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Par

19 December 2010

December 18, 2010

In your prayers, please remember:

1. MR. ALEJANDRINO "ALEX" PAR (former AdDU High School Prefect of Discipline & faculty member) who returned to his Creator on December 18, 2010.

The wake is at the St. Peter's Funeral Homes in Panacan. Cremation will be on December 23. Other details will be announced by the family.

The Alumni Office was informed by St. Peter's Funeral Homes that as of 3 p.m. Saturday, December 18th, the body of Mr. Alex Par was still at Brokenshire Hospital. Please call St. Peter's Funeral Homes at telephone (082) 234-6211, for latest information about the wake.

From the Ateneo De Davao Alumni Affairs Office

Ma'am Q had told me belatedly that Sir Alex Par had passed away. As for me, it was Mama who broke the news initially. Sir Par, after enduring bouts of sickness, was finally gone.

So, with this, let me give credit to where it's due. Many people have commented at my voice. Some say I sound like a DJ, a compliment which never fails to make me uncomfortable (only because I despise DJs and their slang English accents which they try to pass off as "normal"). But the way I speak is largely because of constant practice, particularly when I was young.

Mama and I would speak in English at home (I think I'm the only one among my siblings who would do so). But the habit was continued in school and Sir Par was the reason for that. Every lunch time, he would converse with me in English and when I was in the faculty room, scribbling some drawings on my mother's desk, he would drop by the desk and converse with me again in English. And this would happen week in and week out.

Stressful? Yes, initially. I was a Grade 1 student talking to a high school professor, speaking in English, afraid I would embarrass my mom, an English teacher, by pronouncing some words wrong. But the queasy feeling would disappear eventually, especially when, during the flow of conversation, Sir Par would give one of his elusive smiles and walk away, grinning.

I learned an important lesson then. If you want people to listen to you and to be impressed, learn and speak English fluently and that's exactly what I did. During the course of my education, I've tried hard to express myself in English, knowing full well how much power, how much leverage, the language possessed for those who've practiced enough to wield it effectively.

So, it goes without saying that I'm very much a part of this man's legacy. Rest in peace, Sir Par. You deserve it for a job well done.

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