I am trying to be nostalgic and sentimental about things that are real special to me. Noong panahon ng mga parents natin (panaon Hapon yarin), ang ala-sais ng hapon ay oras ng orasyon. Pero noong high school tayo, ang alas-sais ay ang oras ng pagdating ni Mama Bisen (Victory Express) galing Caloocan. Sumakbat kamo ta ando main pawit sulat. For most of us, Mama Bisen served as the only communication line between Manila students and our parents at Sta. Cruz. Di ba mas mabilis pa nga kaysa sa RCPI. We in Manila will send our letter through Mama Bisen. Aalis sya ng 12:30 PM sa Caloocan and normally arrives 6 PM sa Sta. Cruz. Our parents would send their letter-reply, money, or bigas through Mama Bisen first trip the following day which leaves Sta. Cruz at 4:30 AM and arrives Caloocan by 9 AM. As alarm clock is a seldom commodity during the olden times, our parents would rely sa tiktilaok ng manok ni San Pedro, and in some cases, angkayapan at hindi na rin nahahabol si Mama Bisen. Sensya siguro, managan anaman dilap. Really, Mama Bisen was an essential part of our college days.
Ayon sa kanta ng Apo Hiking – “Kay simple lamang ng buhay noon, walang mabibigat na suliranin. Problema lamang laging kulang ang datung . . . .” Piko Espino says: I remember the days when Tatay (Itoy Espino, founder of Sakbayan Group) was still alive and everything was so much simpler then. I remember walking with my blue collar brother and my white collar sister (pirmin white a sulot nan pistak tan sando) to school. We were all awake by 5 AM and it was easy to walk even in the rain. We never had much. I remember Mama Pindoy (hindi ko po sya Nanay kundi Kumpareng karnal ng Tatay ko) who was waking us all up for a cup of coffee and a stick of Peak cigarette (pinakamahal na sigarilyo noong araw). They were friends to the core that they almost knew who was in pain and who was in cloud 10 (not Cloud 9, a chocolate brand today, pero inyataw Serg’s chocolate kuni Farmacia Ebido lista ot sa utang ni Tatay kong mahal, pero hin panaon Hapon, kakaw ang tsokolate at bungan-kayong). I went to South Central Annex (papano naging South and Central? Parang -- "You, you, and you. Both of you three! Form a straight line in circol, make sure that the center is in the midol!!) I remember Nana Biring (Virginiang Kiwar for short) and Virgy for long na may tindahan malapit sa amin. Our listahan sa utang sa tindahan was as long as Ortigas Avenue. Hindi pa uso ang drive-thru, ang uso pa noon ay ang walk-thru dahil lakad ka lang, makakautang ka na. Feeling ko ang yaman nila becoz we are debtors and they are the creditors. Ang laki-laki pa ng karatula nila sa tindahan -- UR CREDIT IS GOOD BUT WE NEED CASH! Litsugas, puro utang naman kami.
Konti lang ang may telebisyon noon at alam ng buong bayan kung sino ang may TV. Kung may antenna sa taas ng bubong ng bahay, may TV ka, pero kung patpatin ka at litaw ang iyong mga buto, may TB ka. Yan ang marami noon. Anyway, aapat na channel lang naman ang pagpipilian mo. Ang RPN 9 na kung saan palabas ang Flordeluna via domsat (domestic satellite); Channel 7 na ang kilalang palabas ay ang – “It’s 12 high noon, welcome to Student Canteen.”; Channel 13, na ang inaabangan ay ang TV series na Tarzan starring Johnny Wisemuller o kung minsan ay si Ron Ely; at ang Channel 4, na bukod kay Ronnie Nathanielz na mukha at mga programa ni Marcos, ang pinapanood dito ay ang PBA games starring the rivalry of Crispa and Toyota.
We only had SCA as high school noon, at doon nagtatagpo ang mga madidiBEST mula iba’t ibang baryo at mga pait babali. Now they have Ginipang HIgh School, Lipay High School, Malabago High School, Acoje High School. Lahat na lang HIgh pero lahat naman nakasimagot, wala man lang nagha-hi. Kulang nalang High ng mga addict. Nakakatuwa tingnan noon pag litera (class dismissal) sa tanghali at hapon. Lahat sabay-sabay naglalakad – ibat’-ibang tropa, may puro babae, may puro lalaki lang, may salu-salo babae at lalaki, may nagliligawan, may magkapayong, mag nagpapalitan ng sagot sa slum book, at di alintana ang init ng araw.
