BACOLOD CITY — As the ninth leaf of the calendar is peeled off the wall today, so goes beautiful September, the harvest month when the sugar milling season starts and the harvest month, too, of rice and corn and fruiting time like lanzones.

To the Christian world, September, too, is known as the holy month with Sept. 8 as the birth of Virgin Mary, the day of the Cross on the 14th and St. Michael’s Day on the 29th.

In history, we don’t forget the September Massacre when more than 1, 500 royalists were killed from Sept. 2 to 7 in 1792 that capped the French Revolution changing the course of history.

Historic September, the seventh month in the old calendar starting from March, to the ninth month in the new calendar is always close to No. 7 and 9. If the September Massacre happened in 1792, in September 1970, the Black September was formed by the Palestine Liberation Organization when it was driven out of Jordan.

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But despite the black marks, September is still beautiful. A poet described April as his mistress’ face, July is where her eyes are placed, her heart in cold December but her bosom is in September.

Other poets, too, paid tribute to the soft September morn. You have to be in the farm in the mornings of September to appreciate this.

And tributes are given to September, too, in songs.

In the song “September Morn” there’s one line that says “September morn, we danced until the night became a brand new day.”

In the “September Song,” one remembers those “beautiful days in September I spent with you.”

Oh, songs, songs, the beauty of old songs that bring back fading memories of yesterday. Last night our Sunshine Boys were invited to the birthday party of Ms. Loreto Lopez.

Not having gone to school in Negros or in Bacolod, I have no memories of those friends when they were young at the time. What I could gather was my friend Pompey Querubin and the beautiful Loreto Lopez were quite an item in their schooldays.

Today, Pompey looks back at it with nostalgia. True, one seldom marries the man or woman he or she really loves. Psychologists may have an explanation for it. One of them is you are afraid to tell the woman you truly love of your love, fearful of being rejected.

Anyway, my friends may remember that during those times, around the 50s, there was a song, “Lolita Lopez” that goes something like this “Lolita Lopez, the toast of El Salvador, Lolita Lopez the love of a toreador.” And something like “she sweeps you off your feet…Lolita Lopez is sweet…”

Songs and poetry. I enjoy remembering those, especially when we are with our friend Nordy Diploma. Sunday night we had dinner in his house with Toti Ramos, Rene and Celia Depasucat, and an old friend who retired from the World Bank Jess Zarandin. Also with us was Ms. Lourdes Mirasol.

This afternoon, we go with Nordy to his Victorias farm and we will do some documentaries of his projects there.

You will enjoy Nordy, especially when he recites those old poems with feelings. For Nordy is a poet at heart.

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We hope tomorrow, when the President comes to Bacolod, she will listen to some leaders of sugar cooperatives air their problems.

There is not much buying of sugar and sugar planters have problems with their laborers who cannot be paid.

We believe the President can give the solution.

I said “some leaders of sugar cooperatives” because, many other coop leaders are afraid of the BIR that they keep quiet, they will join if there is solution.

This is the disappointing part in the sugar industry.

There are reported some 30,000 sugarcane planters not paying taxes, reason why BIR has not been able to meet its quota here.

I hope the President orders BIR to collect from these big planters and leave the coops alone because they are exempted from paying taxes.

I hate saying this because these big planters are my friends, too. But when they leave the small coops to fend for themselves, then it’s time government should be told to run after them also, to free the coops from the pressure.

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