Silver and Old

My wife and I have been dragging our feet for the longest time with regards to obtaining a Senior Card. Despite constant reminders from family and "contemporaries", we just couldn't find time to do it. Especially with all the moving and the settling in that we had to do since arriving in the Philippines more than two months ago.

Until finally on that rainy morning on the first day of June we were ready to do it. Armed with the needed documents and 3 pieces each of 1"x1" photos, we marched triumphantly into the information desk at the Quezon City Hall. We asked the nice guy at the desk where the office for applying for Senior Cards was. He gave us a quick once-over and tactlessly said, "You're applying for a Senior Card just now?" We were too shocked to reply to what we perceived was a rather insulting remark. Was it my silvery hair that prompted that comment? Maybe. But Cynthia was with me and he was obviously referring to both of us. Do we really look THAT old? was the thought that burned in our minds. So flabbergasted were we that we failed to give the reasonable "Better late than never" reply. Or the truth- "We just arrived from the States", or even a more dramatic, "We got caught in the traffic of life's roads" (Natrapik kami sa daan ng buhay). No, we merely smiled and waited for this speak-without-thinking person to point us to where we need to go.

The personnel at the office responsible for issuing Senior Cards were a direct contrast to the Information Desk staff. Ma'am Carmen and Ma'am Leony were both personifications of grace and efficiency. In just about 30 minutes Cynthia and I were holding in our hands our "ticket" to discounts galore and even free movies! Just to give our cards a "road-test" we had lunch at Banapples (not exactly the cheapest restaurant along Katipunan). We were ecstatic that we were given a 20% discount from our total bill! We both concurred that this is something we can get used to.

Now why on earth did we wait this long to get this valuable piece of laminated card? The information desk guy may have a point after all: "You're applying for a Senior Card just now?"