ESTRANGED COUPLE

This is a story about Ayswoter. Yes, ice-water. That doesn’t sound like a name of a wife or a husband, isn’t it? It simply is, the popular name of refrigerated water in a plastic wrapper usually sold for 1 peso each. It is called ice-water because it is supposed to be nearly frozen. That was when it was still a novel idea. But nowadays, as long as it’s cold enough to quench one’s thirst, it’s ayswoter.

Whoever invented that thing must have had convenience and affordability in mind. A bottle of softdrink or mineral water would probably be a raid already on a poor man’s pocket. Ayswoter then is the masa’s alternative drink. And it’s quite convenient, you don’t have to hold a bottle in your hands. It is also very easy to prepare. You only have to buy ice wrapper, pour in clean water, refrigerate, and you have your product. It can be consumed quickly, too. Just needs a little prick on its surface.

It was the “official drink” of every Welgang Bayan during martial law years. Today, ayswoter continues to be the favorite of marathon runners, racing cyclists, and the ordinary passengers of buses and jeepneys plying long distance routes. It seems to have become part of the Filipino mass culture. We see it in most places where people dwell; in bus terminals, beaches, public markets, and many other places. At the rate our people are consuming it, the cellophane industry must be raking profits. Good for the economy, in the neo-liberal capitalist sense of the word. Good business, that is.

But look again. Where in the bus terminals, beaches, or public markets do we usually see the image of the ayswoter? The answer to this question outweighs all the benefits that our society gets out of this ayswoter phenomenon. That answer is, outside the trash can. We usually find countless ayswoter wrappers in public places; particularly on the streets, canals, and alleyways. Indeed, it has become the number one pollutant in our community. Or better still, I should say, the culprit is the ayswoter mentality; the ayswoter consciousness--never mind if it pollutes as long as it is cheap, convenient and good for business; drink today and suffer tomorrow. Our previous experiences in the Coastal Clean Up Drive, and more so in the latest one we had, yielded more convincing proofs that we, as a people, have not yet imbibed the basics of a pro-environment lifestyle.

Let not this piece be added to the long list of lip service advocacies. I already have countless weaknesses in my personal lifestyle; and I dare not point out the mote in my fellow Boholanos’ eyes. But in this case, I practise what I preach. I don’t throw any garbage just anywhere. Hey bro, sis, try to find a trash can! That is where the ayswoter plastic wrapper properly belongs.

Let us reunite this estranged couple, Ms. Trash Can and Mr. Ayswoter Wrapper; they have not been seeing eye-to-eye for a long time. This is not a short story after all.