Social Science 101

For days after Cory's death, I was glued to the TV watching the wake, interviews and news stories that came out on GMA's unconscionably extravagant dinner shortly after Cory's passing. It felt like the end of an era and it affected me more than I thought it would.

Little did I know that it would also present an opportunity to teach the kids about our country's not too distant past. I started with who Cory was, explaining that she once was the President of the Philippines. And because the documentaries showed pictures of Ninoy and his funeral procession, I also had to explain to the kids that Cory was Ninoy's wife, that Ninoy was killed by Marcos' soldiers, and that Marcos tried to cheat in the elections that led to people marching in the streets to protest giving rise to People Power.

It also led to these amusing exchanges -

B: What happened to Ninoy?

M: He was killed by Marcos' soldiers.

B: How?

M: He was shot.

B: Where?

M: In the airport where his airplane landed.

B: In Ninoy Aquino International Airport?!

_______

H: Is Marcos bad?

M: Yes... but he wasn't always bad. He was good, but he did not follow the rules (hoping that this could be a "teaching moment" for obedience which we are working on these days), until he forgot the rules, and then he did not know right from wrong.

H: Don't call him Marcos - call him "Bad"

B: Call him "Baddie"!

Weeks later, the boys were excitedly telling us how they would fight and punish the bad people. Until they turned to us and asked -

B: How are bad people made?

H: They also come from heaven (perhaps remembering my comment from a few weeks ago that bad people, even Marcos were born good).

B: No, the devil makes them in hell.

H: Is there snow in hell?

M: I don't know.

B: Marcos would know!

__________

And then when we were watching clips of Cory's speech before the US Congress, Baz noticed the US flag and asked me if she was the President of the Philippines or of the US. When I answered that she was the President of the Philippines, he asked "but why is there an American flag behind her?" I then told him that she delivered a speech before the US Congress. Of course, a flood of questions came:

B: What is Congress?

M: It's the body that makes laws.

B: What are laws?

M: Laws are rules made by the government.

B: What is the government?

I don't recall exactly how I answered or how this exchange ended. I distinctly remember thinking that his questions are not normally asked by 6-year olds, but Baz is not quite the ordinary 6-year old, and these weren't ordinary times.

Cory! Ko-wee! Kowee!

Cory Aquino's death on August 1 gave us the opportunity for a little history lesson with the boys. As we watched the news coverage of her funeral arrangements and the tributes to this great woman, we were able to explain to the boys that, when their Mommy and Daddy were teenagers in 1986, Cory Aquino became President after "People Power." We told them that Cory's husband was Ninoy Aquino, and that the bad people killed him when he arrived at the airport because they didn't want him to be President. Baz immediately made the name connection, and asked, "Did that happen in NAIA?" Apparently, he remembers that the "NA" in "NAIA" stands for "Ninoy Aquino."

I saw Cory's cortege when it passed through Makati, and Malou went to stand on South Superhighway on the day of the funeral procession. Today it was the boys' turn.

First they made their own expressions of tribute, on paper. Hadrien made a "yellow flag," with the note "Hadrien loves Cory."



Baz made a Philippine flag, on the reverse of which he wrote a note saying,

"Dear President Cory,
Thank you for being a good President.
Love,Baz."



Then we taped them to chopstick "flagpoles."

Off we went to 25 Times St., the Aquino residence in Quezon City which has apparently become a historical site (it has an NHI marker). Ten minutes after we got there, a white SUV pulls up, and Noynoy Aquino comes out and mingles with the crowd on the way into the house - I guess he still lives there. Nice guy - he posed with the kids and Malou, took the time to shake a lot of hands, accept words of condolence, and - when Hadrien offered it - even read Hadrien's flag/note.





There was a nice lady there who gave packs of Hershey's Kisses to Noynoy, and afterwards she explained that she works for Hershey's, that Kisses were Cory's favorite, and that she'd deliver them to the Times St. residence. Touching story indeed, but the nice twist to the tale was that, finding the two mokongs so cute, she gave them a pack of Kisses each. Of course I'll have to scrutinize the chocolates since they came from a stranger, and taste test most of the pack.



We stuck the boys' flags to the gate with the permission of one of the bantay, all of whom were very nice and genuinely pleased to see this outpouring for Cory.








Baz took pictures of his own, and the results were pretty interesting. Good eye Baz!






Mabuhay si Cory! Or, as Hadrien says, "Kowee! Kowee!" Yes, the two boys know how to flash the "Laban" sign!