The month of May
It’s Tuesday night at our Blue Apartelle. I’m eagerly anticipating for the month of May to come hoping for MECQ to be lifted on the 15th since the OPTA researcher, Professor Guido David, is forecasting a steady decline in the new cases of Covid-19. Vaccines are already rolled out which is a welcome news but the decline is not consistent nationwide. Baclayon is next to Tagbilaran in Covid cases.
What shall we do? Dili sa intawon ta magpabuyag. Dili sa ta maglakawlakaw. Dinhi bitaw sa Baclayon ba, ug mosuroy ka, Baliaut puno, Baluarte puno, Laya puno. Duna pa gyud mag inom-inom sa pagatpat. Hala sige pud karaoke. Dili ra ba jud guapo ug tingug. Mo miss man pud ta ni Victor wood, oi. Di ba to siya mokanta ug Leonora Teresa? He just passed away, right?
Nagsuroysuroy na gud ang police. But I am kindly paging the different barangay officials. You should be the ones who are supposed to FIRST impose the discipline we need today; and the people will follow. I cannot stand barangay officials posting on FB their birthday parties and other social activities “exhibiting their wares”. Now is not the time to flaunt. Daghan intawon naglisud. Please celebrate in private and in the comforts of your home.
We seniors are being on a lockdown status for almost over a year now. But we are trying to cope with. Unya kamong mga batan-on nga nagsuroy suroy diha sa gawas, unsa may inyong nadalit sa pagsumpo sa Covid 19? Para namong mga senior citizens, dili lalim ning mura ta ug gipriso sa balay. Pero among gipaningkamutan nga aduna mi mabuhat aron malingaw kami sa pag panglabay sa mga oras, mga adlaw, ug mga buwan.
It is not possible for us just to be sitting down and think of this morbid situation now. Me? Well, I think of the beautiful pre Covid days, which we took for granted.
Covid is able to give us a flashback of those beautiful memories of the pre-Covid days.
I think of the beautiful month of May and the Flores de Mayo, As a little child and as one born during and after world war II, I remember the “magdaginot years”. Those were the years when the old dresses had to be kept. Ang mga daang sanina hipuson jud na sa among Lola Danday kay unja ug mag gubat ug usab.
I also remember that before, we only had three (3) instances when we were given the opportunity to have a new dress: Fiesta, Christmas and the month of May.
For our new dress in the month of May, it had to be white, made of the Royal poplin fabric which only cost P2 per meter, then. Why white? So that we could use the dress for the Fores de Mayo
Tinuod, lisud ang kwarta ni-adtong panahuna. Pero bisan ug lisud ang kwarta kaniadto, walay gutom. Daghan pa man ang makaon. Dihay ubi, saging, camote, apale, mais. Ug walay sud-anon moadto lang sa dagat, manguha ug aninikad ug uban pang kinhason. Unya butangan lang dayon sa kamunggay ug dyutay nga lamas, diha ka nay init nga sabaw ug sud-an. Init gyud nang sabaw sa aninikad ug kamunggay butangan lang ug luy-a ug tanglad.
That could have been a good program that the barangay officials could have initiated at the start of the pandemic. I also tried pechay. Count 45 days from your planting the seeds and you can already eat the produce. Camote is also another easy-to-grow plant.
Going back to the Flores de Mayo, I think i have to give tribute and credit to Nang Coring Manding for bringing to us the Flores de Mayo in Baclayon.
Nang Coring is Mrs. Socorro Real Manding. She is the aunt of the late Oscar Real. Nang Coring was an “interna” at the Sta. Isabel College in Manila. During her time, only a few Boholanos could go to Manila for their studies. And to think that Nang Coring was an “interna” at the Sta. Isabel College. The sisters of Dr. Jose Rizal were schooled in this college run by the Spanish nuns, It was here where Nang Coring was honed for her talents in social graces and home craft. At that time when being a florist was still unknown as a profession, Nang Coring was already making floral arrangements from plants and flowers locally available.
I remember a floral arrangement she made upon the death of my Lola Danday’s sister, Graciana Villamor. It was an arrangement made of young fruits of a palm tree called “bunga”. Beautiful, indeed. Nang Coring also did embroidery, crochet and table arrangement including many other fineries. She was also at her best with her sewing machine.
It was Nang Coring who tutored Nong Tekyo Caballo and Ingko Lumin. Oscar Real inherited her aunt’s talents, too. They were cultural icons of Baclayon. And we have yet to see who would be the rising stars to follow their footprints. There are promising stars, but it will take some time before they can have the ‘Oscars’.
This coming May, we hope to see the day that Covid will vanish. Let’s offer the flowers of the earth to the blessed Virgin, to intercede for us.
Let’s sing “What Shall I Ask of Thee” – our prayers to Mama Mary. the Mother of Christ.
Oh mother please intercede for us for Covid to flee.