Inyataw everyone respects each other. No main kan makit matuntawo, you say –“Maabig a yabi mama, nana”. Or no mipisublay, you say – “Labasan ana”. Try saying – “Labasan ana” hawanin, ta tatampal a abuton mo (bastos kan anak ka blah blah #@!$%). I remember, when my kid asked me what is “Emergency Exit” sa Tagalog, may answer was “Madaling Labasan”. Hindi daw tinanggap ng teacher yong sagot at bastos daw. Bahala sya!
Ngayon uso na ang laundry shop. Pero noong panahon natin, ang one-stop laundry shop ay ang Kabatwan. Habang nagbabanlaw ang Nanay, andon ka naman sa dinadaanan ng sabon at naliligo.
Inyadtaw Sebyo was the Chief. I mean the Chief of Police!!! Tuytuyan nay tamuro mo nu masiba ka. Question? Papano kung si Balong kunwari ang naniba? Sa laki ng kanyang tamuro, maso ang kelangan panuytuy.
Inyadtaw we only have Mayor Tongson. He was D Mayor until Caloy Lopez was appointed as Officer-in-Charge in 1986 after EDSA Revolution. Kalaban na dati hi Mayor Ela (ILA as pronounced). Inyadtaw, akala ko si Judge Maniago ay nag-iisang judge sa buong mundo. Akala ko succession ang pagiging judge. Kase nauna si Judge Angeles. Noon, ang farmacia ay grocery na rin. Kung gusto mong luma ang Serg’s chocolate at masarap, kay Farmacia Ebido ka bumili. Kung gusto mo ng mahal na presyo, kay Doctor Ramon ka bumili.
Noon konti lang ang may tindahan tulad ng Tan Tiong Store (dito pumapara at bumababa ang mga taga Baytan Babali kung lulan sila ng Victory); Ongteco Store. Kung naubusan ng tinda sa Ongteco Store, ituturo ka sa tindahan nila Nana Peeng. Pero kung pasak swikos ang bibilhin mo, doon lang sa Tan Tiong Store meron. Matapos kang bumili at may sukli pa, dadaan ka sa Majestic para bumili naman ng ice buko o kaya ice drop, at unti-unting sisipsipin hanggang makarating ka ng bahay. Pero kung gusto mong maging sosy (as in sosyal), doon ka magmeryenda sa Quickie (ngayon ay tindahan ng tubig Nayom ni Mayor Marty) at omorder ng espesyal na egg sandwich (binating itlog na binudburan ng Jufran ketsup.
Ayon sa kanta ng Apo Hiking – “Kay simple lamang ng buhay noon, walang mabibigat na suliranin. Problema lamang laging kulang ang datung . . . .” Piko Espino says: I remember the days when Tatay (Itoy Espino, founder of Sakbayan Group) was still alive and everything was so much simpler then. I remember walking with my blue collar brother and my white collar sister (pirmin white a sulot nan pistak tan sando) to school. We were all awake by 5 AM and it was easy to walk even in the rain. We never had much. I remember Mama Pindoy (hindi ko po sya Nanay kundi Kumpareng karnal ng Tatay ko) who was waking us all up for a cup of coffee and a stick of Peak cigarette (pinakamahal na sigarilyo noong araw). They were friends to the core that they almost knew who was in pain and who was in cloud 10 (not Cloud 9, a chocolate brand today, pero inyataw Serg’s chocolate kuni Farmacia Ebido lista ot sa utang ni Tatay kong mahal, pero hin panaon Hapon, kakaw ang tsokolate at bungan-kayong). I went to South Central Annex (papano naging South and Central? Parang -- "You, you, and you. Both of you three! Form a straight line in circol, make sure that the center is in the midol!!) I remember Nana Biring (Virginiang Kiwar for short) and Virgy for long na may tindahan malapit sa amin. Our listahan sa utang sa tindahan was as long as Ortigas Avenue. Hindi pa uso ang drive-thru, ang uso pa noon ay ang walk-thru dahil lakad ka lang, makakautang ka na. Feeling ko ang yaman nila becoz we are debtors and they are the creditors. Ang laki-laki pa ng karatula nila sa tindahan -- UR CREDIT IS GOOD BUT WE NEED CASH! Litsugas, puro utang naman kami.
