Moths & Thunders

We had two uninvited guests last week, three evenings apart. The tropical swallowtail moths that “invaded” the metropolis – from BGC in Taguig to the Makati CBD to Fairview in Quezon City and many areas in between – sought refuge in my neck of the woods San Juan as well.

One large moth – with a wingspan of about six inches, as big as it gets, dark brown with its distinctive vertical white stripes forming a V – found its way to our 19th floor apartment, attracted, I supposed, by the lights. It rested high on the wall close to the ceiling, and it took us about 20 minutes of rambunctious cajoling – in the dark, as we turned off the lights to discourage it from staying – before it was persuaded to seek hospitality elsewhere.

Three nights later, past midnight when “not a creature was stirring, not even the dog,” another moth flew in through the open balcony doors (we are a no-aircon household, so the door opening out to the balcony was not closed), sending my little Yorkie Filemon Jr. scampering for safety under the covers of my helper Margi, rousing everyone in the process. A commotion ensued, but they decided to just turn off the lights and go back to sleep, hoping the moth – a smaller one this time, lighter brown with similar white stripes – would do likewise. By morning, the moth was gone.

I found an article about the “invasion” of the tropical swallowtail moth in philstarl!fe and showed it to my helpers, to quash any thought of their being harbingers of malas (ill fortune) or s (imminent death). I explained, as the article said, that the proliferation of the moths indicated the start of the rainy season, which PAGASA had declared earlier this month. Further, 2025 has so far – since May – recorded the most sightings of this moth, Jade Badon, assistant professor at the UP-Los Baños Institute of Biology told philstarl!fe.

All that explanation, with accompanying photos, I hope had put to rest apprehensions about impending doom. I guess it worked – sort of – because one of my helpers concluded, “Ah, kapag brown OK; pag itim, yan ang may patay (If it’s brown, it’s OK; if it’s black, there will be death).”

I guess that’s about as scientific as it’ll get.

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I’m thrilled that the Oklahoma Thunders got their first NBA championship yesterday, Sunday back in Oklahoma City, on home court at that.

It was a down-to-the-wire nail-biting finals, getting to the seventh game (they last made the NBA finals in 2012). It’s unfortunate that Indiana’s top Pacer was out early in the game with an Achilles injury; you always prefer winning when the playing field (or court, in this case) is even, with both teams and all players at their best. But winning is winning, and the championship, I am sure, is no less sweet for the Thunders after that convincing 103-91 game.

I’ll leave the analysis and dissection of the details to much more competent folks like those in our Sports section. I’m partial to OKC for very un-sports-related reasons. Some years ago, in an office pool, I chose OKC not because it had a stellar line-up or boasted court superstars. I chose Oklahoma because it’s a beautiful place, filled with history and natural wonders but not a state that tourists, particularly Pinoys, put high up on their list of places in the US to visit.

We often read about Oklahoma not for the most positive reasons. It makes the news during hurricane season, as it is visited by around 60 tornados a year. It was also in Oklahoma City in April 1995 when the Alfred Murray Federal Building was bombed, killing 168 people and injuring 680 others. It was the most deadly terrorist attack – until the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks that struck New York, Washington and Philadelphia.

But Oklahoma has many charms. How can you not like a state where the unofficial official state dish is Chicken Fried Steak, which is actually made of beef, breaded and fried. In fact, the Oklahoma Beef Council has a recipe for the “official state Chicken Fried Steak” – go figure.

Less of a conundrum is Fried Onion Burger, with onions – lots of it – used as extender of the beef burger; this started back when beef was expensive and onions were plentiful and cheap. There is also Fried Okra, which looks like nuggets.

Every June, Oklahoma holds the Red Earth Native American Festival that celebrates Native American culture. Oklahoma has 38 Native American tribes, the most of any state in the US, and Native Americans make up about 13 percent of the state’s population.

The iconic Route 66 (iconic at least to those of my Neanderthal generation) passes through Oklahoma, and while it is no longer a major road, it is a place of nostalgia, and offers very beautiful scenery.

Now it is a state that boasts of an NBA champion team, and with its quite youthful roster the Thunders could be hoisting the Larry O’Brien Champions trophy many more times in the years to come.