Fr Tchou : A Past Revisited
(with apologies to Mr. Renato Constantino)
November 14, 2008
(note from YLB: extrapolating Morpheus / L. Fishburne’s discussion of the “realness” of things in Matrix One: if something exists only in your memories and you have an increasingly hard time remembering it, does that make it less real? Worse still, if you no longer recall something [although you’re vaguely aware it’s there], does it cease to exist, even as something as ephemeral as an idea? Did it ever exist at all? To those who think I make any sense, this is why I’m writing a 2nd email after Fr Tchou The Man vs Fr Tchou The Image… am still smiling like a Cheshire cat btw after wonderful replies from LovelyStef, KatWoman, rlynA, DocGina, NetSy/ShiWeiWei, teeveejoy, TeacakesEunice, and ZhuangHuiNuo. My cup runneth over! Thanx & YLB misses your emails/msgs Doc Achi Evelyn, QueenHedy, PeggyPatches1 (JerseyGirl) , DocPeggy Patches 2, AteMelA, NurseTess, mev888, nhoymssb, JanetBarrett, Gogo, StewardessTess, BrotherKirby, tagged2004, Christine VisualMix, YoungTang, ddee98, MacTan, AnnieWang, slchanl23, JennChan, rickykopio, VeepCarol, irenechuaco, psang168, KuyaChat, RonaldGwaping, Doc June Tiu, rjdls736, CathyClausen, felitan-co, marilynchingv and maribethwong . Lastly… YoungShi/dsy140/ KuyaDennis.. . U DA MAN!)
TWO of the most important things about the way Fr Tchou conducted his business and indelibly impressed himself on our collective consciousness were the way the completeness with which he involved himself in daily St Jude life, from 730 in the morning, till late dismissal in the afternoon, and the fact that he did it for so long, way before we ever set foot on the main complex (from the nursery annex) to long after our final year in school, a period of at least a decade after we left in 1982.
Early in the morning (well, I can’t be 100% sure since I was a habitual latecomer), he would already be helping direct traffic, overseeing the orderly herding of students towards their areas (not a simple task, as there would be, at any time, at least 2000+ students enroled). The morning for him would usually culminate in a joint effort with Mr Gelido to admonish the tardy students, clipping them with stern warnings and push-ups and pumps for the HSers.
From midmorning to midafternoon, he would be occupied with his rounds, making lagare (walking) through all the corridors and picking off with his eagle-eyes any wayward or peripatetic student distracting and/or disrupting the rest of the class. Usually he would just stare at this student and let the rest of the class know about it, leaving the impression that the unfortunate offender would be a “marked” man / woman as more than the usual Fr Tchou attention would be paid later.
Mealtimes did not escape his scrutiny, as this would be an opportune time for him to spot boisterous behaviour (although his standards were relaxed somewhat, as these would admittedly be breaktimes… even he would need to take a break) and make a mental note of it for reference later. He would famously “salvage” half-finished soda bottles, without bothering with the hygiene issues. This was after all, a Mainland seminarian who must have survived the most brutal pre-Communist conditions on the Eastern Coast of China, and who by the skin of his teeth escaped, with the other members of the Big Three, the 1949 takeover with his life. I think he would have endured anything after that.
Afternoon dismissals were probably the busiest for him, managing the organized chaos of overseeing students into school buses, parked cars, and short walks outside the Malacanang security area. The twin issues of security (from criminal elements) and road safety were his main concerns, and in between he still made mental notes of anything that look out-of-place on hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of chinito and chinita eyes. Those eyes were yours and mine, by the way.
* * * * *
So he was homeland security chief, traffic czar, student shrink /evaluator, and many other roles compressed into a singular burly, marine-buzz- cut, and no-bullshit- today-or- any-other- day (pardon the French) kind of school authority. And guess what? It was EXACTLY the way Msgrs Yang and Tsao, the head teaching staff, the teachers / advisors, and most importantly, the parents, wanted it. The only (feeble) protesters, the ones who didn’t know any better, the ones who didn’t realize it was a shining experiment in combining education and discipline that almost always resulted in successful graduates / citizens…were you and me.
For Fr Tchou (excuse me pls for continuing to refer to him as “Fr”, he will always be that to me) was the fortuitous combination of the actor (or doer) and the moment. He was the product of the times, a tumultuous period of the warring forces of change and tradition, and the willingness and resolve to churn out decent, respectable and law-abiding students in the classic SJCS tradition. Indeed, he probably believed that he was performing the most important task in the world. At that moment, at that time.
In his mind ruled the cultural regime in which parents were minor gods, authority was sacred, and Confucian philosophy made the world go round. Fortunately, his other worldview, that of Catholic teaching, did not conflict with this. His steely conviction to carry these set of beliefs through was the one thing that made him successful for so long.
Incidentally, it is the same thing that makes him larger-than- life for most of us, this batchmate included.
* * * * *
My own “up close and personal” episode with Fr Tchou revealed, of all things, that he could at times compromise. This was, I am confident, not part of his nature as he usually dealt in absolutes. Tandang tanda ko pa Kuya Eddie:
I had been told more than once by the teacher that our unruly “bird’s nest” was becoming disturbingly prominent. No matter, as I could always pat it down with Tancho or if worse came to worse, brave its infernal fumes and wait it out in the little boys’ room come inspection time.
No such luck as even during “tardy time” at Camp Gelido, I already spotted Fr Tchou casting upon me the “evil eye” Napansin nya kaya groovy hair ko? My worst fears were confirmed when, in a lightning raid, he drew me out of a lineup along with Ong Bun Hua Jr (what a name! not even the showbiz writers could come up with that) and, Im not 100%, Francis Tan. As we marched to his office, Bun Hua (an occasional partner in crime) and YLB were already discussing how we were going to be good little boys again if we ever came out of this alive.
Incredibly, while Fr Tchou was giving us the usual sabon about not minding our hair and not being responsible students, we could also observe that he had other things on his mind. More students to investigate, perhaps?
He abruptly decided.
“I give you time, go to the barber and get your haircut.”
We were given a free pass, to leave the school premises (unheard of at the time), and get a hair cut.
No special trimming from Father, no phone call to the folks, and no blackmark on the record. Or maybe the last item was too much to hope for.
Weirder things have happened, I know, but that day Fr Tchou was a strange bird, and did not unsheathe his sabre. Just showed enough of the “big stick” to let us know who was boss.
Needless to say, Bun Hua, Francis and YLB had a grand merienda on Legarda. After our buzz cuts, of course.
Thanks for the memories, Father.