Konti lang ang may telebisyon noon at alam ng buong bayan kung sino ang may TV. Kung may antenna sa taas ng bubong ng bahay, may TV ka, pero kung patpatin ka at litaw ang iyong mga buto, may TB ka. Yan ang marami noon. Anyway, aapat na channel lang naman ang pagpipilian mo. Ang RPN 9 na kung saan palabas ang Flordeluna via domsat (domestic satellite); Channel 7 na ang kilalang palabas ay ang – “It’s 12 high noon, welcome to Student Canteen.”; Channel 13, na ang inaabangan ay ang TV series na Tarzan starring Johnny Wisemuller o kung minsan ay si Ron Ely; at ang Channel 4, na bukod kay Ronnie Nathanielz na mukha at mga programa ni Marcos, ang pinapanood dito ay ang PBA games starring the rivalry of Crispa and Toyota.
We only had SCA as high school noon, at doon nagtatagpo ang mga madidiBEST mula iba’t ibang baryo at mga pait babali. Now they have Ginipang HIgh School, Lipay High School, Malabago High School, Acoje High School. Lahat na lang HIgh pero lahat naman nakasimagot, wala man lang nagha-hi. Kulang nalang High ng mga addict. Nakakatuwa tingnan noon pag litera (class dismissal) sa tanghali at hapon. Lahat sabay-sabay naglalakad – ibat’-ibang tropa, may puro babae, may puro lalaki lang, may salu-salo babae at lalaki, may nagliligawan, may magkapayong, mag nagpapalitan ng sagot sa slum book, at di alintana ang init ng araw.
Inyataw everyone respects each other. No main kan makit matuntawo, you say –“Maabig a yabi mama, nana”. Or no mipisublay, you say – “Labasan ana”. Try saying – “Labasan ana” hawanin, ta tatampal a abuton mo (bastos kan anak ka blah blah #@!$%). I remember, when my kid asked me what is “Emergency Exit” sa Tagalog, may answer was “Madaling Labasan”. Hindi daw tinanggap ng teacher yong sagot at bastos daw. Bahala sya!
Ngayon uso na ang laundry shop. Pero noong panahon natin, ang one-stop laundry shop ay ang Kabatwan. Habang nagbabanlaw ang Nanay, andon ka naman sa dinadaanan ng sabon at naliligo.
Inyadtaw Sebyo was the Chief. I mean the Chief of Police!!! Tuytuyan nay tamuro mo nu masiba ka. Question? Papano kung si Balong kunwari ang naniba? Sa laki ng kanyang tamuro, maso ang kelangan panuytuy.
Inyadtaw we only have Mayor Tongson. He was D Mayor until Caloy Lopez was appointed as Officer-in-Charge in 1986 after EDSA Revolution. Kalaban na dati hi Mayor Ela (ILA as pronounced). Inyadtaw, akala ko si Judge Maniago ay nag-iisang judge sa buong mundo. Akala ko succession ang pagiging judge. Kase nauna si Judge Angeles. Noon, ang farmacia ay grocery na rin. Kung gusto mong luma ang Serg’s chocolate at masarap, kay Farmacia Ebido ka bumili. Kung gusto mo ng mahal na presyo, kay Doctor Ramon ka bumili.
Noon konti lang ang may tindahan tulad ng Tan Tiong Store (dito pumapara at bumababa ang mga taga Baytan Babali kung lulan sila ng Victory); Ongteco Store. Kung naubusan ng tinda sa Ongteco Store, ituturo ka sa tindahan nila Nana Peeng. Pero kung pasak swikos ang bibilhin mo, doon lang sa Tan Tiong Store meron. Matapos kang bumili at may sukli pa, dadaan ka sa Majestic para bumili naman ng ice buko o kaya ice drop, at unti-unting sisipsipin hanggang makarating ka ng bahay. Pero kung gusto mong maging sosy (as in sosyal), doon ka magmeryenda sa Quickie (ngayon ay tindahan ng tubig Nayom ni Mayor Marty) at omorder ng espesyal na egg sandwich (binating itlog na binudburan ng Jufran ketsup.
Komiks ang aliwan noon lalo na kung panahon na ng tag-ulan. Dyes sentimos lang ang renta ng komiks kila Nana Mar doon sa tampos Mayanan. Kung sampung komiks ang nerentahan mo, pwedeng isang linggo mong basahin. Pero kung isa lang, pagkuha mo ng umaga, dapat isoli mo na bago magsara sa hapon, otherwise, di ka na makakaulit.
Plaza is where the action is. I remember vividly the panoramic drawing of the old Sta Cruz town at the walls at Plaza Panciteria.
I don’t know if anyone could still remember the public toilet ala boardwalk at Matuyot? Well its gone now, sa seashore nalang manaka.
(Contributed by Pitong Jr & Piko Espino.)
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