I beckon to beguile again

my mother trying to stab my father with a kicthen utility knife from a 99 cent store.

I remember now that this anger had its roots years ago. I may still have been in school. my dad was alone in the philippines, either attending someones funeral or someone's one year death anniversary when the immediate family is required to wash in the river, signaling the end of black clothing and the ending of mourning, or maybe it was someone's wedding. my mom was calling him everyday to make sure he wasn't cavorting with some young thing, and I remember trying to calm her over the phone, she said she was so angry she could murder him, she asked me what she should do because so much anger wasn't good for her already high blood pressure. I told her to write a letter or keep a journal, which she did, I don't remember if this helped or just convinced her further of the righteousness of her murderous impulses.

While I was in the philippines this last spring, during the campaign speech of an incumbent senator, the photogenic young politician claimed that Ilocana women--his wife being from this province--are the most beautiful women in the country but don't get them angry because they are also the fiercest. Everyone laughed because they knew this to be true.