Names Above Houses

Manong Jose Discusses How the Boy and His Strangeness Grew into His Name

75 Manong Jose Discusses How the Boy and His Strangeness Grew into His Name To say that the boy was touched is one thing. And people say it often. So it becomes many things. For example, a plant with an exceptional flower becomes a tiger lily. Fidelito was like that. The world around him was veiled; sadness hung from the rooftops, the weather vanes. He was many things and many different directions such as life gives. Think of the name one is given as a road. A couple driving down the road gets lost and knocks on a cottage door. A man with a terrible temper answers, holding a glass of wine. He is curt and the couple fear him, though he offers a glass of wine to each as part of the fineness of things. And so it goes, getting lost—history forever improvising. ...