Ba, Ba, Black Sheep

(Originally posted on February 21, 2005)

Plucking Leafs from My Tree of Memories
Chapter Three
"Ba, Ba, Black Sheep"

Ba, Ba, black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full.
One for my master, one for the Dane;
One for the little boy who lives down the lane.
Ba, Ba, black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes, sir, Yes, sir, three bags full.
---------------------------—C. M. Wiske, 1881

In 1976, I was in kindergarten at St. Mary's Academy, Pasay City, Metro Manila. I surprised my parents with the title role in the performance of "Ba, Ba, Black Sheep" in a school program. Only during the event did my parents know that I was acting the main role in the presentation.

It was the first time I truly felt my mother's pride in me; although, she would afterwards always tease me of my shyness—all throughout my performance I was holding the tip of my short pants.

That program, I believe, was the catalyst of my fondness for performing onstage and in front of many people. I'd since then become active in school programs, clubs, and other extracurricular activities, joining campaigns and quiz bees as well—school events in which I would delight through highschool until my College days at University of Sto. Tomas (Manila), where I won a place in an Inter-College Quiz Bee, and at Family Clinic Colleges, where I was a regular contributor to our school paper.

My first taste of performing onstage in front of a large audience became a regular and fulfilling hobby soon after I formed a New Wave band in highschool, with myself as the lead vocalist.

This band, Half Life Half Death, would consequently take my highschool friends and me to greater heights. It gave us a chance commercially to record an album of original songs, which paved way to countless and memorable appearances/guestings on television, radio, newspapers, and magazines.

The little shy boy who once performed "Ba, Ba, Black Sheep" timidly in elementary has grown up to become a gregarious and sociable youthful man who can now sing or speak in front of a crowd without much hesitation.