Donnie Boy: An Interesting Story
Nov.27, 2005: Manila Philippines
Camera: Olympus E-1, Olympus Zuiko 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Digital: 1/125s f/3.5 at 54.0mm iso400
I've know Donnie (everyone calls him 'Donnie Boy') for the past few years in Metro Manila, and I took the portrait above at the local coffee shop we both frequent.
Say what you will about his appearance (he's just woken up in the afternoon from sleeping on the street when I took his picture, and looked like he'd just rolled out from under a rock) - he's a local street hustler hawking taxis for tourists outside a nightclub, and he's pretty much destitute & dirt-poor, but I always buy him lunch & dinner when I see him, as he somehow managed to fix my badly sprained ankle I hurt in a fall on Dec.2, 2005 in Manila.
On Dec.2nd, a few days after this image was taken, I went to take Rosa & Edison to a baseball game at Rizal Stadium, and fell when I missed a step exiting the abandoned building they were living in - I went down hard & thought I'd broken the ankle; it swelled up like a football, and I couldn't walk without a cane for the next 2 weeks. (I didn't want to disappoint the kids & their Auntie, so I DID manage to get us all to the game - I just couldn't walk after the 7th inning)
(more below)
Later that day at the coffee shop, Donnie comes over & sees me trying to walk with the cane (I was in a lot of pain & was struggling) - he's obvoiusly upset & asks me what happened...after I tell him the story, he tells me he's going to take care of my leg (???)
He leaves the coffee shop for a few minutes, and the locals are now telling me he knows something about fixing broken bones, deep tissue therapy & kinesiology, etc. and that I should trust him with my ankle.
All I wanted to do was to sit down & get off my leg, as the swelling was increasing along with the pain; all the broken blood vessels made for a nasty looking bruise too.
...Donnie returns with a piece of ginger he went & bought himself, and then looks at the ankle and gently trys to see how much flexion it has (it had a limited range of up-down/side-to-side motion) and he declared it not broken, but very badly sprained.
With his hands he started to work the fluid up & out of the ankle to try to bring the swelling down, and then sliced the ginger root he got for me & roasted it on the street grill the coffee shop had - taking a few big slices which were very hot, and wrapped them on top of my ankle in a cloth bandana (the hot ginger actually felt pretty good on the ankle)
He tells me to leave the hot ginger wrap on the ankle for a few hours, and then he gets me an empty Coke bottle, puts it on the ground, and tells me to keep my range of motion by rolling the bottom of my foot up & down, over the bottle for excercise.....he tells me 20 minutes of that excercise, and don't cheat!
Long story short, I'd let Donnie work on my ankle every day at the coffee shop, and the swelling really did start to go down a bit, along with the pain after a few days - but I did have to continue using the cane to walk (that got a little easier too).....Donnie really did heal my ankle up pretty good, and I'd tip him out P150 for his "physical therapy", and it's my pleasure to get him his dinners & eat with him at the streetside coffee shop when I see him - he likes only very simple meals of Rice & soup, and maybe a stick of BBQ, and nothing more than that - and he's never tried to "order the entire menu because PJ's paying for it"
He's a stand-up guy where it concerns me, and I now affectionally call him my 'Local Witch Doctor'.
Thanks for reading today,
PJAMES
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I just returned from 6 weeks visiting the Philippines and visiting with people living there. I found their spirit, generally speaking, just as you have described Donnie's.
Hi Tom,
You're exactly right - the people there are really wonderfull & helpfull.
Many times while out in rural areas on morning walks, I've come accross many locals who see me & invite me into their homes for coffee & breakfast, etc.
The hospitality of the local people & even total strangers is amazing.
Regards,
PJAMES