EARLY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES IN ASINGAN

BY VICTORIO COSTES



My childhood memories can go back as far as 1947..The earliest one I have ( and which I cherish ) is the one about a kiddie cart built by my brother during that year... This 4 wheeler cart is a smaller version of the two wheeler native CARITON used by farmers in their daily trek to and from the rice fields during those early days..

This was was pulled by either a carabao or a cow. But the former was preferred because the latter has a very volatile temper. It could go beserk sometimes ( like that bull which gets agitated by a red cape ). But the carabao is so mild mannered that someone coined the phrase "patient as the carabao.." Carabao translated in Ilocano is NUANG, in Pangasinan is DUWEG. Funny thing is for a while, I thought DUWEG is a pig until I was corrected by my family members who were all fluent in speaking the Pangasinan dialect.

Anyway, let us go back to my little story..

The year was 1947. It was a very good year.It was 2 years after the end of World War II. I do not know when the Americans left Asingan but I remember faintly their camp in front of our house. This busy camp was occupying the western sector of the Catholic Church yard. So I would say that I still have faint memories of 1946 which you will know shortly.

The camp was so busy that I remember these armored vehicles noisily passing in front of our house. In one instance, I crossed the road to the other side as one vehicle passed by but there were still other ones behind. My Mom saw me from the window, she called me immediately and I got whacked in the behind for doing such a foolish thing which only young kids would do.**** Years later I would see these tank armored wheel chains decorating the pathways of the Asingan Independent church going to the priest's house. I wonder if Elmer would remember these quaint relics from the war.

Let us go back to what I did in 1947

I frequently rode on that cart with some other kids. I could not remember their names anymore, but for sure some of them were my two younger sisters.I must be 4 years old then. And there were only 4 or 5 who could ride in that cart.

This Kiddie cart was built by my brother Donato, who at that time was already fond of tinkering with mechanical things.. I believe the wheels are made from 4 rubber rimmed wheels, similar to the Radio Flyer cart popular in the US. Do you know what animal he used to pull it? It was a huge male goat!

I remember we would ride it a few times especially when the weather was so nice and balmy. But we did not go very far. Just around the block.

This block consisted of: the Phil. Independent Church situated beside the Sampaga's old residence ( now the Canadido residence ), then there was the Iglesia ni Kristo church at the corner which now is occupied by the house of the Ong family. Beside this church on the way going to Urdaneta was an orchard owned my dad. That orchard was bought by Mr. Cruz and is now the site of the business building put up by Dr. Bernard Cruz, a surgeon residing in New Jersey. This block consists further of the residences of the Santiago family, then the Navarro family.

After we passed the Navarro family residence, we would turn right to enter that small street which would go straight to the municipal cemetery. But our cart did not go that far. Our cart would turn right at a small nipa house which is just parallel west to our old Spanish type house facing the Roman Catholic church. We would enter the yard of this small nipa hut following a small pathway between SILAG plants and a big Lomboy tree. Then we reach the kiskisan owned by my grandmother when she was still alive. And we find ourselves back in our house again, thus completing the very short but exciting trip. We were the only kids then who owned a kiddie cart pulled by a goat!

When that big male goat died ( maybe it was butchered ) our kiddie cart rides ceased. That goat was the only one strong enough to pull that cart with us kids on it. My brod was always the driver because he owned the goat. When the goat was gone, the cart was used for other things and we never saw it again.

My brother, who built the kiddie cart by the way, grew up to be a very good auto mechanic. Up to now, at the age of 70, he is still fixing the cars of his friends here in Toronto---#

FIRE AND ICE

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice. --Robert Frost

So Far Away! By A.B.C

	Frank Sinatra - If You Are But A Dream.mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

As I plunged myself into the thick of the night,
To fathom its dark recesses for just a beam of light,
It was fortunate that there was little, twinkling star,
Whose rays gave light to the byway to where you are.

***
Because in my mind I knew from the very start,
That your silhouette fit the contour of my heart.
So when l gazed upon your beautiful and gentle face,
I knew then that I found you as my long, lost wish.

***
It started when I first saw you in that crowded hall,
Where your loveliness bounced against that mirrored wall,
And the radiance of your eyes penetrated my inner soul,
Which melted my yesterday’s past leaving nothing at all.

