T*A*G*O*

I live in Tago where crab is a delicacy, not a mentality. But since people automatically think of crabs every time they meet a Tagon-on, we have taken advantage of this type of “crab mentality” in landing jobs, scaling corporate ladders, clinching deals, winning contracts, if not hearts.

We’re also known to possess “crab eligibility,” most especially in the police force and the academe. A Tagon-on who once applied as policeman but was two inches shy of the minimum height requirement of 5’5” was summoned by the officer and was told to go home and do something about his deficiency. Back the following day, the Tagon-on had instantly grown to 5’8” as he stood on a sack full of crabs.

Crabs abound in Tago but they have now become so pricey because exporters outbid us, thus banishing crabs from our dining tables. But maybe it’s a good thing after all because my oncologist in Cebu said that most of his cancer patients come from Surigao del Sur, adding it must be our crab-rich diet.

Oh well, isn’t cancer the Latin word for crabs?