Signs You’re A Native ‘Young Once’ Danawanon
Fri, July 5, 2002 12:26 pm
[Note: Originally posted on Kaming Danawanon, Vol VII No.3 Jul-Aug 2001.]
- Your teacher in the elementary must be at least one of them: Egler Manipis, Pinang Gonzalez, Aurora Ypil, Caring Juntilla, Pining Roble, Abad, Iway, Avila, Abloy Sanchez, Julian Banzon, Anoy Gomez.
- Your never had bottled water for drinking, but puso de mercado water delivered to your home in a rusty kerosne can for 5¢ per can by an aguador.
- You loved kinilaw bangsi with sinugbang baboy; also among your most favorite is fried tamarong and awa.
- You took a day off from work or skipped class during the Feast of San Juan to be at the beach – swimming, eating and drinking.
- Your preferred carabao meat over beef and your favorite carabao dish was bas-oy or kasahos.
- You went to mass on Sundays but would sneak out to smoke or chat with friends as soon as Padre Jose Batucan started his homily.
- On holy week or Fridays in lent, you spent hours at night at the Kalbaryo not to pray or meditate the sufferings of Jesus Christ, but to have fun, meet friends and watch people watching people.
- Your daily staple was corn grits though you could have humay when you had guests or during some special occasions.
- Regardless of financial squeeze, you managed to have a pig or goat butchered to entertain guests during the town fiesta.
- You’ve been to an intosan (carabao-driven sugar mill), to have raw bananas or young coconut dipped in boiling sugar or had some tira-tira.
- At one time, at least, you got tipsy drinking tuba and made a clown of yourself.
- On All Saints Day you went to visit the tombs of dead relatives in the cemetery lighting few candles, praying, in a rush, one Our Father and one Haily Mary and then spent the entire day eating and drinking by the beach.
- You must have known or have mean to one of these popular Danao personalities: Aniano Bularon, Anday, Dr. Filoteo or Ben Bayot.
- You patronized Tinong’s or Anoy’s Bakery and loved their pan de sal, ensomada, pan de lemon or de leche and snubbed Tee Yang and Nam Pong’s bread and cookies e.g. patatas and sopas pusil-pusil as they were for the taga-bukid.
- If your Tatay were poor, as most Tatays were, you probably got circumcised by Dr. Laude, without anesthesia and antibiotics, for 50 centavos, jumping right into the sea at the back of the Dispensary, believing its natural healing power.
- Entertainment meant watching a free movie or moro-moro at the plaza.
- At one time you probably sold or accompanied a customer to buy a handgun.
- You joined a religious procession to show off a new dress or shoes and would think everyone was looking at you while passing by a crowd watching the procession at street corners.
- You’ve been a flying voter, voted for the same candidate as many as four times in one election day, got paid and felt good as having done a national duty.
- You got hooked listening to a radio soap opera and probably had cried along with Maria Flor de Luna.
- You begged, or your parents did, that Manong Amon get you a job at Customs, BIR or any positions in government or even a low paying job in Dungguan.
- Your favorite meeting place was Sands Beach Resort or the seawall and would impress you date with a special treat – a cold coke, mamon, hopia or kay-kay.
- You gave P5.00 limos to the family of a dead neighbor or relative during a katapusan or last day of novena and ate as much as P7.00 worth of food.
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.