Peter and the Children of Kokum

When I was a kid, my grandmother brought home a chicken for me to take care of. I named him Peter, and I fed him and gave him water everyday.

When Peter got a little bigger, my grandmother had him cooked for dinner.

It broke my heart, of course. But I learned soon after not to get too attached to poultry and other livestock, much less name them.

But when Eve started calling her guitar, Kiko, I thought, "Hey, what the heck. They won't grow up so we could serve them as entrees later anyways." So we started giving names to all our babies.

First, there was Deej, the digital drums and the eldest among the children. Eve acquired him from Yamaha (not a friend as I previously published) a few months back and he has hung around the office since.

Then came Kiko Takamine, Eve's guitar and now her constant companion.

Then came Kyle Jr., the djembe I got as a gift from Eve. Kyle Jr. is my first ever percussion instrument and I will forever hold him close to my heart.

Then I remembered I had a keyboard hidden somewhere in the house, and so Keboy was born. Keboy is now my most favorite collaborator in music writing, next to Eve, of course.

And my most recent acquisition, Kokoy, the k-hon which I acquired with the help of my friend, Richard, who owns a music store in Manila.

Oh, and let me show you my eggs. They're round and shiny and they make tiny, raspy, shaker sounds.

I get to bring home Little Kumpradia and Eve gets Little Konrad.

Aren't they lovely? Thank God none of them are for cooking. They just inspire and encourage us to keep making good music, and for that alone, we love them. Big kiss to each one of them.

(And big kiss to you, Peter, wherever you are.)

Oh, and while I was at the shop, I took the opportunity to buy my sister, Mikee, a new guitar. Here she is playing her current favorite, Bubbly by Colbie Caillat.