Advertise on podcast: Goodbye, Philippines

Description

Through Facebook conversations, George, the narrator of Goodbye, Philippines, gets glimpses of Filipino lives in the Philippines and among expatriates and Overseas Foreign Workers. Although he prefers to keep his emotional distance, we gradually see George’s longing for meaningful connections and his ongoing grief for his deceased partner. The interest is both documentary (George is a writer) and personal, as he discovers the breadth and uniqueness of the gay community in the Philippines and in North America. He is often reminded of the disparity between the deprivations and emotional angst of his youth and the sufferings of the younger generation. As his health begins to decline, George continues to encounter younger gays, writers, and others with similar interests. Facebook gives him licence to be bolder and more direct with his questions about others’ lives. On one trip to the Philippines, he is hospitalized, in delirium and dependent on local care until he is well enough to fly home. On his return, he shuts everyone out, including Lando, the youth in the Philippines whose college education the he paid for. George’s interactions with a Canadian healer break through his defences and offer him a chance to share his grief and loneliness and his anguish at the prospect of living as a disabled person. He eventually finds an amenable place to live and a new purpose: mentoring younger gays, including Travis, a fellow philosophy devotee. After a long silence, due mostly to George’s reluctance to be reminded of the crisis that changed his life so dramatically, his protégé reaches out and the two briefly reunite online. The bond between them is poignant and Lando’s longing for a father substitute is palpable. Will George choose to pull away? Stories by Charles Au Lavoie Read by Warren Carrie Music by Angelica Dayao Painting by Jacob Bravo website: http://www.charlesaulavoie.com/