UNSCATHED

UNSCATHED

Bagets Forever

It was at the snobbish Podium in Ortigas where I finally relented to the call of my subconscious- I am bagets forever. That afternoon amidst the sea of men and women whose collective waistline range from 32-36, a crooner with visibly receding hairline, serenaded the not-so- young- audience and brought them to an era where spray net and stone-washed jeans governed the fashion scene. " I need you back, I need you here beside me..." how come this line suddenly found a new meaning? every word has become profound and almost divine. I looked around and nostalgia suddenly guzzled the place capturing the heart and soul of the supercilious crowd.

To the wi-fi generation, this scene is so uncool.

I wanted to write about it a couple of months ago, but I was waiting for that push that will rouse me to cascade my sentiments. Never mind if I become squishy. Let me begin by confessing that I have an autographed album of Raymond Lauchengco. Yes! and it is incessantly playing in my car stereo making my traffic-laden days never the same again.

I was in Junior High when this definitive mammoth film fueled our desire to let go of our inhibitions, contextualized our heartaches, and ushered us from naive kids to empowered (so we thought) teenagers. As the self-proclaimed leader of my gang, we suddenly sported our individual "bagets" look-- multi-colored shirt underneath our school uniform, spiked hair, and a cool rubber shoes (better in red or yellow). We also felt so cool with our BMX bike and having one meant scoring some points with the girls. I remember trying hard to copy JC Bonin the most cono in the group.

A couple of Sundays ago over Ricky Lo's show at chanel 7, a reunion of Bagets star was held. Honestyly I never consider myself old (physically) but seeing the stars of Bagets on TV, I suddenly realized that reality check must be done. It did not help that I had a new haircut that day, and my stylist recommended that the encroaching white hair must be concealed through color application (I did not use the ubiquitous Begin though) Never mind if my cabinet is now an extension of Mercury with tablets of all colors, health supplements, and personal care items. Taking a special nook is a hair grower (formulated by a client) promising to restore back to life my once silky and shiny hair. It is funny that one will only discover that he/she is ageing when meeting (actually counting their wrinkles and second- guessing their weights and waistline) old friends and folks. In my case, seeing the stars of my juvenile years only confirmed that I need to put on garage sale my padded jackets and tons of casette tapes I accumulated through the years(except those of Duran Duran and Hiroshima).

I will be bagets forever because I grew up in a era where relationship was built on long talks and house parties. Where we managed to communicate more intimately even if we had no cellphones and emails. I may go bald, and my tummy would probably explode with too much cholesterol, but I will be bagets forever. Raymond Launchengco will always be cool, and I would continuously play the anthems of my youth- new wave music. It is also difficult to skip Michael Jackson for I learned to "moonwalk" because of his "Beat It', and I find it still thrilling to listen to "Thriller"

I could almost hear my nieces saying ..yuck!

But I am not affected because my dream to be the next JC Bonnin has already materialized--we are now both fat and balding.