My wife woke me up early one morning. She said there are dragonflies flying outside our window. She never noticed them before, she said. I was half-asleep, having downed a couple of beers the night before with my law school blockmates. Beer is supposed to be a no-no for someone who has no more gall bladder, but how can I not drink when I rarely see my blockmates since passing the bar exams years back?

Okay, enough with the excuses and on with the story.

As I said, I was half-asleep. Then, out of the blue, she hit me with two questions – questions she justified as something Enzo, our son, would later ask and so I better be prepared with the answer. She asked, “Why are they called dragonflies?” Without checking if I’m still breathing, she casually followed up with: “Yes, same with butterflies. Why are they called butterflies?”.

I have a ready answer if Enzo would later ask me that question – “I have a headache; go ask your mother.” But here I am, confronted with the reality that I could never use the “headache” excuse. Indeed, a dragonfly doesn’t look like a dragon, although some dragons fly in fairy tales and movies, including the world where Harry Potter lords it over. Unless someone steps up and slaps me with the answer, I won’t even bother checking why those flying insects (that don’t resemble dragons) are called “dragonflies”. Anyway, by the time Enzo grows up, those dragonflies might not be around due to pollution and the things we are doing with Mother Earth.

You’ll still see dragonflies when you visit the provinces of the Philippines; just choose among the 7,107 islands. You could always find these dragonflies, together with the grasshoppers, in grasslands and green fields. When you see one, crouch from it’s tail side, slowly and silently walk towards it, then simply grab the protruding tail. It usually bites your fingers, but nothing to worry about because even ants have more powerful bites than dragonflies. Running after dragonflies used to be favorite pastime while growing up in the province.

Unfortunately, it’s possible that maybe, unlike our generation, my son would no longer have the chance to chase dragonflies in greenfields, or see fireflies in a dark night, momentarily illuminated by a falling star. He may not see birds and animals, except in zoos, the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet or National Geographic. He may not enjoy chasing after frogs while enjoying the pouring rain with his friends. Just like we did when we were young once.

*Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.