Epalness, jabberwocks and the anti-epal bill

HAPPY WEEKEND

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.