my teddy casiño connection

read an article in last sunday's PDI about teddy casiño. which led me to reminisce about my "encounters" with him... (cue elevator music)
i first met teddy when i was in high school and a member of the high school editors' guild (HSEG), and he was president of the college editors' guild (CEGP). even then, he was already a heartthrob. yes, present company guilty. i mean, come on, how could he not be? he was cute, tall, older, and spoke with such confidence and authority. but to be honest, CEGP was (is?) much more militant than HSEG. we were just these pa-cute nerd teenagers who found a way to socialize with like-minded teenagers.
then, many, many years later, came the estrada impeachment trials. and while most people were riveted by the young, bright lawyers on the side of the prosecution, i was mesmerized by teddy. he was a little chubbier, but still as cute as i remember. my dad, the revolutionary at heart, supported my choice of crush, of course. luckily, my sister had a project for social studies, and their group decided to interview teddy. and so, the nice, generous ate that i am, i accompanied them to teddy's house. of course, i didn't expect him to remember me from all those many years ago, but we chatted about common friends from that circle, and he invited me to become active in bayan muna. i fully intended to do so, so we exchanged numbers. however, things just didn't align at all, and however many times he let me know about meetings, i was never able to go. then, on that fateful day when GMA took her oath at the EDSA shrine, there he was--beside his then-girlfriend, who as it turns out, was a schoolmate of mine and active in the movement as well.
about a year and a half later, when i was working for E!, i encountered him again during one of the events we covered. i interviewed him, and this time, he remembered me. well, maybe not my name, but he remembered how we met again because my sister and her classmates had interviewed him.
my opinion of him never wavered. even when, some time after, i read in the newspaper that he had gotten married. i thought that was a beautiful union. if i'm not mistaken, his brother, who's a priest, co-officiated the wedding.
just a few months ago, before the feb. siege (threat?), he was at UP baguio, where he spoke at a forum.
truth be told, i admire him and the many like him who never tire of pakikibaka. i think it's more real to be involved and aware of the struggle of the majority of filipinos who really toil daily to survive. i don't know, maybe i just don't have the political will/courage to live that lifestyle. but i'm glad that there are still many filipinos like them who jolt us to reality and keep us on our toes. otherwise, we would be living our lives of zombie-like existence, working from sun-up to sun-down, caring for no one but ourselves.