***
Happily I was holding you in a very tight embrace,
As beams of light showered my happy, smiling face.
But when I held you tight while I went on dreaming,
You left my arms empty when I woke up that morning.

***

Beautiful Saturday in Toronto!

Miggie, Miggie, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

Our house a few months after we bought it in 1983...

 

Our house, 24 years  after. I planted those two pine trees...

 

The  base of the left pine tree..

 

The base of the right  pine tree, where most of the pretty stuff are. There is the house made from twigs, a mushroom patch mide from wood ( you cant see it very well, but believe me, its there ) plus the phlox and the hostas...

 

I planted this Japanese Maple  Tree about 3 years ago. Planted it on JulyFirst, the independence Day of Canada. Come to think of it, most of what I planted here are trees..

 

This tree stump was given away by a neighbour. He sold his house and he cut down some of the trees in his backyard. Then he brought the stumps, branches etc. into the curb for pick up by the Parks and Recreations people. We asked for the stump and he gave it willingly. He even delivered it to our  front yard because it was so heavy!

 

Miguelita's plants are growing very well...A few more weeks before the phlox would be full grown and the flowers will be splashing colours all over the front yard..

 

One side of her garden beside the pathway going to the house..Sometimes some freaking ants would build their house on the small strip of grass..but not anymore. They transfered to another part of the lawn..:)

 

Same spot as the last  photo but a different view..The stone foot  is my creation..flat rocks with 5 pebbles on the wide side..I call it ( surprise! ) Big Foot!...:)

 

A photo essay

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA MISSION CHURCH

In the movie "How The West Was Won" (1962), the plot is about the fifty years of Ame-rican expansion between the 1830s and 1880s as viewed through the experiences of two families as they migrate by the Erie Canal, continue over the prairies during the California gold rush, suffer through the civil war, and finally help build the railroads on the plains and bring law and justice to the frontier.

But the texture of the film was spiced to Hollywood flavor which was primarily intended to entertain the movie-going public more than anything else.. It said nothing about the role of Mission Churches in converting the native people to the Faith and helped bring ‘law and justice to the frontier.’

One such Mission Church is Carmel-by-the-Sea. Originally called Mission San Carlos Borro-meo del Rio Carmelo, it was founded on June 3, 1770 on the shores of Monterey Bay. One year later on Aug. 24, the mission was relocated to a site at the mouth of the River of Carmel where more abundant fresh water could be obtained.

The following pictures which were taken just recently show how the Mission looks like today:

A view of the front gate leading to the Church.

 

A front view of the Church at a time when a wedding was going on as two ladies in bright red were about to enter. It’s a practice of the Church to shut its door to all others except to participants and guests of the wedding ceremony.

 

Religious statues on display at the Church’s museum

An old camera and other artifacts on display at the museum.

 

 

A view from its quadrangle showing a cross and the Church’s spire.

 

 

A marker at the foot of the cross says it all.

 

A marker in the Church grounds "Honoring Four Early Americans in California."

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ADDED MATERIAL

Carmel-by-the-Sea and its famous Ex-Mayor

Carmel-by-the-Sea. It's like a village out of a children's story book, a seaside town of quaint cottages nestled under gnarled but protective live oak trees. You'd almost expect Hobbitts or elves to inhabit the place. The residents here are real humans, though - some famous and some not. Undisputedly, this charming town's most famous resident is actor, director and former mayor Clint Eastwood.

Why is Clint Eastwood so partial to the Carmel area? Probably for the same reasons the rest of us like it: crashing waves and sea otters playing at Point Lobos, incomparable ocean views hidden around every corner and relaxed ambience to calm the most frenetic of souls.

Eastwood is a native Californian who discovered the Carmel area when he was stationed a few miles north at Fort Ord during the Korean War. After leaving the military, his friends Martin Milner of Route 66 and David Janssen of The Fugitive persuaded him to try acting and the rest is movie-making history. Eastwood spent his early movie-making years in Los Angeles, but he eventually returned to the Carmel area where he still lives.

Eastwood demonstrates his love for the Carmel area in his professional life. He owns a hotel and restaurant, and a golf course. He named his production company, Malpaso Productions, for a creek just south of town. He even directed his first movie here in 1971: Play Misty for Me, the story of a late-night jazz deejay who is terrorized by an obsessive ex-lover. The movie was set in Carmel and Monterey and features many local sights, including nearby Point Lobos and downtown Carmel.

