"Music to the Days is like... like the air fresherner is to the D Room. It's not it, but the it is not quite it without it. You don't go to the D Room because of the fragrance, but
without its fragrance the D Room does not feel quite the same. Music adds that extra quality to the Days' activities. Thousands of dazers out there will listen to these songs with stomach-cramping nostalgia. Some of the songs will
inspire a dream, some will haunt the mind, all will tease the memory and touch the heart. Listening to them, many a Dazer will close his eyes and allow himself to be transported to those evenings at the Days,
enchanted, unforgettable evenings, rich in experiences that leave a sweet-smelling, indelible mark in the soul."
- The late Fr. Mena, S.J.
I borrowed my brother's days cd. I didn't listen to it, I knew all the songs by heart. I was just browsing through the cd booklet when I saw what Fr. Mena had to say in the end.
I'm sure Fr. Mena would be a stranger to most people, except to the icans and xaverians who listen to him say mass in school and to those who go to mass at MTQ. He was one of the more famous priests. And last July 14th, I found out that he died after years of fighting cancer. I never really knew him, I was never as close to him as I was to Fr. Leon (who's now retired in Ateneo, btw). Though this is the case, I still feel a certain sense of sadness.
Fr. Mena's right, what he said above was right. It may only be understood by dazers, but still, he nailed it, what most people try to describe but never quite seem to do correctly. At least not as accurate as this. I still remember how I strived to hold on to my own days memories, trying to keep them as vivid as possible, trying to hold on to the whole weekend itself. So much that I got tired. Not of going to the weekends and singing to the dazers, but of the longing. Most first times are special because everything else that follows won't be able to compare to the first. I doubt you would still experience the days high the 2nd time. There are things that can happen only once in your life, things that created such a big change in you, you don't want to let go. I don't know when I stopped longing and I don't really want to know. But after reading Fr. Mena's message, here I am again.
I looked for the palanca Ven gave me, I signed it. The first palanca I signed in.. I don't know. It made me think of how long I have really been.. "away". And though I was ashamed at first because I haven't done it in such a long time, I was able to recreate the D Room. I locked the door, closed the lights, sprayed glade (it really is different without the scent), closed my eyes and talked. To Kuya. I've forgotten how good it feels to be able to say everything and know that you are still loved, not less, but even more than before.
Fr. Mena, I hope you know that you're still capable of doing what you did your whole life. May you rest in peace.
