Eternity

Philippine sports lost one of its pillars. Veteran sports journalist, columnist and book author Recah Trinidad went to the great beyond at the age of 83. One of the most passionate sports writers, he revolutionized sports writing, especially the lead.

Pure gold! He wrote after three boxers struck gold medals in close interval at the dying hours of the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima. One of them was Onyok Velasco who later won an Olympic silver in Atlanta. But in just two words, Trinidad captured the sigh of relief from the impending slight of frustration of the Filipino people who thought the country would end its campaign goldless. The Philippines may have not or may never dominate the medal standings in the quadrennial games, especially the gold medal column, but it went home without gold only once, at the 1974 Tehran edition.

When Lydia de Vega won gold in a dramatic comeback in the Southeast Asian Games in 1991, Trinidad wrote the nation took back into its loving arms the track heroine. Or words to that effect. It captured how the country welcomed back its sprint queen after being sidelined by motherhood. At the same time, it castigated those who doubted her, only to realize she’d run faster when lowly or slowly regarded. You win, you’re owned. You lose, you’re on your own.

Indeed, powerful words and phrases linger longer beyond lifetime of the source. But it is not the only way to immortality. José Marti, a Cuban poet, intellectual and philosopher wrote that everyone should plant a tree, raise a child, and write a book. These all live on after life, insuring a measure of immortality.

Such wisdom. Classic, but maybe not timeless. For today, planting a tree may not guarantee longevity, the greedy cuts it even before maturity. Writing a book may have been rendered obsolete by a disinterested market. The Harry Potter phenomenon brought kids back to reading, until social media changed everything.

The new generation is not into reading anymore, they’d rather watch short visuals and reels than read multi-paginated words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs that would have tested their imagination. Today, words must be illustrated and graphic. Otherwise, readers lose interest and comprehension, whichever comes first, or was there any to begin with. Maybe raising a child will do the trick. After two generations though, no one knows their great grandparents. That said, the rich and the powerful, especially the plunderers, should temper their obsession for intergenerational wealth, the future generation does not even look back and honor their ancestors.