MY FRIENDS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM
by Inday Badiday, Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 11, 1999

THE YEAR, the decade, the century, the millennium are ending all at the same time to give way to another year, another decade, another century, another millennium. We can hear an era bidding farewell; we can smell in the air the dawning of a new age. We are fortunate that this should take place in our lifetime. And, indeed, there's no more perfect time than now to reflect on our life and the people who have enriched it.

There's something "misty" about all this and, as I think about it, my musings bring me some profound feelings of regret.

As we travel through our life, God sends us people to help us, to make us happy, and with whom we may build meaningful relationships. But in our haste to make a living and to pursue our dreams, we sometimes fail to get to know their real essence. For example:

Sharon Cuneta.Through the years of her mega-stardom, I've always felt her genuine desire to reach out to me and be a friend. But I was too busy in my own galaxy than to go out of my way to really develop the friendship.

At that time, Sharon for me was just an interesting interview subject because she was so honest with her feelings and so articulate with words, a nice device to pump up the ratings of my TV show because she's hugely popular and the public just laps up everything about her.

But there were all the other stars all around, and Sharon was just one of them. Also, the professional distance I had to effect between me and the stars prevented me from really plumbing the depths of Sharon's proffered friendship.

But this woman is an angel, in a class all by her lonesome. She proved to me that old cliché--a friend in need is a friend indeed--with her quiet acts of generosity which all the more resounded loud and clear in my heart. Now I wish I'd gone the extra mile to really know her at the level of personal friendship.