By Gina Dizon
In my 40s’ and cooped up in my world
of babysitting and shuffling through this
age-old scribbling work-hobby that enveloped my existence for years, I
never knew there is such a word as “epal”. Not until I chatted with friends at
the Baguio Chronicle page of Facebook.
So the bantering and the pussyfooting about a
certain ‘epal’ went on with ‘epal’ pointed out in a number of
postings.
So what the hell does ‘epal’ mean, ignoring this at
first as it seems to be a word which does not catch my interest.
Well. Not for long. This “epalness” of a certain
member in BC’s facebook page got me asking my 20 year old niece what
“epal” means. My niece said ‘epal’ is the propensity to make grand
entrances. It also means ‘aginlala-ing’. Ahuh. Pretending to be
intelligent. Wahaaa! Ok. What a pathetic existence . Similar like
‘aginpopogi outside’ or agin-pipintashehehhe. And one more, epal means
‘agraramaan’ or ‘agrarapiiit’ as in ‘feeling’ to be someone but not truly one.
This word must either be a noun or an adjective.
As Facebook’s BC page implies, an ‘epal’
found in negative mode annoying people around, refer to one who
wants to appear clever, demeaning those around him/her, and
appearing authoritative but is not. Precisely. ‘epal’ comes
from a Filipino word “mapapel”. It’s slang for scene stealers,
attention grabbers and refer to people who get in the scene and
grab a role not necessarily theirs to handle or discuss.
Berlin McIntosh, a friend from Bontoc and now based
in the US with her daughter and husband says an ‘epal’ is a jabberwock.
So what’s a jabberwock.. A jabberwock is an 'epal' hahahaha.
A jabberwock is a visionary character in
Lewis Carroll's "What Alice Found There" and "Through the
Looking Glass". The jabberwock-dragon has eyes that burn, with a horn and
long spikes from his head to his neck and yellow wings, has four legs and two
wings frightening and terrorizing everyone.
A real ‘epal’ if you ask me. An ‘epal’ who
unnecessarily grabs attention and intimidates or rather irritates those
around him/her with pompous and annoying language.
There are epals and jabberwocks in this
whole wide world from the north pole to the south pole. You can also find
them in your wide or small circles. And if you have one near or far from you,
irritates and annoys you, the best way to deal with an ‘epal’ is to ignore one
as arguing with a difficult person will wear you out unnecessarily. Lewis
Carroll says, "Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the
claws that catch!...”
Otherwise, Lewis Carroll goes through his poem “to
slay” the jabberwock instead, or as a friend advised, ‘destroy’
them as they could be irritating and make life as nasty as their epalness.
Comes now Senator Mirriam Defensor’s anti-epal
bill, “An Act Prohibiting Public Officers from Claiming Credit through Signage
Announcing a Public Works Project.”The proposed law penalizes public
officials who put on tarpaulins and posters their smug and smiling faces
a public work they are doing, or claiming credit for
another’s work. President Pnoy earlier campaigned against
this annoying practise. Being ‘epal’ in the political scene breeds corruption
and political patronage, clearly a case of being trapo.
One thing is sure. From street language
to the halls of Senate to Facebook, an ‘epal’ is annoying.
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