The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey by Aesop A Man and his son were once going with their Donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said: "You fools, what is a Donkey for but to ride upon?" So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: "See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides." So the Man ordered his Boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn't gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: "Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along." Well, the Man didn't know what to do, but at last he took his Boy up before him on the Donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The Man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said: "Aren't you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey of yoursu and your hulking son?" The Man and Boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey's feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the Donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the Boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the Donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore-feet being tied together he was drowned.

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"That will teach you," said an old man who had followed them: "Please all, and you will please none." ******************** Our particular episode begins when Cory passed away and inspired a wave of sympathy that was only seen before in Ninoy's own funeral march. The wave was so tidal that it propelled her children, esp. her only son, Noynoy, to the forefront of the political scene. After some days had passed, former Senator Jovito Salonga was reported to have said that a Mar Roxas-Noynoy Aquino tandem should prove to be, politically, a winning combination. On the heels of this pronouncement, columnist William Esposo, known for his column, "As I Wreck This Chair", devoted an entire column saying that ex-Sen. Salonga is not particularly known for his marketing skills. According to Mr Esposo, a Noynoy-Mar tandem, with Noynoy as the presidential candidate, would be more "marketable". For reasons that are obvious to other columnists, like Mar's sluggish ratings in SWS and Pulse Asia Surveys, Mar Roxas announced that he would drop out of the presidential race to give way to Noynoy. After a retreat with the Pink Sisters, and after Cory's 40th day, Noynoy announced his acceptance of the challenge to run for President. Unlike in 1986, however, when every opposition leader gave way to Cory, the present-day oppositionists, who have been campaigning unofficially since everyone can remember, have not given way. Still in the running are Villar, number 1 in all surveys, Escudero, Legarda, and, most outspoken of all, Estrada. The political landscape has been reconfigured, but not that dramatically. So the political 'pundits' (columnists' favorite word, it seems) are back to the drawing board, analyzing why things haven't 'fallen into place', as they did in 1986. Some are even saying that Mar Roxas shouldn't even have prematurely dropped out of the running for president, as he has more political experience than Noynoy. The latter, they say, should have first tried his hand at the vice-presidency, a more logical and more achievable option than his quantum leap from an unremarkable stint as Senator to President. The situation is so fluid that succeeding events may prove to defy logic and good intentions. Noynoy may win--who knows? But as of the moment, Villar seems the favorite, even of the 'ruling party leaders', who are not named. De Castro is mulling over his next step. His decision to run may further muddle the presidential derby. If he doesn't, or if he settles for a lower post, that simplifies matters, at least where the "presidentiables' are concerned. How will the story end? Whose ending will be happy, and whose full of regrets? Will there be an election at all, or will there be a No-El, 5 months after the real Noel? We should not count out the present leadership, who has proven adept at riding the crest of each and every public outcry. However the story ends, I'm sure of only one thing: there's no happy ending for the Filipinos, whose propensity for naive and fairy-tale endings seems to ensure that such endings shall forever elude them. # Copyright Ethel P David 2009