MORE ABOUT JOHNNY

  An e-mail from my buddy Lito,

Hi Vic: I don’t know whether they are related to the Principal Inocencio Pascua. I know his Mom and Dad; they  resided near the Agne family.. Juan is second to the eldest His eldest sister is pretty and light in complexion. I forget the name of her sister. She usually has pink cheek s. I know his dad and mom. His dad works with Laki Moniang's rice mill. His mom is small lady with a light complexion. I don’t how many sibling Johnny got. They usually pass by that narrow street going to the  Dupac Public  Intermediate school

Johnny's respond:

Manong Lito Domaoan. is correct about my parents……The late Mr. Inocencio Pascua  was a relative of ours….the sisters are Mrs. Emerenciana P. Esteban (Wife of Mr. Jovencio Esteban) Mrs. Pastora P. Agapito Millano (wife of Mr. Roman Agapito) and Mr. Crisanto Pascua in Dupac. M. Lito forgot the name of my sister Lydia (Juliana in school)…I have one brother and 7 sisters….

.It’s true my dad worked in the rice mill of Lakay Moniang & my mom was a plain housewife and a market vegetable vendor…..After  the planting season my dad worked in the rice mill to support us in everyday life  and sent us all to college……Thanks  God we all graduated from college……2 were Commerce graduates and the rest became teachers.

Life is soooo hard for our family but slowly and surely we survived the challenges , trials & tribulations. …We thanked our parents for their support.

The road next to Manong Lito”s house was the road I used to pass everyday in going to  high school. Also  when I went back and forth to Bayambang every week…. I remember those days when I passed that street wIth a  Bigao* on my head to sell vegetables in the streets…..I did this from Gr. 1V to 2nd year high school.The Agne family was our only neighbor across the NCS old Home economics bldg..

Til next time!

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*Bigao (Bi-GA-oo)..A shallow container woven from banboo. Used in the old days for carrying veggies or for winnowing the newly polished rice. Carrying a bigao full of stuff is quite a feat.

Once I saw a woman carrying about 3 bundles on her head ( one atop each other ) and at the same time carrying a basket on each hand. This woman is a snack vendor in Asingan and she usually brings her stuff to a roadside in front of the Salcedo building at dusk. Then she sets up her cooking wares and cooks bibingka or tupig. She also sold balut wrapped with towels for insulation.She usually sits on her spot for about 4 hours or until there are no more customers. Mimay, the well known peanut vendor in the '50s was one of the Asingan sidewalk sellers.

This Journal relates real life stories about Asinganians. True life is usually more dramatic and more memorable than fiction.

God  bless us all!