Richard

Richard is one of the waiters in M.'s cafe. M. brought him here all the way from his hometown in Bicol last year. He has proven to be industrious and most reliable, functioning as chef and cafe manager when necessary. Wanting to make the most of his being in Metro Manila, he applied for several second jobs. He landed one as a bag boy in a supermarket at BGC, for which he bought himself a motorbike. I allow him to use my parking space on the compound, since I do not have a car. He rises early at dawn, cooks the day's food, goes to his second job, and, when he comes back, does the night shift. Sometimes he has only two hours' sleep at night. There was a time when he ran a fever and was unwilling to rest. I asked him if he'd been taking medication for his fever--he said yes, but somehow I felt that he hadn't been.

Whenever I go to M.'s cafe I make it a point to see how Richard is.

Then I sit at my computer and reflect on how easy my life has been, all the time from when I was employed through my retirement. I think of how many Richards there are in this world, and how the world progresses because of them.