Remember the Wednesday of two weeks ago? An unremarkable rainy day actually. The only notable thing about it was the continuous three-day rain before, and work being canceled for the afternoon. And the floodwaters, of course.
In a city far from being a stranger to flash floods, this was just another in a very long line. Probably not even worthy of being remembered in the collective consciousness. Well, this one rainy day was memorable for me.
In a way, since I got my present car, I sort of perversely looked forward to the rainy season, and, perhaps subconsciously, hoped for enough rain to cause the floodwaters to rise. And that rainy Wednesday two weeks ago obliged me.
I currently own a little itty-bitty Suzuki Jimny. Yes, it’s spelled without the middle “I,” don’t ask my why. And as soon as I got it, I knew that there was only one name appropriate for it, so I called him “Cricket.” It was my first car that I could really call my own. Truth be told, the reason I ended up with Cricket was because it was the only car within the budget that fit my one requirement – which was that he should be a four-by-four.
Anyway, going back to that Wednesday –
It was a verrry rainy Wednesday morning. And traffic was very bad. No strong winds nor thunder and lightning – just lots and lots of rain. Despite the fact that I left the house at 6:30 in the morning, I got to Makati at about 10 because of the traffic snarls caused by the floods. And as soon as I dropped my brother off at his office, I had to negotiate the traffic going back to my office. Because of the one-way streets, there was only one route to take, which would take me through the flood-prone part of Pasong Tamo Avenue, between the corners of Rufino and dela Costa.
The floodwaters in that stretch of Pasong Tamo had risen to about waist-high. Not Katrina or Milenyo-caliber floods, but plenty bad for a normal workday, especially in the middle of metropolitan Makati. But, because I was driving Cricket, my trusty four-by-four, I laughed off the flood, and Cricket and I dived in.
Cars had pulled over to the sides, and a few were stuck in the middle. Cricket gamely plowed through the water and sheets of it were thrown to the sides as he crawled through. I felt the resistance of the water and shifted to first to be sure of having enough power to get through. It was like he was pulling a car behind him. I felt like Moses parting the waters, and felt an evil kind of laugh bubbling up as I saw the poor saps stuck on the sides. Too bad they didn’t have Cricket! Mwahahahahah!
A truck was ahead of me so I snuck behind him while he cut the waters for me. Which eased the load a lot off Cricket. The thing was, his truck was so slow that, with Cricket’s engine revving, I was in danger of rear-ending him. So, gritting my teeth and patting Cricket’s dash for luck, I heaved the wheel to the right and stepped on the gas anew. I raced passed the truck at an incredible two kilometers per hour. Because of the size of the other vehicle, Cricket’s wave splashed against the cab of the truck and it bounced back towards us. The water was already up to the middle of the doors, but with the reflected wave, the water almost lapped over the hood. I dared not ease off the accelerator otherwise the water would go up the tailpipe.
So I pushed on until I reached the next corner. Luckily, the light was green, and I was immediately able to turn off to dela Costa. I powered away from the water and proceeded to my office. I went on to the parking lot beside my building. Pulling into the lot, the parking attendant leaned out of her little guard station. “Plate number, please?” she asked. I knew that she needed to write it on the ticket she’d be handing to me. But why didn’t she just read it herself?
So I gave her the number, and went to park in a slot. And that was the end of my little Moses and The Red Sea episode. But, apparently, it wasn’t completely over. The following day, I found the front license plate missing from Cricket’s front bumper. Apparently, it was washed away by the water…
I quickly reported it, and I was told to fabricate a temporary plate number until the LTO could give me my replacement license plate. I am currently waiting for my Permit To Use A Temporary Plate or something like that, and in a few weeks I will get the replacement plates.
There are two things I have learned from this: One is that, “Karma applies to all, including smug owners of 4x4 cars,” and, two, “Moses’ car probably didn’t have a license plate in front…” heheheh…
