Hearse, dreams and blah, blah, blah...

This is how it's supposed to be!

I was motorcycling along downtown Taytay one afternoon when I saw a slow moving Toyota Innova being followed by a group of people some wearing black dresses and most of them were under their umbrellas, many were in tears. Of course, I instantly knew that this was a funeral procession, but I found it weird and hmmm… inappropriate and, to use stronger words, cheap and disrespectful of the dead to use a minivan to transport their remains to the cemetery.

Call me traditionalist but I am used to seeing big, wide bodied, majestic and powerful black station wagons carrying the departed’s remains. The design and the bodyworks of these vehicles radiate grief, solemnity and the macabre and that’s what makes these vehicles special-they symbolize the dignity and the mystery of death. The mere sight of one of these vehicles instantly invokes in the mind a sense of grief whether they are just passing by or on their way to the cemetery.

When I was a boy I had this weird dream. The back of our house was a rice field (now, its a squatter colony) with ipil-ipil and banana trees and the soft fresh air that blew especially during the afternoons never fail to lull me to sleep. The backdoor was open to let the air in and I was lying on a cot when I saw a big black hearse passing by. I was puzzled because there was no road, not even a dirt road there, just rice field with dikes or pilapil. What scared me most was how the hearse traveled as if it was floating on air, so relaxed, so serene.

Of course, afternoons dreams are vivid especially when one falls asleep without noticing it and the line dividing reality from dream was crossed so smoothly that it becomes difficult to tell. Anyway, I rose from the cot making up my mind if what I saw was real or if it was just a dream.

Anyway...

There is culture surrounding these vehicles and with the slow disappearance (or phase out) of these vehicles, I fear the superstitions and the stories inspired by them would also disappear.

I mean I had experiences of cock-fighters (sabungeros) backing out and going home upon seeing these vehicles. They look upon these big black vehicles as an omen of bad luck. How would these gamblers react when they see a Toyota Innova or Mitsubishi Adventure hearse? I mean these vehicles….I cannot imagine…these vehicles are not ominous; they are harmless and they evoke family, outings, fun, even when these vehicles are painted black.  

Hmmmm....times are really changing.