|
|
| Lanang,
Brown Bags, And The Santol Gang |
| |
Written by
Ate Dinah
Illustrated by Elise |
| |
| The place
Lanang is a very special place to me. It gave me a lot of happy memories
and wonderful experiences during my childhood days. I started going there
when I was about four or five years old. Tia Paz always took us pamangkins
along. We would go there either by tricycle or by jeep. I always
loved to get inside the kubo first and make some inspection. I felt like
I was in a big playhouse. There in Lanang, we played, climbed up trees
(and fell!), picked fruits, ate on banana leaves, and drank on coconut
shells.
Everything was
fun especially with cousins Irene and Ruby. We would go down the creek
and throw stones into the water or sit on the tree branches and tell stories.
We would bring baskets of food for lunch and snacks. We enjoyed eating
in the kubo. I remember the sight of Lolo lying on a stack of hay with
his hat over his face. He always fell asleep while resting under the tree.
Some of the fruit
trees were short that we had fun picking the fruits without climbing the
branches. Before going home we would count our pickings. Later, we would
divide the harvest among members of the family.
|
Going back home
without a ride was the worst part. We walked a long the stony road until
we reached the national road. Here is where the brown bags come in. To
protect ourselves from the heat of the sun, we used brown paper bags to
cover our head. Holes were cut for our eyes and nose. We looked like a
bunch of kids "trick or treating" at midday! I always complained about
the condition of the road to Tatay but he always told me not to worry.
When he becomes mayor of the town he will have it fixed "at ipapasiminto
ko pa hanggang Lanang," he promised. I knew all the time he was teasing
me.
In 1976 after
a long time of not seeing Lanang, Kuya Mike, Ate Flo, Irene, Ruby, myself
and three friends went there. The kubo was not in good shape anymore.
It looked like it had been abandoned for years. It was a very touching
scene - my cousins, KM and I standing around the hapless kubo. In hushed
voices we talked about the good times we had in the kubo - the kalan, papag,
etc.
Our silence was
interrupted by the sounds of birds on the santol tree. They were raiding
santols. The tree was laden with ripe santols and so we climbed and picked
some and then officially named our group "The Santol Gang".
|
|
Next
Page
|
| Copyright 1989 Balitang San Miguel,
Copyright 1999-2001 LSMWeb. All rights reserved. |
|
|
