Why our parents did not name us after Ferdinand Magellan, the Portuguese navigator who discovered the Philippines on March 16, 1521, is beyond us. Had they been history conscious, no doubt, they should have named me Ferdinand. Our father who was a Grade VII graduate would have been aware of the significance of the day this BGlante was born. But being a matriarchal family our mother must have prevailed upon over our father what name their fifth son would have been. But for easy reference it was the traditional Catholic almanac that won the day for one who was born on March 16. Thus, never mind, we have this name, to strut around to the embarrassment sometimes to friends and associates. But what's in a name? Indeed, we cannot argue with our parents the day we were born. If only we have the luxury of time to argue, then we would have sued our parents for damages if they insisted on having their name of choice.

But no regrets. Under the law on averages we may have an awful-sounding name, at least, it was compensated by way of other talents not found in some counterparts whose names are derived from popular Hollywood actors and actresses. For example, the inherent talent of converting cash out of tight situations. Yes, this BGlante would have loved the name Ferdinand in honor of the day that he discovered the Philippines in the name of King Philip of Spain. Not even the reality that it was the namesake of the country's worst dictator. The Ferdinand we know did send shivers down the spine of those who experienced his unlamented martial law but yet the name still smells as sweet to those who benefited from his authoritarian rule.

As to this BGlante, one memorable event we cannot forget about the name Ferdinand was when we took the entrance examination for staffers of the University of Bohol Varsitarian. The stakes of the exam for writers of the UB student organ was indeed high. Imagine passing the exam made one an automatic scholar until his graduation for as long as he continued working for the school paper? With a run-of-the-mill background in feature writing, this trying hard writer astounded the examiners with our introduction of who this unknown writer was when we introduced ourselves that had our parents were keen students of history, they should have named me Ferdinand because I was born on March 16. For the examiners (they told me latter), what did me in to pass the exam with flying colors was the way I introduced myself. Whether it was out of pity or the examiners was impressed of our honesty to accept the fact that we were named as such, nobody knows. At least it was enough that we passed the entrance test and in the process become a scholar all throughout our college years.