say their goodbyes. A year ago, when I first saw what an LSGH graduation was like, I was in tears. Not out of sentimentality for the young men who stood facing the future in front of them, but because a great man who should have been with us, beaming with pride for the graduates, was not there.
There aren’t too many people in this world that I can say have been great influences in my life, but nearly all of them have been my teachers. Let me see, in grade school there was Mrs. Gisala and Mrs. Tejano, in high school there was Mrs. Orga, in college there were so many: Prof. De Leon, Dr. Almazar, Prof. Orillos, Dr. Koo, Dr. Ignacio, Prof. Alonzo, Dr. Sicat, and Prof. Aureus. And then, once I became a teacher myself, there was Sir Danny.
Mr. Danilo Antonil was one of those LSGH characters whom everybody knew for many different reasons. If you google his name, you’ll find many references to his famous “Sixty five!” To the students, he was the dread, the bane, the terror. To the teachers, he was the most honorable and most admirable man you can turn to. To me, he was Mentor, Guardian, and Father. I never felt more capable, more gifted, and more confident than when he was around. He would say in his usual nonchalant way, “I want you to come with us, because if you’re there, we will win.” “No problem, kayang-kaya ni ---- yan.” And from him I’ve learned some of the greatest lessons that are needed in this profession. “Never lower your standards just because other people can’t meet them. Base your expectations on what you expect of your own capability as long as you equip them with the means to do so.” That came from him. How I wish he could see the debaters we have now – it was his dream to rebuild the Debate Team again, and I did it because it was all for him. How many times he defended me from those who’d put me down, I wasn’t able to count. He was exactly the person I needed at a time when I needed him most. It was more than luck that I happened to be under his wing for a year – it was a gift. Somewhere in the past I must have done something good and noble to deserve Sir Danny.
And then he left. Just like that. He fell asleep and slept forever. To this day, I cannot think of him without having a sudden lump at the back of my throat, and burning tears behind my eyes. Losing a father must be very close to what I felt when I lost him.
Now, another set of Seniors will take the stage and make their goodbyes – another year has passed. I remember Sir Danny as if at anytime he’d come through the door, ask for me and say, “Ikaw na ang bahala dito. No problem sa ‘yo yan.” After a year without him, I can only hope that somehow, in some small way, I’d done him proud.
(posted elsewhere 24 Feb 2006))
There aren’t too many people in this world that I can say have been great influences in my life, but nearly all of them have been my teachers. Let me see, in grade school there was Mrs. Gisala and Mrs. Tejano, in high school there was Mrs. Orga, in college there were so many: Prof. De Leon, Dr. Almazar, Prof. Orillos, Dr. Koo, Dr. Ignacio, Prof. Alonzo, Dr. Sicat, and Prof. Aureus. And then, once I became a teacher myself, there was Sir Danny.
Mr. Danilo Antonil was one of those LSGH characters whom everybody knew for many different reasons. If you google his name, you’ll find many references to his famous “Sixty five!” To the students, he was the dread, the bane, the terror. To the teachers, he was the most honorable and most admirable man you can turn to. To me, he was Mentor, Guardian, and Father. I never felt more capable, more gifted, and more confident than when he was around. He would say in his usual nonchalant way, “I want you to come with us, because if you’re there, we will win.” “No problem, kayang-kaya ni ---- yan.” And from him I’ve learned some of the greatest lessons that are needed in this profession. “Never lower your standards just because other people can’t meet them. Base your expectations on what you expect of your own capability as long as you equip them with the means to do so.” That came from him. How I wish he could see the debaters we have now – it was his dream to rebuild the Debate Team again, and I did it because it was all for him. How many times he defended me from those who’d put me down, I wasn’t able to count. He was exactly the person I needed at a time when I needed him most. It was more than luck that I happened to be under his wing for a year – it was a gift. Somewhere in the past I must have done something good and noble to deserve Sir Danny.
And then he left. Just like that. He fell asleep and slept forever. To this day, I cannot think of him without having a sudden lump at the back of my throat, and burning tears behind my eyes. Losing a father must be very close to what I felt when I lost him.
Now, another set of Seniors will take the stage and make their goodbyes – another year has passed. I remember Sir Danny as if at anytime he’d come through the door, ask for me and say, “Ikaw na ang bahala dito. No problem sa ‘yo yan.” After a year without him, I can only hope that somehow, in some small way, I’d done him proud.
(posted elsewhere 24 Feb 2006))
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