Life after retirement

Cesar Gorillo .

LAST April 5, I celebrated my 65th birthday.  I also ended my duty with the Regional Trial Court, Branch 20, as court employees are forceetired at 65. The judges, at 70.

I was forced to stop my column when the Hall of Justice building at Hayes Street got burned three years ago as our Internet connection was never resumed at our new office then at the City Hall’s Tourism Hall and I had to admit, I cannot compose a single sentence at the Internet cafes with all the noise of the Dota players and the loud conversations of those women in skimpy attires calling their future foreign husbands abroad with their exchanges of sexy and flesh-provoking conversations.

Many of my friends such as Atty. Juvy Ind Arubio, Atty. Alejandro Jose Pallugna, Atty. Noel Vedad, Atty. Hernani Bonoan and many more have been asking me what happened to my column and I told them I simply lost my Internet connection and they have been telling me they have been reading it.  Other friends also asked, and I had to give them the same response.

With my retirement, the last thing that I can do is to do nothing that will ultimately bring my brain to oblivion and finally shrink to its own untimely death due to inactivity.  This is the worst thing that can happen to people whose brains have been active and then put a stop to all its deeper functions simply because they have retired from paid job.

I had to hire a new coach for my tennis activity because I had been the object of my opponents who want to extract money from me for bets in many of my losing games.  I had  deteriorated my tennis games simply because of neglect, lack of practice, overwork and the arthritis bothering my knees. It’s not of old age because I can still see people of age like Joe del Fierro, who at 83 years old can still put tennisters like me to shame.  Or Prosecutor Danilo Quilisadio who at 78 years old can still win hundreds in bets in his winning games.

I reviewed the things that I need to do and there are plenty, much plenty than when I was still working like titles I need to transfer, farms I had neglected, house repairs that I put on hold, places that I need to visit and long lost friends that I need to say hello.

But the most important task of all is to resume my column which had informed, entertained and even angered a lot.

Many burning issues of the day have transpired and I had failed to offer my opinion, no matter how insignificant but at least allow the free flow of ideas as a testament that our democracy works in contrast to those opinions of people facing cases simply because they have committed  misdeeds but put the blame on the national leadership whom they accuse of being tyrants.

I can only say hello to all from the Bukidnon plateau!