The Man With the Vacant Stare

Walked into our kitchen Thursday morning. Some relatives were still at our home as the guys slept in the back nipa hut, and the ladies slept in my mother-in-law’s bedroom. The aftermath of the big Fiesta that saw almost 300 visitors to “The Compound” was now upon us. Cousin Jimmy, one of the quiet group that I shared some Red Horse with on Wednesday afternoon, and the only person seated at our table that did not drink, entered our kitchen from our rear entrance.

My wife was in the kitchen preparing some coffee. I greeted Jimmy, and he shyly returned my “Good morning.” I remark to Jimmy that I did not see him drinking yesterday. My spouse announces that Jimmy cannot drink because he is taking medication. “OK“, I remark, and let it go. As I excuse myself and go back to our room, my asawa follows me and whispers to me that Jimmy is a schizophrenic and cannot have any alcohol. She says he is the best looking of his brothers, but he had no wife because of his illness.  I told her I was sad to hear that. I myself had been diagnosed many years ago with depression and OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and empathized with her cousin.

I returned to the other room, and Jimmy was quietly sitting on a sofa with a vacant stare on his face. I urged him to come over to the kitchen table and eat. There was plenty of food left over, and Melinda, my wife, was fixing him some rice. He silently shuffled over to the table and sat. I told him we would have some breakfast for him soon, and I again returned to my room and turned on my computer. As I sat waiting for my SmartBro Internet connection to kick in, tears welled up in my eyes. I kept seeing that image of Jimmy sitting on our couch with that vacant, hollow look on his face. I was saddened by his illness that unfortunately is shared by millions across this world. But this was my first encounter of it in the Philippines, and my heart went out to him. I understood his situation as the tears flowed down my face.