Mr. Costes,
First of all, I want to greet you a Happy New Year, hope everything is well. Mr. Costes, I just want to let you know how much I enjoy reading your stories about our hometown Asingan. My family and I left Asingan in 1983, I was young and can't really remember much about our town. With your writings, our town suddenly reappearred in my mind. Memories started to flow again. This letter is to encourage you to keep on writing and help us remember our town. My Mom and Dad said hello!! You will be surprised to know who they are. My dad is Juan Pascua from Macalong. Dad just got done telling me about your elementary days, from first grade to sixth grade. I told him about the two kings from Asingan you wrote about. We were both laughing. I asked him about Mr. Durodur with the kalesa. Well, the guy's name is Berto Toloza from Macalong, dad went on about the guy's white caballo.Still laughing. Enough about dad, well, my Mom also said she knows you. My mom is the former Felicitas Victorino from Poblacion west. Mom read your stories and have some info about the missing arroz caldo from the convento!!! ha ha. She gave up the name of the person who took it, but I'm not going to snitch him off!!! Both of my parents gave you a very positive feedback. Nalaing kayo kano nga tao idi pay laeng, and it shows in your writing.
Well Sir, this is getting way to long, untill next time, keep on writing, Thanks,
Juan jr *********
Hi Juan Jr.
I hope I used the right nick name..
Your dad is one of my two earliest friends in Asingan during our first year at the Asingan Elementary School. The other one is Serafin Garna and I am really wondering about Serafin's whereabouts now a days..But I do remember both of them picking me up on their way to school to attend the class of Mrs. Valentina Lising. Maybe your dad remembers Nueva Domaoan ( now in NY), Rudy Dumapias ( about to retire as a Philippine Ambassador in Mexico City ) Jose Montoya and some others. Of course I know your Mom too and her family. And your grandfather too who also knew my parents. We called your part of town PUESTO refering to the line of small stalls lining up the road to Baro. The place always hummed with life 7 days a week from dawn to dusk. Then I remember your dad as a school teacher in Asingan and also one of the Cursillistas. I seldom saw him anymore during the 70s and 80s because I worked in Laguna for 4 years before we left for Canada in 1975.
When I was a kid I used to know who are the tenants of the puesto..I remember there was an eatery too there, plus the shoe repair shop ran by your grandpa. I can't remember if the original wooden stalls are still there or the municipal council have them removed and replaced. But I do remember the ANGAT Transportation Depot right across the street beside the store of Editha Chua, one of our classmates. It was a daily Manila-bound bus which Asinganians before "abused" by loading EVERYTHING on it: live goats or pigs, sacks of rice, suitcases, burlap sacks filled with vegetables. Yes sirree, they piled everything except the kitchen sink in the poor bus ! The bus also picked up their Asinganian passengers ( before taking the road for Manila they would go to all the barrios in Asingan ) from their homes in Asingan and delivered them to their addresses in Manila ( what with all those cargo crammed on the roof of the bus ) ! The last passenger in the bus would arrive in his Manila address late at night! So the Asinganians who have tons of luggage would take the Angat and those who are traveling light took the Pantran..Thats how it was before according to my memory machine...
Thank you for writing me, regards to your Mom and Dad!Hope your dad could share me some of his childhood memories!!
Vic
No comments:
Post a Comment