Spot the Differences: A Tale of Two Cities

 My unheralded arrival brought on the onset of good rain in northern California, welcomed not only by its humanity but also its flora parched dry by many months of drought.  Shimmering fall leaves teamed up with the rain, racing to the ground for tenancy.  The brownish hillsides are beginning to color themselves the hue of green.  The nippy temperatures have suddenly become bearable, save for the occasional gusts of breezes that push the thermostat down. 

By some stroke of design, the rain has stayed away during my jogging sessions at the park, visited only by occasional colder breezes.

TV news people have been quite unanimous in their positive assessment of the rains, interrupted only by occasional accidents caused by hydroplaning in the many freeways around the state.

So over all, all’s well in the world and California.

Then yesterday, social media configured for local news in the homeland burst forth with news of heavy rain in the hometown, Cagayan de Oro City.  Initial reports shouted good news too, since the place too had been dry for quite a well, though not yet in drought mode.

But it did not take long for the tables to turn.  Ominous news of flooding in the usual areas.  Brownouts in the city.  Leaky rooftops in both homes and public places like malls.  Antsy citizens stranded in different parts of the city.  Commuters either unable to find their way home, or needing instructions on which routes to take to avoid floods, etc.   All making a citizenry quite harangued and harried. 

So over all, all is not well with the world.

For us old Cagayanons our outlook about our hometown has by default been long-term. Since we were born, raised, educated, and worked in it, we are inclined to consider the long-term repercussions of things happening in the place.

But no such predispositions can be expected not only with current city officials, but maybe even those who do business here.Their main concerns are with the here and now. Government yearns for more taxes, businesses for more profits. This myopic vision has brought us to where we are now.

The concept of being a true Cagayanon as defined in the past is now largely in the minds of a few old Cagayanons. Thus the overriding identity of the place has been lost, saved for the artifacts that remain, like old streets, buildings, celebrations, etc