Snippets of thought and poems from "Shifting Shades & In-betweens", by Chito L. Aguilar. Don your stereo headsets for a contemplative AV experience that may lull you to sleep or give you chimes that you can keep.
He is the last on our class roster, Zan being the family name. But he
is certainly not the least, especially in terms of preserving Stags
memories. He kept our class pictures, archived in perfect condition,
through the years, through rain-and-storm.
And yes, his beginning
years were beset by rain-and-storm. He relates how hard his early life
had been, being the only child of a struggling mother who singly
supported him. He had to sacrifice his way through medical school,
never succumbing to distractions along the way.
His trials made
him strong. He made it to the medical profession when he passed the
board exams, take-one. He became a doctor, The only medical doctor
among the full-fledged 4B Stags.
After practicing his profession
abroad for years, this Stag doctor has finally decided to go back to
Daraga, Albay in early 'retirement'. He came back to his roots just
recently from a globe-trotting experience where he had much opportunity
to hone his medical skills, practicing medicine in many countries in
Europe, USA and Asia.
Joel is not only a doctor. He is a registered nurse, too.
Today,
he holds a free medical clinic every Wednesday at the Ladies of Charity
(Albay Cathedral) and visits remote barrios in Legazpi and Daraga on
medical missions (he has no political ambition). He says it is time to
give back blessings by way of making his free medical services
accessible to the destitute. He also entertains requests for
prescriptions even via cellphones, for the not-so-critical patients.
At
52, Joel appears to have retained his bright outlook in life and
manifests a keen extrovert attitude; not surprising, perhaps due to his
profession and innate character. Indeed, this first cousin of David
Achacon returns home, not really to retire from his profession, but to
serve more of our tribe, for free! In these times when the medical
profession has been equated with commercialism, Dr. Joel T. Zan stands
out among other doctors.
He wholeheartedly volunteered to host
our pre-reunion meeting at his residence last week. We had a great time
as this Stag doctor treated us to a sumptuous snack of
"pinangat-Camalig" noodles and bread (just perfect for the now
health-conscious Stags). He recounted his experiences abroad and we
chorused in hearty laughter especially when the "private" revelations
were the topic. (Babet says, "malindukun...")
He is single ("daraga", he says) and will remain to be single (but not celibate).
I
remember Joel then, during his early years as a doctor, when we would
meet at nursing schools which invited us both as series-seminar
speakers. He would lecture on the medical side and I would tackle the
engineering/management side. When we lectured flipside, the participants
became flip. Stags tandem well, I suppose.
Today, Joel has
gone full circle. He is back in Ilawod, Daraga; still speaking with the
usual Daragueña accent, never influenced by the foreign twang of
international tongues of the various countries he visited. He prefers
to spend his sunset years in Daraga, his hometown.