As if all this weren't enough, in 1986 Eastwood wanted to build a small building in downtown Carmel. His efforts were stymied by the town's bureaucratic government and he decided to do something about it. He ran for mayor, winning with 72% of the vote. During his two-year tenure, he successfully made it easier to build or remodel property, got a tourist parking lot built, rescued the historic Mission Ranch from developers and opened a children's annex to the city library.

There are a number of things Eastwood to see and do in the Carmel area:

• Visit the Mission Ranch for a meal or stay there overnight. Their Sunday brunch is especially pleasant on a sunny day.

• Visit Pebble Beach (he's part owner).

• Visit the Hog's Breath Inn at San Carlos and Fifth Avenue in downtown Carmel. Eastwood and his partners sold it a few years ago, but it's the place people refer to as "Clint Eastwood's restaurant."

• Spend some time at Point Lobos, just south of town. It's a featured location in Play Misty for Me.

A source said Clint's salary as a Mayor was about 200$ a month...

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comments...

 

on the Yosemite Park photo essay..

 

what a picturesque site, I could almost taste the fresh air...
Comment from britishempress - 15/05/07 8:56 AM"

 

Good to know about that: tasting 'fresh air' at AJ than tasting 'blood' at DC. -SS

 

The blood letting is already history..I hope...--Vic

 

I love the beautiful pictures. Being there in person must be awesome. The pictures match the lines of the hymn..--Rain

 

on the Flowering Fortune Tree

 

As much as I would like to believe in the myth I cannot.  Our so called fortune plants in the office bear its flowers every year.
Comment from BritishEmpress -

 

Hmmm..your so called fortune plants in your office must be a different variety.. Our fortune plant at home also bear flowers every 5 years, I think..Fortune plants in Asingan could reach as high as 10-12 feet. These are planted on the ground and they multiply with the years.

 

A local name for the same plant is BASTON NI SAN PEDRO( St. Peter's Rod ) According to a biblical legend, St. Peter was walking away from Rome with that rod. Then he met a figure and he asked him in wonder: WHERE ARE YOU GOING, LORD? or Quo vadis Domine?

 

The figure answered, "I am going back to Rome, to be crucified again."

 

St. Peter, in shame, left his Rod stuck to the ground, abd he walked back to Rome. According to legend, he was crucified upside down.

 

Meanwhile, the Rod that he left on the ground sprouted leaves and flowers and to this day, it is known as the Fortune plant--Vic

 

 

by Archie Macanas

 

Fortune tree bloomed on Mother's Day...

Rumors say that this plant seldom  blooms. Actually, it’s my first time to see one.  My wife said its her second time. Many of our guests were surprised and then came the talk about mythical or supernatural beings connected to it.  Sometimes this is only the way to start our non-stop conversation.

 

It reminds me of the scent of dama de noche or Sampaguita in front of the Edrada "La Sampaguita" residence that commenced  shortly before or after dusk, the aroma spreading throughout the whole neighborhood.. The same case with our fortune plant.  My wife ( my model in the above photo ) don’t want to bring it out. She wanted it inside the house so the luck will stay. I don’t know if that’s true, but anyway   luck comes to whoever  believes in  it

 

A flowers for mothers day? That flower of fortune plant is enough so I did not spend any for flowers for my wife. But my two kids surprised her when we arrived home after I visited my mom "round trip" from San Diego. They prepared things to surprise us especially their mom. There was   cake, wine,  balloons and flowers by my son ( from his own expenses as a  part time waiter ) while he is in college. I told my wife that this is her first time to have a conventional mother’s day. She waited until our son turned 18.

My son Beian edited a video for his mom receiving a surprise gift from the mother’s day and published into "my space.com" website.

Just in case if the link doesn’t work by clicking just follow the instruction. Please highlight the address below then click the right button of your mouse then click copy, afterward go to your browser address then click your mouse until the cursor appear then click left button then click paste then click the go button or enter. "Voila!"

 

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2029300139

 

After viewing you can click more videos to be viewed ( like the "milk and cereal" )  a very funny video.