I woke up the next morning wondering where I was. I felt like crap because I never had much sleep the night before. I was close to dozing off when I heard some explosions in the mall across the hotel. I swore those were gunshots. So it took a while before my sleep came back. I was thinking the next gunshots would be at the door of my room.
I woke up at 5:00 am Philippine time ( as usual ). I took a shower, packed my things and then I went down the lobby for breakfast. I asked the receptionist about the gunshots but he said they were only fire crackers..Firecrackers, my ass, I said silently.I was not born yesterday. That night clerk did not know how to lie convincingly.He could just have said "I do not know, sir.."
I sat down in the dining room which looks almost like one of the eateries in Urdaneta. Only this one has fewer flies.I ordered Pampanga Tosino, scrambled eggs, fried rice and coffee..I asked that all 3 would be in one platter. It was brought to my table by the waiter who also doubled as the cook. It was not as delicious as I expected. Then I asked how much was the bottled water on their counter.."30 pesos, sir," the waiter/cook answered and then continued in a low voice.."but if you go to that sari-sari store across the street, you would get them for 10 pesos only.." I admired the guy's loyalty to his employer. I guess like most workers in the Philippines, he was just working for peanuts and would be willing to sell trade secrets for a moderate fee. "Thanks, buddy" I said and left enough change for his tip and stood up. Geez, that tocino left me very thirsty and I had to slake it before I went bananas.
The store was there and as I walked towards it I caught sight of two dogs having sex right in front of the hotel. And nobody seemed to mind them like it is just something ordinary. Well, it is common in the Philippines especially in the boondocks. The canines were not making any lewd movements anyway. They were just standing there quietly, posterior to posterior; no straddling. Like nothing is happening. But if this took place in Asingan, kids would start throwing stones at them and laugh as the 2 dogs would start running away, one dog going on reverse.I walked on to the store..It was too early in the morning to be bothered about things like that...
Yes, the waiter was right. So I bought a couple of them, and headed back to my hotel room so I canuse the CR. The dogs were still in front of the hotel.
My friend Lenny and her family including Edith arrived at 8:30 am. Before I left the hotel, I paid my bills to check out then I went out to the main street with them.
First we took a jeep to Magalang. As we approached the town ( which looked just like Asingan in a way ) the profile of Mount Arayat grew bigger and bigger. Then we reached the town and hired some motorized tricycles to bring us to barrio San Pablo. The place now really looked desolated and quiet. There were just few houses there and all the people there are blood relatives. Yes, do not mess with anyone in that barrio or there will be blood. Not theirs but yours.
The Baptism was conducted by a farmer who doubled as a minister of a Rizalista church. He was wearing a black bishop's hat and when he wore his priestly vestment, I saw that there was a Filipino flag embroidered on it. He wore it only when he started the rite because it was so darned hot then. He would sweat like a pig if he wore it for an hour.The rite, prayers and all ended after half an hour..Then we had the usual conversation and Lenny and I were the first ones to sample the food..Good cooking. you know how good Pampanguenians are when it comes to cuisine.
When Edith came back from a youth meeting in their church ( she belongs to the Nazarene, a Christian church established in Pampanga by a Korean Missionary ) I told her I had to go back to Pangasinan. She and her two brothers brought me to this part in the Poblacion in Magalang where a bus from Manila would stop to pick up passengers. We waited for about 20 minutes then it finally arrived. We said final goodbyes and my visit to Pampanga ended as fast as it started.
15 minutes after I settled down on one of the seats, I texted my sister Ester I was arriving in the afternoon..
She texted back and told me they will be waiting at the Magic Mall in Urdaneta. Then I switched off my cell phone, stuffed it in my knapsack and tried to catch some shuteye.---#
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