In Loving Memory of Leonardo Salang aka Tito Bombit

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chewychua/81342037/in/set-1569822/ (I can't seem to upload his picture- taken during mom's grad party where we gave him the loyalty award and where he sang his last concert)


I woke up today to such awful news. Tito Bombit, our childhood driver passed away, at the age of 56 due to pulmonary embolism. He was so many things to us… tutor, sing-a-long partner, mascot… more importantly, he was family. Losing him is like losing a family member, an uncle, who has been with us for 23 years, my whole life really. I can’t imagine family parties without him. He always won our singing contests. The Mijares clan has lost a champion. The final curtain for “Strangers in the Night” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” has fallen.

Memories come flashing back, mostly funny antics about him. He was an engineering graduate, the older brother of mom’s childhood best friend and my second mom Tita Dads. Mom and I were told the same thing by him when we were children “Huwag kayo maglalaro at magsisi-talon pagkatapos kumain, sige kayo magkaka-diabetis kayo!” (Don’t play and jump around right after eating because you’ll get diabetes!”) He meant appendicitis.

I will miss everything about him. The way he found contentment in life. He lived for simple joys. You will always find him humming a happy tune as he hung out in the house. One recent new year we asked him, Tito Bombit what do you want for this year? He said “why would I want to change a thing when life is so good?” He loved good food and feeding him brought a big smile to his face. All he found lacking in his life were his “wedding bells.”

He was like a surrogate dad to us in many ways. When my brother was Grade 1 and was sick, it was Tito Bombit who searched all over the school to find my brother curled up by the staircase of the auditorium because he was too weak to walk. He carried my kuya home. When I was also in my first grade of school, I would hate to arrive late because I was scared the other kids would laugh at me. When my Papa would be to busy to bring me to school, it was Tito Bombit who would hold my hand and carry my huge bag and bring me to the classroom. Once, I refused to go down the car because I was 45minutes late (well it was my fault really I didn’t want to wake up) and I said I wanted to go home. He said ok, but I won’t tell your mom what you decided to do, you have to tell her yourself. At a young age, he taught me honesty and owning up to my decisions. I also remember the time when the earthquake struck when we were in Grade 2, he was the one who picked me up from school. He had a talent of finding me wherever I was when I was a kid. In a sea of children wearing the same uniform, he’d always zoom in and find me. He used to do our homework, when I had big drawing projects, it was him I’d run to for help. He was also our Mr. Fix It, he could repair and build anything. He made our Christmas trees light up beautifully. When I was in high school, apart from asking my mom if I could extend my curfew, I’d have to ask him too if it was ok. If he said I should go home, I did go home with him. He spent a great deal of late nights searching for my sister when she went gallivanting around town with her friends. Precious, my childhood best friend, and all of the Salang kids will truly miss him. He was so kind and generous. He was walking Christmas, the one uncle they could all run to and rely on.

He was truly unique and so were his ideas. Who could ever forget his “national bookstore should have a drive through” and the time when I was annoyed about missing confession and he said why don’t you just confess to me it’s the same thing, if you don’t confess to a priest face to face, you won’t know whether he’s a real priest or not. He said priests should be available for confession over the phone. Or how when you tell him to drive faster because you’re running late, he scolds you and says, “if you got ready earlier then you wouldn’t be late. If I drive faster we’ll get into an accident then you’ll never arrive at your meeting.” And how his shortcuts always take longer than the regular route. And how he’s never lost, the city hall, barangay hall, police station or land mark just disappeared. Or how he toasts and claps for every name mentioned in our yearly thanksgiving prayer because he’s had too much to drink. And how he sets up and lights up our fireworks at home every new year. And how he doesn’t remember street names and addresses but he remembers the place by who lives there…Nikki’s house, Ginny’s, Lala’s, K’s, Marivic’s, even Rica my grade school besty I’ve lost touch with. If you spent one ride with him, you’d have a story about him to tell other people that will last a lifetime. Tita Meng’s Baguio adventure, Carlos’ conversations (laugh when he laughs), K’s bonding time with him… the list goes on.

We’re all crying for his loss. As my sister put it, it’s like the end of an era. My brother (who Tito Bombit drives for now), said I’m holding the cellphone that I’ve always lent Tito Bombit. I always found it funny when he would answer in his funny way. It’s dead right now, the battery gave up last night. I’m crying ‘coz even if I charge this, he will never be on the other line again. Mom feels like she lost a brother, she’s known him since she was five. And I can’t describe how I feel. I just know it hurts that I can’t be there to pay my respects to the one man who’s always been there for us. When the tears stop flowing, I know we will all remember him with smiles and chuckles.

Today, the world has lost a kind soul. These words written here can never be enough to sum up who and what Tito Bombit was in our lives, but it does him justice to know that we love him and that he will sorely be missed and that he will live forever in our hearts. He is now driving off to a new and wonderful world where he will find eternal rest and happiness. (as he always says when we drive on flyovers)... *putputput* Ready for take off ...