A tribute to Brother Felix Mason FSC

I just heard the news from Manila that our one and only beloved "pogiman" Bro. Felix has just passed away. If there is anything that would closely resemble a collective memory for each one of my contemporaries in DLSZ, he would have been it. He would call us down to his office whenever our birthday would come up, and he would give all of us a "stampita" of a specific saint or image with relevance to our birth month.

The beauty of this uniform gesture is... despite the fact that everyone gets called in, he always manages to keep each encounter specific, warm and genuine. Thats the kind of man Bro. Felix was. During my trips to his office, he would tell me about his time growing up in San Leandro, California and how he'd play pelota (a racquetsport like jai-alai) with his fellow wine-country lads. He was kind of like a happy version of John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath.

His presence was both public and personal... he was a steady outpost of warmth and sincerity in the midst of the socially-charged, cold, cliquish, conformist atmosphere that permeated high school.

In fact, truth be told, I probably wouldn't be able to receive the kind of quality education from zobel if not for him - because my mom appealed for leniency through him because at that time, they were strict on age requirements and residence requirements... i think it was a strong matter of policy wherein first priority would be given to residents of AAV... think of it as early affirmative action in a local context - it was just before my batch wherein they started to accept more and more village outsiders.

Anyway... to Bro. Felix - thank you for all the memories... we will miss you dearly... but we'll be happy knowing that you'll be up there in the great vineyard in the sky... enjoying the vino in between your epic pelota matches with your bigger family.