My best friend has
become an elitist

Dear Tita,

My best friend since high school and college was Lito. We grew up in the same neighborhood and were inseparable during our teenage years. We would often sleep in each other’s houses as we were close to each other’s parents. When Lito was being bullied by the rough boys in school, I always defended him as I had taken up taekwondo and I could fight well. When his father died, I was there for him and comforted him in his grief. I knew his widowed mother was hard up so I often lent him clothes and shoes, including pocket money. My mother would often invite him to eat in our house as he loved her cooking. In short, Lito was the brother I never had.

After we finished our college course, Lito and I went our separate ways. I went to Iloilo to stay with my uncle and work in his office. When I came back to Bacolod, I immediately looked for my best friend as I missed him very much. I was surprised to learn that Lito had gotten married to an only daughter of a rich businessman. I asked for his address from our friends and went to find him. It was great to see him again after all these years and he invited me to dinner at their house. All throughout the dinner, Lito kept bragging about how much his new house had cost, his latest-model car and the high-tech gadgets he bought; from his computer to his wide-screen TV. What a big change from the Lito I used to know! Our former gang later told me that ever since he married his rich wife, they had avoided him because he was so “tikalon (boastful).” Lately, he has been urging me to take up golf as it is the only sport he now enjoys. I miss the Lito I used to know. He has become what we used to talk about – an ‘elitista’.

AN OLD BROD

Dear Old Brod,

Such is life. You never know what happens as the world turns. Your old friend Lito got lucky and married a rich wife. The problem is, his sudden wealth has turned his head. The years of deprivation had taken its toll on him. He now feels he has to brag about what he has, not knowing that it would turn off the friends he used to have. I know you don’t want to be close to him the way you used to be. When he realizes you are avoiding him and he asks you about it, you could be honest and tell him the truth. Hopefully, it would jolt him to come to his senses. No one enjoys the company of a ‘tikalon’.

TITA

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