At Powerbooks on February 11, 2012, F Sionil Jose declares that he prefers to limit the questions asked in the Open Forum so he can sign a lot of copies of the books he is selling.
And we all agreed.
I saw my thesis adviser from my university days and was excited to greet her until I actually did and discovered I combined the first name of Lit teacher A and the last name of Lit teacher B and voila, she shakes her head in puzzlement on why I was calling her by not-her-name.
And then I forgot how I managed to recall her actual name or how she managed to tell me who she is
but I remember how I cringed in embarrassment for my amnesia
and felt shame that I did not remember her but that she actually remembers me and what my thesis was
and I went around in circles trying to save my faux pas
but I could not and so told her, sincerely, how it was good to see her again (am not sure if she could say the same to me) and honored her space by making an exit.
I also witnessed Dr. Margie Holmes express her respect and adoration for F Sionil Jose
and saw I.R. Cruz smile in amusement at Dr. Holmes' candid confession.
F Sionil Jose's daughter offered a seat to me and I also discovered that it was her first time attending a book launch of her father's.
I lined up with mostly old men and women and a few younger women and men (local and foreign) to have our book copies signed (I was carrying a copy of his Gleanings of a Life in Literature) and wondered the standard profile of F Sionil Jose's fans/readers
while an older friend instructs me to stop lining up and eat the free food instead.
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