MY YOUNGEST BROTHER, WARREN YOUNG aka POTENG

{Photo at left shows Warren with his wife Judith, carrying his favorite grandson Wyosef Sam, son of Wyona, Warren’s eldest daughter. Top-right photo shows Warren (3rd from right) after doing a FUN RUN, posing with his Alpha Phi Omega brothers and sisters. Others in the POST-FUN RUN photo are: Gem D. Estanislao, Rene R. Tolentino, ΑΦΩ Shiela Edralin Sotto, Annie Ponce Paloma, Emil Atchioco, Rowena Tan, and Glenmau Carlos Sialab.  Bottom-right photo shows Warren and members of his family posing for a group photo [Front Row: L-R-Wendell, Pam, Woody, Wyosef Sam and Warren. Back Row: L-R- Margareth, Wesley’s GF; Wesley (who is Warren’s eldest son), and Wyona]; during the nuptial reception of our nephew Woody with his fiancee, and now his wife, Pam Unite.}

Warren is the sixth child of Daddy Max and Mommy Norma in a brood of eight; and Warren is my youngest brother. As all of our delivery into this world was through a midwife except for that of our sister, Wilma; during Warren’s birth, the services of another comadrona (i.e. midwife who assists in the delivery of a child), had to be engaged, as  Lola Biyay, the once upon-a-time reigning community comadrona,  retired from her trade. The attending comadrona who delivered Warren into this world was a registered midwife by the name of Soledad Managuit. Eventually, Warren became the virtual “ENSIGN” (i.e. the earliest  meaning of the word  ensign is a lowest  rank officer) of our family as he being the junior among all of us, would be the usual  “utusan” (i.e. someone who gets orders from a superior and gets things done) and/or “alalay” (i.e. a virtual chaperone). And invariably, Warren has always been a diligent and sedulous “utusan” and/or “alalay”. Up to now, without even an “utos”  (i.e. a command), Warren would do the usual putting up of the mahjong table and all other paraphernalia to start the Sunday mahjong sessions at our ancestral home, Daddy Max’s 19^th Avenue-Murphy abode. And, Warren would almost always be ready with a glass of drink during the weekly get-together at Daddy Max’s 19th Avenue-Murphy home, to any one even before one would experience the need to quench one’s thirst. Truly, Warren as a real ENSIGN has carried the emblem of the Young clan, (an emblem being another denotation of the world ENSIGN) always helpful and always accommodating.

Well, to add spice and fun to this seemingly dour and humor-less narration, I will digress a bit into the circumstances which led to Warren’s nickname/sobriquet: POTENG which originally was in fact, POTENG-TENG. It is quite tainted with some kind of ribaldry; but funny.

Warren  earned the sobriquet POTENG, a name which was given to him by TWO (2) of our more notable teachers-boarders (i.e. first of whom is Mr. Adriano Agor (“Agor”)who is an Ilocano teaching Industrial Arts at the Murphy Elementary School now known as Aguinaldo Elementary School) during the mid and into the late 60s in our Murphy home.

Mommy Norma who was so business-minded, on top of serving as concessionaire at the school canteen at the then Murphy Elementary School, was able to enlist male teachers and for some time, female teachers too, as boarders to our household. It was a little bit odd, as there was a time when my Gardening Teacher, who was  another teacher-boarder by the name of Mr. Liberato Dulay (“Dulay”), a Novo Ecijano who graduated from the Central Luzon State University (“CLSU”), and a little bit strict; would quiz me even at home impromptu. And every time, I would meet him inside our home, I will always greet him …GOOD MORNING SIR…GOOD EVENING SIR…

There was this other GARDENING teacher, Mr. Alex Libunao (“Libunao”), who is a Tagalog from San Miguel, Bulacan, also a graduate of CLSU.

Messrs.   Agor and Libunao are the more playful and naughty type among our male boarders; and would almost always be cracking humorous jokes.

By way of an apt backgrounder, during those years, water was so scarce in the Murphy area. And so Daddy Max came up with a gadget, some kind of set-up for us to conveniently store water, as water from the taps would only come out at around 12 midnight and would again be dry starting at 5 AM.  Daddy Max had a row of SIX (6) steel drums connected to each other, installed in a corner of our home lot, in some kind of stair-cased set up (i.e. the first highest among the set, and each other steel drum would be about some inches lower and every one from the top-most up to the penultimate steel drum, each of the drums sports a spigot on its lid, so that when the top-most drum is filled up, the water would then cascade to the next lower drums). Before this gadget/set-up; I and Kuya Rico, my cousin who stays with us, would wait until we have placed/transferred the water hose from one drum to the other, up to the 6^th drum.

And these  TWO (2) teachers-boarders (i.e. Messrs. Agor and Libunao) came up with the name POTENG (actually POTENG-TENG) which is some kind of crude ONOMATOPOEIA. Onomatopoeia is actually defined as a word, which imitates the natural sounds of a thing. It creates a sound effect that mimics the thing described, making the description more expressive and interesting.

Earlier, Warren as a toddler was just being called by his name or by the contracted nickname “REN”. But in most times when Warren would take a bath in his birthday suit during his toddler days, in the open (almost at the frontage of our home) near the water-filled steel drums, enjoying perhaps the abundance of water, poured upon him via a dipper by our maid; Warren would be joyfully jumping. And with Warren’s petite  winkie then, it would dangle like the clapper of a bell. Upon seeing this, the Bulakenyo inspired spirit (i.e. a native of Bulacan, which is a Tagalog-speaking province north of Manila famous for Tagalog poets and rhymesters) in Mr. Libunao, allured him to utter this jocular phrase: “Si Otoy (referring to Warren while bathing), binabateng-teng na naman ang kanyang pototoy.” English translation: That boy is dangling/brandishing his winkie again.”) [Otoy is Filipino slang for  a LITTLE BOY or a TODDLER while pototoy is Filipino slang for the male organ especially of toddlers and the young.]

And Mr. Agor amusingly butted in: “Tawagin natin syang POTENG-TENG.” [English translation: “Let us call him then POTENG-TENG.”]

I do not know until now whether Warren knows the origins of his nickname; knowing it now…I guess Warren would not want to be called by that name again…he,he,he…

Incidentally, Warren was born on October 4, 1964…HAPPY BIRTHDAY WARREN!!!!

[Warren shown at left photo in one of the many FUN RUNS he regularly participates in. Aside from those FUN RUN activities, Warren is also active in the implementation of various national projects of the ALPHA PHI OMEGA Fraternity such as medical missions and other worthwhile community projects. At right photo, Warren is shown with former Vice-President Jojo Binay (APO’s moving spirit in those community projects in a national level) with VP Binay congratulating Warren for a job well done.]