on aquariums, jose mari chan, and memories

there is a fish shop near our place. i see it on my way to fair price whenever i buy groceries. i know deep inside that i would never want to maintain an aquarium. first, i'm not really crazy about fishes... although i have to admit that it's very relaxing to just stare at a pretty aquarium - with all the green plants and bubbles and lid-less fishes and their very smooth moves. second, i don't like the fishy smell. :) as simple as that.

i saw jose mari chan on asap earlier today. i think he never looked a year older. same smile, same cool voice, same smiling, chinky eyes. same old him, except his hair has gone thinner. but he's still the same charming man with the charming voice.

what's with aquariums and jose mari chan? these are stuff i so associate with my papa.

when i was young, my papa had this gigantic aquarium complete with the oxygen setup and all. there were gold fishes - those were all i could remember. i'm not certain if there were other kinds of fishes but i'm sure there were gold fishes. he would feed them everyday, and most likely on a weekend, he would change the water. it was a long process, but he did it anyway. i didn't have this "fishy" passion that he had. it seems it was only looks that we shared. :)

my papa was also very fond of listening to jmc's music. there weren't cds back then, only casette tapes that had lyrics on the covers. i remember i would sing along to constant change (i love constant change!), can't we start over again, sing me a song again, daddy, pls be careful with my heart, christmas in our hearts. soothing songs. :) i would listen to whatever i could find at his racks so somehow, i learned to love his music (and music itself :)).

aquariums and jmc... they just stirred up in me good memories of my father. i know he was not the perfect father and he may not be someone i would wish my kids would refer to as, "when i grow up i want to be like my grandfather". nah. but he's my papa, he may have had a lot of mistakes but who didn't, and who doesn't? i would rather dwell on the happy memories with him. :) on the tidbits that made up his papa-ness...

Have we outgrown our Peter Pans and wings?
We've simply grown too old for tales of knights and kings
'Cause life's a constant change
And nothing stays the same, oh no

-constant change (a senti song i must say ;))