GOD is now a member of the grammar police as He edits His followers’ “Thanks God” to “Thanks, God” and “Thank God,” leaving Him with no time to grant their prayers.
Here’s one: Thanks God the typhoon is in Luzon.
First of all, that should be, Thank God the typhoon is in Luzon. The “Thank” should have no “s.” Or this: Thanks, God, the typhoon is in Luzon. There should be a comma before and after “God.”
Second of all, please don’t thank God for putting the typhoon in Luzon. Imagine Luzon residents saying, Thank God the typhoon is in Cagayan de Oro, not in Luzon. Surely the Cagayanon won’t be happy to hear that.
The Pinoy is known for his “Bahala na ang Diyos.” Let go and let God. That’s where he gets his resilience.
But that doesn’t make religion as a safe topic to discuss at a fiesta. The debate will only help the buffet morph from yummy to bum tummy.
Wait, a fiesta is celebrated in honor of a patron saint, making religion as the most unavoidable topic at a fiesta. Hmmm.
Faith is perhaps a safe topic since you can always have faith in yourself if you’re an atheist.
Faith in yourself, respecting yourself, loving yourself. “You can’t pour from an empty cup,” as the saying goes. This doesn’t mean that you’ll now eat like there’s no tomorrow so you won’t be an empty cup. Haha.
Talking with God is a coping mechanism for those who believe in Him.
Others probably chat with Meta AI and chatGPT. Which can also be a coping mechanism. Like writing, reading, spring cleaning, eating, shopping, gyming, watching movies.
Movies are tricky, though. A horror movie is definitely not my idea of a coping mechanism.
And there are movies that seem to love destroying Manhattan, like “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”
On the other hand, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” is now filming in Manhattan and we’re guessing the Big Apple, the City That Never Sleeps, will stay intact this time since this movie is about fashion and not villains who want to destroy Manhattan. Although Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) could be considered a villain in the life of Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway).
I remember, once upon a time, when there was an explosion in Tribeca. This was before 9/11, so, naturally the New Yorker wasn’t used to such unusual nerve-racking sounds yet. Apparently, a movie crew and cast were shooting a scene at a gas station which was specially built for that particular scene. That movie was “Zoolander” which was released in 2001 shortly after 9/11.
Manhattan’s streets are usually busy with tourists slowly walking around, and with casts, crews, and star trailers of movies and TV series, the nonchalant New Yorker has learned to avoid them as he rushes around the city.
Manhattan is for the young ones and the young at heart. The New Yorker who has reached a certain age will probably prefer living in the suburbs where the pace is slower, with the retired Pinoy even moving back home to Pinas.
