Talking cock
January 3, 2009
I grew up around chickens. I don’t mean the cowards, I’m referring to Col. Sanders’ favorite pet, the one with feathers and go clucking at the first sign of trouble.
My father was a hobbyist breeder and very passionate about roosters, so much that he refused to eat any of the chicken that we brought home from cockfights (hey, each battle has its spoils, some get women or gold but we got dressed and muscled cocks instead). Since my father’s fighting cocks were quite good, every Sunday was a feast since we always get Tinolang manok for dinner aside from the two liters of Coke. Growing up poor, those things were a luxury.
Mornings and afternoons were torture. I was assigned the task of feeding the cocks and the hens at 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the dot. Failure to do so earned me a licking. All the cocks insisted on being the top dog of the coop and fight whoever (dog, cat, me) entered that godforsaken, turd-infested (they’re not called fowl for nothing) box. The hostility magnified during breeding period when the cock was all juiced up from pent-up horniness, like the Tasmanian Devil on crack, and any shin or leg was fair game.
And man, you couldn’t believe how some cocks got Kung Fu down pat. If you were lucky, you get only a few welts or scratches but there were cases when my leg was pockmarked by sharp talons and beaks. Though we weren’t really told to not kick or pummel them to death, it was common understanding that a boy always runs away when confronted by a cock. That maxim holds true on both literal and figurative sense. Unless the boy likes cocks and that’s just gay.
As a kid, I did my assignment begrudgingly. I wasn’t passionate about chickens. In fact, I thought the only thing they were good for was when they were covered in barbeque sauce. But when I discovered gambling, cockfighting opened a whole new world for me. Good thing my father was such a sport about his sons gambling. My father was never a heavy gambler. I think he gets more kick of his cocks winning only because it’s a testament to his methods; just like how gambling was a testament to my madness.
It took me years to rid that vice but last New Year’s Day, I went to my first cockfight in years. All the usual suspects were there, the Kristos, bookies, wasted bums, liquors, the adrenaline rush, and even the enterprising man who rents out the metal spurs (also called gaffes or tari in visayan) for a few pesos, and it’s like I never left. It’s amazing how they put up the cockpit that fast when it was just a few months back when authorities raided the placed and booked a few gamblers.
My father brought along one gamecock. So in keeping with the new year, I wagered P500. I thought that was just enough to scratch a nagging itch but not too much to nag at my conscience for falling off the wagon. As luck would have it, the fight was a draw. I wouldn’t have mind losing the money, anything but a draw. I got my P500 back but I was still pissed off. When I handed that money to my father, I already written that off as a lost asset since I learned a long time ago that adopting that mindset helped take the sting off losing. To scratch another itch, the P500 never had a chance. We spent it all on food.
Search
Monthly Archives
Sponsored Links
Tag Cloud
Who is me?
I am.
Flesh and spirit intertwined,
Out of the outflow of blood,
Through the protruding veins
And arteries,
Out of my organs and tissues
Traversing and crisscrossing,
Out of the brittle bones
And hurting sinews,
Out of my wavering nerves,
Out of my senses and perceptions,
Out of my prejudices, opinions, beliefs,
Philosophies, moods, eccentricities,
And identities,
Out of my bedroom door,
To the century-old tree
That hovers above me,
Out of my affiliations, relations,
Affairs, mistakes, triumphs, attentions,
And forced smiles,
Out of my religion and
The mother that bore me,
Out of the reluctant body that carry me,
Out of my flesh,
I am.
Diaphanous.
An eye,
Seeing nothing.
Encompassing everything.
Latest Items
Most Popular
- M2M (2496)
- Hotlegs (1322)
- Melissa (1130)
- My mistress and me (1042)
- Sakal, tingali, ambot nimo (1038)
- I’m back (from somewhere) (1029)
- suntoy (1021)
- Cigarro (1004)
- Crazy Jun (911)
- Bitoy’s funniest (902)
- Silent movie (881)
- Luckiest Bitch (837)
- New begginings (828)
- Dracula, 28 weeks later (813)
- Tuesday (788)
- The thin red line (780)
- Batman (769)
- Holy Crap (766)
- Noodle (766)
- Hello, how are you? (760)
Hulagway
Pablo's Playground
Latest Comments
- christian: Christian Louboutin is very successful...
- WestERICKA: When you are in the...
- jj: hahaha....... just wondering if you...
- Guy Lorenzo Lao: don't bring weapons in drinking...
- Arvin: I am not a resident...
- joan: isuga sa dakung tawo oi..hehe...
- adobobo: Ouch. Naigo lagi ko. Haha....
- sterndal: the mere fact that richard...
- Jayclops: And at 27, I dunno...
- Jayclops: ako pud iinvyt ko ha....
Kolokabildo
- watch pacquiao Vs margarito:
Blogging upcoming fight “Pacquiao Vs Margarito.
- DAM 999 Movie:
Nice blog.
sharing a blog of upcoming movie DAM 999.
- Latest Movies Online:
Just Dropping By. Keep it up blogger. Just Sharing my Latest Movies Online Blog.
- Mayweather vs Pacquiao:
Mayweather vs Pacquiao Fight, News and Updates
- joan:
hay magdugo man akong ilong ug basa dre oi..hehe
- a2i3s:
hi, blogwalking here
- meloi:
hmmm. ikaw bah.
- Jayclops:
uy great! sunod sunod iyang posts. hehehe.
- cheska:
hey pablo! it’s been a while…just droppin by…
- liza:
visiting your home… hope to see you too.
- a simple life:
blog hop! see you around.
- monette:
xchange links.,?xur.,!!finished adding you na.,ehe.,pls add me din.,thnx.,tc.,
- monette:
hello there…mind if we exchange links.,??tnx.,.
- flipt:
hi there… mind if we exchange links?? ^____^
- Aimee:
I was here…
- 99:
I was here. I read ‘My mistress and me’. Such a nice post. Don’t know and not good enough to give comment, but just took the feeling of writers, those are trying to struggle their lives in that way.
- sweet:
Happy Halloween!!!!
- TEETH:
UH IM HERE NA IN DAVAO RIGHT HAHAHA
- fye:
hi! i’m sure my mcdreamy pulled it off despite the 80 stereotype.i don’t sound like an unmoved fan, do i? hehe. i’m betting u hopped fr jay’s blog? tnx 4 d comment.
- bisdak:
hopping by.wish u have a good day there..see u around






