Before I tell you what I'm referring to when I say "my gilded cage in the Philippines", I need to tell you exactly what "gild" and the phrases "gilded cage" and "gild the lily" mean. You can click on the picture to get a larger view. The frame still needs to be repainted.

According to what I read in a couple of dictionaries, "gild" means to decorate the outside of something, usually unnecessarily. The phrase "gild the lily" (referring to the flower, of course) means adding ornamentation to something that already looks nice. Finally, "gilded cage" means a cage that's decorated and the cage is not necessarily to keep something in, but to keep something out.

My Gilded Cage

As you can see when you look at the picture closely, or when you enlarge it, it's a sliding door with a heavy duty lock to keep it in place. It's the only windowed door on the first floor and the only one in which the iron bars can be moved out of place. The rest of the windows on the first floor have bars, but they can't be removed without tools and a lot of time. They all sort of look like this one (click to enlarge):

Why the Cage?

Ever since I foiled a burglary last year, I've had to remain awake during the hours of the night when burglars are most likely to strike. I waited until my wife came home on her Philippines vacation (you'll have to read why it was like a vacation and not a homecoming in other posts) to have the bars installed.

Filipinos with little or no income live in shoddy houses of all kinds and most aren't even painted on the outside. A house that looks nice, painted and especially with more than one floor is usually what's targeted by burglars. They think foreigners have more than anyone else. How could I possibly let them know that my in-laws have more than I do, other than the house itself (and our car, of course)?

Recently, a nice house a few blocks from here was burglarized and it happened while my wife was here for the month. I'm sure, that if I didn't have bars on my lower windows, my house would be their next target.

Until the bars went in, I hadn't had a decent night's sleep. My sleep cycle was completely opposite from what it should be. Now, I sleep every night for at least six hours. I only sleep longer if I've actually done something physically tiring during the day. Because my wife is still suffering from jet lag, I'm calling her as soon as I wake up to make sure she's up early enough to head to her second-shift job.

Other Gild References

According to an entry at Bartleby.com, to be like "a bird in a gilded cage" is to live in luxury but without freedom.

The world "gild" is what the word "guild" is based on, which is usually an association formed for the protection or support of its members. Some historical guilds later became government entities in some countries, like England.

So, in my final thoughts on the matter, I truly do live in a gilded cage.