Memories

"Memory".. sounds lonely when you listen to it. It's a song that I would always like to listen along with "Moon River". These songs are so good to my ears especially when reminiscing my childhood days. I like going back to the past and savoring the wonderful old days of my childhood. It sounds almost like heaven. ☺️☺️

Here's the song I took from Youtube for those who didn't know this song.

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I read an article here telling the memories of her husband. I'm sorry I couldn't remember who wrote it and if she can read this "girl, you know who you are" 😅..

One thing that person mentioned is about VHS. It made me smile the whole time reading that article. I have my own memories with old telivision and video players. 😂

Do you remember the TV that looked a lot like an oven? We call it oven toaster.. 😂😂😂. Oven because big and expensive ones have built in frames and doors or screen cover. I could still remember our neighbor's TV it has wooden doors and twist and turn buttons on the side. At home we have one very small TV with three twist buttons on the side (volume, channel, I couldn't remember what the third one is for). Screen is in grayscale 😅 black and white or sometimes blue.

I remember my aunt (mom's sister) was the only one who can afford to buy TV. We all gather inside her house. The adults laugh and tease each other from crying over dramatic scenes. And the characters look funny for looking short because of the small TV screen. 😂

We are a big extended family in one roof. Ever since their favorite time killer is playing cards, even up to this time. They are also fond of basketball. Our house is simply built with light materials. I remember it's a two storey house with one room downstairs and three rooms upstairs. That house is full of students and starter employees and all are family members. It was really fun back then.

We also experienced watching TV from outside a neighbor's window. And I realized how sad it is when they close the windows after seeing someone outside. It's heartbreaking every time I see scenes like this because I remember myself from the past.

Then here comes the time of VHS (Video Home System). It was still my aunt who had it first in our family. I can still remember the first one she bought is a white rectangular box where you insert a big black cartridge which contained one movie recording in it. It got broken after a few months and she bought a new one. It looked like a toy, it actually looked like a red sports car. We as kids were so amazed by its looks.

Another funny moment is when it's movie time. The adults sit in the couch and kids gather around in front of them. We sit in the floor, behave and wait for the movie to play. In a circle of watchers, there are always spoilers. 😂 They are the ones who spoil the next scenes. You will not enjoy and feel the thrill because he already said what will happen next. Lol!

If there are spoilers, there were also screen readers. Whenever a movie starts to play, the names of characters will display on screen and the movie title. Screen readers will read it all aloud. 🤣 Kind of annoying but i love the innocence and amazement on our faces in the old times. It makes me smile everytime I remember.

When we come home to our barrio, we don't have TV sets. We go to a neighbor who does film showing and you'll have to pay Php 1.00 for every show.

Not all the time we agreed with the same show. We are too many in that house and so we watch in a first come first serve basis. My father who is a soldier only comes home once or twice a month and he loves to watch action movies. There was one time he really liked a movie but he couldn't watch properly since the others were transferring from one channel to another. That time, my aunt's TV already has remote control. My father went downstairs early that night and promised himself to buy his own on the next day. The next morning, he came home with a new TV, one that's bigger than my aunt's. He was happy that he could enjoy a movie that he liked without interruption 😅.

Life in the Barrio

The old times is a treasure. Nothing compares to our childhood experiences. We had the best and healthy snacks back then. We have homemade fresh banana cue, or camote cue (sweet potato). Or banana and camote chips. Life in the barrio is the best for me, even leftover cooked rice can be made into puff rice. The foods are healthy and you can find it anywhere.

Every weekend, we go to the river and enjoy the fresh green water. Even until now we still take time to enjoy swimming with siblings and cousins.

In fact here's our photo from today's early dip in the river.

The boys would sometimes enjoy jumping off that hanging bridge.

During my time, we are also fond of climbing trees. I'm not brave enough to climb up higher levels, though but I do enjoy climbing on cacao, mangosteen and lanzones trees. Only the smaller trees.

Here's what I saw in today's generation. They are fearless in climbing big and high trees.

Going back to that song "Memory" this is what comes to my mind. Those were the times that I wanted to go back to. The clear waters of the river.

Our hanging bridge before is made of coconut lumbers and it swings when loaded with pedestrians. So many times I witnessed tourists almost crawling on that bridge because they were afraid to make a step thinking they might fall. 😂😂

My friends love to come for a fresh young coconut meat and juice. But most people love to come during the season of lanzones and that falls between September and October.

What I love the most about this place is the silence, you can only hear natural sounds of crickets, some insects and other farm animals. I love the green sorroundings and the fresh air.

Food can be found everywhere. We love to have vegetable stew and we can plant veggies around. Everything is fresh and organic in this place. And the memories of this place is always alive.