‘During our time’

By Jun Velasco

IF you happen to be in Dagupan by night fall, don’t fail to hang around the vicinity of the plaza. You’d tell yourself this city is going cool because of its newly opened night market that unfailingly swarms with market goers, fun-loving folk and yes, those who want to munch peanuts behind the Rizal monument and drink frozen light beer while listening to a band, nay two bands,one each from both sides of the fence.

Ay, there’s the rub, instead of enjoying pleasant music, your ear drums get bruised and you want to call Councilor Alfie Fernandez, 2008 city festival hermano mayor, to stop one band playing while the other is playing.

Minus that, the city by night is fun as you safely (thank you, Police Chief Sonny Verzosa) stroll around with your kids or the wifey, or down a couple of beer while swapping views why a good doctor like Raul Sabado had been clamped in jail for playing good Samaritan to a pretty but wily girl from Kuala Lumpur.

Congratulate the Fernandez clan — Mayor Al, Vice Mayor Belen, Administrator Alvin and Councilors Michael, Alfie and Lino — and the rest of the pack for making Dagupan a real “Dagupan” (meeting place).

* * *

We have on good authority that our friend, newly promoted General Pol Bataoil, who has just taken his oath as National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director, has abandoned his plan to fight Mayor Jonas Castaneda in 2010 elections (if there’s one).

We won’t reveal our source because he told us in confidence. So Jonas will run unopposed? Again?

There really are lucky homo sapiens in this world. But anyway, in the case of Jonas who is pushing for the town’s conversion into a city, most Lingayenses feel lucky to have him at the helm.

In Pol’s case, a challenge higher than the mayorship stares him in the face. Ask Congressman Victor Agbayani what it is.

* * *

We received recently this letter from (name withheld upon request) in our email. “Dear Jun, I am an avid reader of your column, especially when it deals with lasting truths which our cynical society needs during these times.

I had a quiet talk with University of Luzon Vice President Aurora S. Reyna, who shares my view that a newspaper of intelligent readers like the Sunday Punch should have more of that stuff. How we sigh like we had missed the bus in an unholy hour when all we read are the worldly, temporal and inane subjects — politics, crime, corruption, name it….” The letter writer forwarded a narrative titled “During our times”. It recalls how life used to be in the 50s and early 60s. Here ar some excerpts.

Titled “During Our Times,” here goes:

”While pregnant, our mothers took cold or cough medicine, ate isaw, and didn’t worry about diabetes.

Then after all that trauma, our babycribs were made of hard wood covered with lead-based paints, pati na yung walker natin, matigas na kahoy din at wala pang gulong.

We had no soft cushy cribs that play music, no disposable diapers (lampin lang), and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, no kneepads, sometimes wala pang preno yung bisikleta.

As children, we would ride in hot un-airconditioned buses with wooden seats (yung JD bus na pula), or cars with no air-conditioning & no seat belts (ngayon lahat may aircon na)

Riding on the back of a carabao on a breezy summer day was considered a treat. (ngayon hindi na nakakakita ng kalabaw ang mga bata)

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle purchased from 711 (minsan straight from the faucet or poso)

We shared one soft drink bottle with four of our friends, and NO ONE actually died from this. Or contacted hepatitis.

We ate rice with star margarine, drank raw eggs straight from the shell, and drank softdrinks with real sugar in it (hindi diet coke), but we weren’t sick or overweight kasi nga…

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, and get back when the streetlights came on. Sarap mag patintero, tumbang preso, habulan at taguan.

No one was able to reach us all day (di uso ang cellphone, walang beepers). And yes, we were O.K.

(Readers may reach columnist at junmv@yahoo.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/think-about-it/ For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)

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