How It Feels To Be In the “Pre-Departure Area” Of Your Life

Yesterday I talked with this 74-year old man, Mang Bert (not real name). He dresses smartly in sleeveless t-shirt and Nike shoes, and looked rather young for his years, appearing more like 62. Our conversation was pleasant although the circumstances under which we had it were not as much – I was there to buy many of the equipment that used to be part of their school before they decided to close it.

I recall formally receiving their school's administrator into the association of private tertiary schools (in my capacity as association president) of Sorsogon province barely 3 years ago. They held such promise and pizzazz at the time. I felt kinda sad for this turn of events.

Mang Bert told me quite matter-of-factly the story of their school. He and his wife spent many years living in California. They have 2 kids, both already settled. They partnered with one of their children, shelling out 2M pesos apiece, for a total 4M to establish a school that offered only 2 courses: Caregiver and Practical Nursing. The amount did not include building construction since they found it economical to simply rent one.

Mang Bert brushed aside anymore technical analysis of the closure by giving 2 compendious reasons for the untimely demise: (1) that operating a school was not within his area of competence; and (2) that the administrator they got had mismanaged the affair. Period.

I was discombobulated to think that 4M pesos was lost in a span of barely 3 years in an attempt to put up a school with nary a capital expenditure going to real estate property. I thought deeply about my own journey into founding an academic tertiary institution which will, this coming August, celebrate its 20th anniversary.

I had managed to establish a school step by step; slow by slow; small by small. This year is the first time in 20 years we will no longer be renting space for any of our campuses. We have no bank loans. We have great staff. And we have an even greater company culture.

A wise man once told me that a school is for making a legacy. It is not for making an income source that will sustain life comfortably. He said it succinctly, thus: the 1st generation builds it. The 2nd generation grows it. And the 3rd generation reaps it.

Wow. If this holds true, then I’ll have the misfortune of not reaping the fruits out of founding a tertiary school within my lifetime. But as fate would have it, I was dealt a rather good hand, perhaps owing to the momentum of information technology, to which I had based the early years of this institution's course offerings.

As I look at Mang Bert, he impressed me with his and calm and quiet demeanor. He is a pastor by profession and is perhaps still ministering to some of his members in the near-by areas. To me he appears to be a person in contentment, and as I tried to pry and ponder on why this is so, he told me: "I have 2 kids, both settled; I have manageable health condition at my age; I might go back to the US only to get my cataract treated because it’s cheaper for me there; but I like to stay here where I am more relaxed. You see, I am at the 'pre-departure area' already."

With those words, Mang Bert gave me a hearty laugh. And suddenly I understood why he is willing to “charge to experience” his recent financial debacle. He is a person who appreciates what he has. He is contented. He is willing to move on and pretty much expects to live his life to the fullest. No matter that being in the "pre-departure area" he has more yesterdays than tomorrows.

Mabuhay ka, Mang Bert. Thanks for the lesson.