Bo

I finally met Bo Sanchez up close and personal last Friday, after Alvin Barcelona's Believe concert. Not that I haven't had the opportunities to do so - I e-mailed him once to ask his availability for a talk (and even if he wasn't free, he was good enough to reply very kindly!). He was two seats behind me on a flight to Cebu, but I didn't have the guts to approach him, even while hanging around at the airport baggage claim. Ate Ardis used me as an "excuse" to throw Kuya Joe Dean off-scent when Bo kept excitedly calling their house to confirm a video honoring for Kuya's birthday: "Aaah, love, Bo needs to talk to Honey kasi about whatnot and whatever..." Kuya Mike says that after the shoot, Bo conveyed his fondest regards to the "excuse." And, when our French volunteer Greg was ready to leave for home, Kuya took him up backstage after the Feast to meet Bo and get his autograph - unfortunately, I was out front tending the kids and missed the chance.

And then, this Friday, we got to shake his hand. My nickname is the kind of name that bears amused repetition, and Bo was no exception as he kept grinning while saying "Honey, Honey." As AG commented afterwards, tao din si Bo. He's just a man - a wonderful creation of God just like all of us - with his gifts and his flaws. Yet this man has allowed himself to be an instrument of God, and is therefore one of my personal heroes, especially because of what he shared in his last tell-all book testimonial (Your Past Does Not Define Your Future).

I've recently taken to asking Christians I admire to signing their names in the Bible I carry with me always. Unfortunately, that evening, I'd left the Bible in the car...a good enough excuse to approach Bo one of these days and rid myself of the curse of chope.