Viva Sto. Niño! Pit Señor!

Sto. Niño.  The faithful.  Beautiful.  This is my compact description of the multitude that flocked to the Sto. Niño Pilgrim Center for nine days.  Braving bad weather for the first novena-mass at 4am up to the last service at 7pm, devotees from the pediatric to the geriatric crowd shoulder-to-shoulder to fulfill vows, ask favors or just simply pay homage and respect to the Child Jesus.

The gozos never fails to give me goose bumps, seeing the congregation waving their hands to the Sto. Niño, with the expectation of fulfillment of things asked from Him.  Yes, not all favors are granted, most likely, we were just not too convincing.  Solution?  Pray harder.

It is only fitting that the feast of the Holy Child Jesus is celebrated at the start of the year.  With child-like confidence and trust, we face the challenge of the year with renewed faith, hope and determination in our daily struggles. 

We could have taken this for granted, but every day we wake up is already a miracle, the miracle of life.  We’re still blessed that we have clothes on our backs, roofs above our heads, food on our tables, the gift of family and acquaintance.  Let us all thank the Sto. Niño that He has given us today and ask His guidance so that we can prepare for tomorrow.  Share, even just a little to those who have less in life.  Believe me, the feeling is sublime when you knew that someone was truly happy with your small act of compassion.

Kanamo malooy ka unta, nga kanimo nangilaba.  Always, always, inspite of weakness, falls and shortcomings of every kind, Sto. Niño help us.

***

It was in the mid 90s that I came across NBA cards.  I had no idea these cardboards existed and was just surprised that my son Emil, still in pre-school, was making kulit to me about Michael Jordan and Grant Hill, that he needs to have “bisan common lang” as his classmates already have upgraded and had gone to specials and inserts.

Did some searching and found a shop (Keri-ol) at SM selling some packs and bought maybe two or three packs.  No MJ, no Grant. More packs and a few boxes.  Long story short, Emil lost interest and I got involved, discovered Courtside and some more shops and the expenses started.  At least I’m thankful that my wife Denise has never shown disapproval.  Maybe not yet.  Fast forward to today and still I’m into it, although not as passionate and hardcore as other types who are willing to spend upwards of P25,000 for a card signed by MJ, LeBron or Kobe.

I do have a modest collection but it pales in comparison to these ultra hobbyist whose haul can buy themselves a high-end vehicle or get them a brand new house and lot.

It was maybe two or three years ago that I noticed that the Cebu card hobby has resurrected and has gained new following.  Some collectors I knew during the 90s are into other stuff and had disposed most of their collections.  Some are still into it, although more on the buying and selling side.  Hello Olin Stern, Odi Stern and Nato Stern.  Well, they likewise call me Bobby Stern, and why not.  This part of the planet, we are all NBA commissioners.

So what are these things?  To the uninitiated, sports cards, NBA in particular, are action photos of athletes printed on a 2½ x 3½ in. special cardboards with their stats printed at the back.  Back then, Fleer, Topps and Upper Deck were the most popular brands and I suppose they still are.

Values on these cards depend on several factors – an athlete’s playing career, the card’s condition and the availability of the card.  The more popular players have rarer cards, usually they have limited print runs so collectors naturally chase the items, contributing to the scarcity and high value.

If ever you plan to join the hobby, decide what you are going to collect – whether it is by individual player, by team or by set, its your choice.  Cebu collectors have their own network and usually it is where we get our stuff.  And yes you can get in touch with the Stern guys mentioned above.  There’s a toy store at the Maze, Ayala Center that sells these cards and other collectibles.  I still have to discover some other shops as I had just recently rekindled my interest, when I found my given-up-for-lost memorabilia cards.

Next week, the language that card collectors use.

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