What's the Scoop?

Without doubt, a single taste of ice cream can brighten up the day of any person. We all love to eat ice cream, not just on a hot summer day, but in any time of the year. However, ice cream alone should not be solely credited for the happiness it brings to people. This time, it is right to express gratitude to the people behind the existence of a delightful ice cream for working hard in making and selling it. More than that, every person has their own version and interpretation of what it means to be a hero. In the present times, heroes need not to be the stereotypical physically capable and strong. Any ordinary person can become courageous in the eyes of other people and a plain ice cream vendor will surely qualify. Our version of a hero is the one who can bring countless of delightful ice creams to people who are feeling down. Our version of a hero is the one who continues to smile to the customers despite having personal struggles and problems.

With this, let us examine an example of a modern-day hero through the life of Ricardo, an ice cream vendor in Paoay. Ricardo does not only sell ice cream, but carried along with his products are struggles, life lessons, and happiness he had experience.

On his life and struggles

Ricardo is a native of Ormoc. He was still 15 years old when he decided to apply for a regular paying job. Fate had it; he was accepted by Julie’s as a baker. However, the job, which was located in the northern part of the Philippines, Paoay, Ilocos Norte, required him to be away from his hometown. Still young, he decided to chase the dream of a better life and accepted the fate’s challenge. He had to face alone the hardships of staying in a place that was far and unfamiliar from what he was used to. The burdens he had experience included homesickness, language barriers, and differences between regional cultures.

The beautiful thing amidst those was that in this place far away from home, he met his wife who also worked in the said bakeshop as a cashier. Undoubtedly, you can say that was proof that there is always a rainbow after the rain. Later on, Ricardo transferred to another job, hoping for a more promising salary. He became a carpenter. Little did he know that being one was a mismatch as he’s allergic to cement. It was the turning point of his search for careers and decided to be a small-scale businessman. As of this time, he already had two precious children which required him to double his effort in generating income in order to support his family. He wanted a business that was fit for the needs and preferences of the people in Paoay. He had observed the scorching heat in Paoay and the consistent inflow of people because of tourism. With these ideas in mind, he decided to sell ice cream. From then until now, it has already been 15 years that his ice cream business sustained his family’s daily living. His products boast of assorted native flavors from fruits abundant in the Philippine islands, including avocado, dragon fruit, buko (coconut) and many others. These variations depend on the scheduled flavors of the day.

In maintaining this business, Ricardo has had his fair share of hardships. Among these difficulties were lack of customers, challenge concerning the availability of ingredients, and the increase of prices of general commodities.

In addition, Ricardo was also in the process of winning his spouse’s family’s favour. Her father, even from the very start of their relationship, did not approve of it. Looking at life in the long term, and inspired by other modern day heroes, he fought and won all the hardships. Even though problems never ever stopped pouring in, Ricardo became more confident in beating them all. He concentrated on the positives and what would make him and his family move forward.

He focused on the fact that tourists like the local flavors of his ice-cream and the homemade touch that was evident in every cone. He situated his business across St. Agustin Church, which, if you think about it, kills two birds with one stone. Situated near the church, he can pray and reflect every day while at the same time, take advantage of the non-stop arrival of tourists wanting to witness the religious infrastructure that remained strong through-out centuries. In his spot, he already witnessed thousands of people come and go – people like him exploring the unfamiliar– and heard unique stories shared by people passing by.

On his views of Rizal

Ricardo has very high regards of the Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal. He thinks Rizal is extraordinary through his acts of kindness, patriotism and selflessness. According to Ricardo, even if Rizal’s acts were unsolicited, he didn’t even think twice of helping those in need. He admires Rizal’s sense of direction as it was different from the people he usually encounters. Rizal’s direction was for the country and was deemed to be exceptional because not everyone would have that in mind. His sacrificial death should be a legend and something we Filipinos should be extremely thankful of.

However, Ricardo is disappointed by how we, fellow countrymen, forget the extent of his martyrdom. Ricardo’s beliefs are aligned with Rizal’s vision and optimism on the Filipino people, especially, the youth. He believes in the fact that every young mind will develop into something bigger, wiser and more open to the differences of people. That is why he does not regard Rizal’s famous words “Ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan” as false. Other traits of Rizal that Ricardo admires are the facts that he was willing to immerse himself with the masses, live their lives, know their stories and educate the non-educated. He was close to the masses, and had the heart to be with them. For Ricardo, all Rizal did was for our freedom, and he appreciates this heroic act.

Given the chance to talk to Rizal, Ricardo would thank him and tell him that all his efforts did not come to waste. He would tell him that the Philippines may be poor now, but the youth will bring a positive and drastic change towards progress. Ricardo would surely express his gratitude to Rizal for his strong crusade to educate the poor Filipinos way back his time as it brought positive changes now. The Filipino people are no longer ignorant, no longer afraid of the foreigners and have their own organized systems.

According to Ricardo, he and Rizal, has very similar life stories; they both conquered the unknown and travelled unfamiliar lands to further their lives and the lives of their loved ones, they both took problems as challenges instead of being hindrances, they both took advantage of several unforeseen circumstances around them and lastly, they used wit, future-thinking and continuous self-reflection.

#hero