Turn on the electric fan,
curl underneath your body-warmed blanket.
It's 11 A.M. the clock says,
6 A.M. by nature's light you bet.
"Shut the capiz windows!", your Mama says.
You take another ocular sweep
of the evolving nature's show outside,
that shall later deprive others of sleep.
A mere hour ago, you had breakfast:
2 pieces of Tinapa, sliced fresh tomatoes,
smoking Sinanlag--- why, 2 plates as well!
Yet your stomach says, "To the kitchen get close!".
Torn between two delightful warmths,
that of the cushion, and that of the oven.
Out of the room, DZRH and PAGASA greet you,
Aha! Avegon has new batteries once again.
The kerosene-powered Kalan is set on the floor
protected from the wind by makeshift walls of Tabla.
Your mother is crouched, you're happy, she's cooking.
"Make yourself useful! Pump the Kalan!" per Grandma.
It's a time for Late Breakfast, Earlier Lunch,
and Early Dinner; and the things you do in between---
Trapal- piano, plastic- appliances, water- galonan/balde,
on the chair's seat- sack of rice, in the gasera- kerosene!
This recollection takes you to the future that, today, is your past;
Third-worldly hilarious: when the folks of Pang-pang
forthrightly monitored the weather through their TVs;
then came the lightnings, the village lost its Tubes in the bang.
The comic break over, rewind to the once present of a pre-TV past:
What's for lunch? Pinangat! Kusido! Prito! Nag-aasu-aso!
"Signal naamberr 1 sa mga bayan ng..." per Joe Taruc.
You're done with plate number 1, on to plate naamberr two!
1. tinapa: smoked fish, usually mackarel
2. sinanlag: fried rice
3. DZRH: pioneer AM radio station in the Philippines
4. PAGASA: government agency for weather forecasting
5. Avegon: my granny's transistor radio
6. kalan: stove
7. tabla: plank of wood
8. trapal: tarpaulin
9. galonan: 1 gallon-water container, (ours were the vintage glass variants).
10. balde: pail
11. gasera: improvised kerosene lamp, made from recycled glass bottles/jars
12. Pang-pang: a barrio of Sorsogon
13. pinangat: a dish-blend of taro leaves, chili, meat and coconut milk
14. kusido: in the bicol region, a soup-blend of fish, camote tops, tomatoes, onions, lemon and salt
15. prito: anything fried, ours was usually fish
16. nag-aasu-aso: smoking hot
(photo by: heinzkieh.multiply.com)
BAYANIHAN
An age-old tradition in the Philippines
where people of a community volunteer to help a family move
by literally carrying the latter's house.
It is the spirit of collective effort.
(photo by: Bulilit Marquez)
BAYANIHAN
During the typhoon/rainy/flooding season,
the fire of communal effort still burns:
to those in the foreground--- Yes!
To those at the background--- not so much,
as probably doused by the heavy rains.
