GAMES CHILDREN PLAY

My favorite game when I was a kid was fencing. Instead of dueling swords however, we used a straight piece of bamboo or a long branch of a sturdy and straight Philippine wood abundant in Asingan. We went to isolated places for our "duel" which might take place a long time ( nobody actually dies ) but as soon as we touch the other guys body with the stick, then he "died" and we start all over again. However,  as soon as it  started to get dark we had to go home for supper otherwise, our swords will be used on our butts by our mothers.

One Christmas, I received a toy cowboy gun made from metal and the handles looked like white ivory. They were beauties. For bullets, we buy some rolled paper bullets ( actually tiny bits of match heads ) called firing pistol caps. We bought these at Loa's store in the marketside and these were always on demand.  The pistol would create an authentic gunshot sound ( especially inside the house ) . The toy pistol was sold only in Manila or Dagupan and you have to buy the gun holster and belt separately. After a while, a single spring inside the gun would break and the gun became useless. You can not buy a replacement spring.

Sometimes, my playmates and I use rubber bands and the ammo are small pieces of paper rolled and bent so you could attach it in one end of the rubber band, like a bow and arrow. We used these on targets ( comic strip figures cut and pasted on cardboard with a folded base so it could stand )..These come as a part of the various Filipino comic books published in the '50s. After a while, we use live targets that is, we used our rubber band with bullets on each other. We try not to hit the eyes though, otherwise s..t would hit the ceiling when Mom learns about it. ( Poor Mom, she's the only one giving discipline to the young 'uns. ).

Playing hide and seek in Asingan is quite some fun because you have the whole backyard to use. Plus the neighbour's backyard whether she likes it or not.Asingan kids do not care for privacy as long as they can play. There is so much stuff in our backyard ( bushes, big boxes, empty water tanks used by the machineries etc.) that we do not need anything else once we start playing hide and seek. We climbed trees to hide, or went under the houses not caring who owns it. Many Philippine houses have open ground floors with various stuff. Lots of animal droppings there too and most of the kids do not use any sandals or slippers. When something was stepped on, the poor kid would scream, go out of the hiding place, limping and pressing his/her nostrils while heading for the water pump to do some clean up.

Who needs TV in Asingan during those days? We just wait for that faithful buddy to come and pick us up Saturday mornings and we have the whole fun day ahead of us! Awright!--

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