I have beautiful memories of the river that passes through the Tulay-Bato, the Tulay-Baraka, and the Lambingan Bridge in Wawa(Pabiluang). I went to school and back on foot from elementary to high school. Looking down from the two bridges near the public market, I was always attracted to the brook-like water current, and the pebbles that can be seen clearly beneath the clear waters.
I walked from school to our home in Wawa, at least four times a day. When we were in the elementary grades, I used to pass through Daan Bilolo, the palengke ( to see my grandmother), then Lati and Pabiluang. When we were in high school, I took a different route: Arellano (Tangaran), Bagumbayan, and the Bagumbayan-Wawa bridge. Everyday, there were boys having fun either swimming in the river or paddling the lunday in the river. It was very safe to swim in the river during those years.
Now, the water is greenish and littered with all kinds of garbage. It is almost stagnant. It is in a very sorry state. It is literally 'dying' if not yet dead. It is very unsafe to even set foot in it, much less to swim there.
However, I think with concerted effort our river can still be saved. It is a matter of educating the people on proper waste disposal and strict implementation of municipal ordinances, as well as national laws on saving the environment. Somebody or a group must take the lead.
What do you think, batchmates? Please send in your comments and suggestions through our blog. (Luz is willing to post them for you. Please call her up or send your handwritten notes to her.)
I haven't been to the US, so I cannot relate to the things that were listed in the quiz. After reading the comments of Corazon and Ernie, the things that remind me of Orion in the sixties, came to my mind. Let me list them down here in random:
barn dance, torch parade, campanaryo's biscotcho de cana, banana and camote cue, karitela ni mang osyo, sorbetes ni mang modi, basnig, candies at mang bosyo's store, bowling at tindahan ni mang tonyong bulag, halo-halo, peanut butter and cheez whiz sandwiches at riverside canteen ni tia puring mendoza, pansit guisado ni mang turing, pansit luglug ni tia justina, mga kakanin ni impong elang, somo's, rodriguez at mr. style tailoring shops, dr. ruperto mariano, ilada ni tia coro at kina rene diolola, botica ni mang bulyong, telahan ni tia anita aquino, rev. fr. jose z. marquez, pamumuno sa dasal ni impong insay, legion of mary under tia alicia rodriguez, noemi theater, jueteng ni mang kiko, MFL, the song - i love you because, paul anka, pandesal ni bascarra, alicia jeepneys, picnics at pandam river, mailman - tonying na kirat, banda ng musiko ni mang rustico, mang fidel ng la mallorca pambusco, beautiful dresses created for me by tia senia, pagtulong sa paggawa ng pakiting-kiting kung fiesta, at kubo-kubo kung mahal na araw, mayor manuel santos, giant acacia and mango trees in the churchyard, first tricycle ever in orion - driven by mang iking. at marami pang iba.
i better end this now, dahil baka maubos ko ang blog space sa dami ng naaalaala ko.
