By Telly G. Ocampo
Recuerdos
The white dove orchid
Reaching the age of 76 gives one the avenue to think of the joyful past; especially about little things that warm the heart and make him/her remember what is good and inspiring.
A recuerdo is a souvenir, or a remembrance of a deep kind of friendship. It could also be an appreciation of the little things that one has done.
The picture of my daughter, Irene, showing the sunflower in bloom. The seeds of this flower are from my friends, Robert and Penny Yu of Leyte home depot.
I remember a little gesture of appreciation long time ago from a “piyon” – a construction laborer whom we hired when we were building our house in Tacloban. He just applied for any kind of work in the construction area. Since he had a very good attitude, we kept him until the finishing line. He helped me in the garden, too.
And then came the house blessing. This was exactly what he said: “Ma’am dadalhan ta ikaw hin orchids mahahumot et mabusag. Aton Ine nga recuerdo. Damo ha may amon ha Babatngon.” If translated into English, it meant: “Ma’am, I’Il bring you a white sweet specie of orchid. There are plenty of this in my hometown, Babatngon. This will be our remembrance.”
True enough, he brought the orchids one Monday morning. The bunch was called the white dove orchids with plenty of flowers. This kind was not rare compared to the orchids I was crazy about then: the Velthius Alba, Mamo, Vanda Sanderiana, Maday Yamada and many more. But the thought of a recuerdo from a simple person was truly heartwarming. It was our recuerdo, our remembrance. That happened many years ago – in 1982.
Then I came home to Bohol to finally stay here for good. And I became very involved with BAHANDI – Baclayon Ancestral Homes for Development Initiatives. In this BAHANDI group that I was (and am still) with, I meet several persons equally involved with our advocacy. These are people whose moments with me are very precious. May I mention some of them?
One time, Doña Beatriz Zobel de Ayala had her personal guests here. She wanted her guests to go on a river cruise all by themselves in a paddled banca with Marianito Luspo as their tour guide. Ino Manalo asked me to prepare some picnic food for them, and I did.
Doña Beatriz Zobel de Ayala
I did not have the chance to meet the guests since i still had my store to attend to. But to my surprise, I received this beautiful bouquet of flowers on my working table at home. The guests gifted me with that bouquet. These were the guests who wanted to meet me in person to show me their gesture of deep appreciation for the picnic basket i prepared for them. What a beautiful remembrance, recuerdo.
Then, I had Irene Marcos Araneta, one time, as my guest for breakfast at my Pagatpat House at Baclayon, Bohol. She came with Ino Manalo for a basket shopping in Antequera on an early Sunday morning. It was market day in the town at that time, so, the weavers came down from their homes to sell their wares. I found out that Irene is such a simple lady. She was filled with awe looking at the products in the Antequera, and she was more awed seeing the centuries old Pagatpat trees behind our little house just beside the sea.
Irene Marcos Araneta, one of my former breakfast guest sat my Pagatpat house in Baclayon
And just yesterday, we went to a garage sale of my other friend Gemma in Loon. I went to the place with Carrie. Gemma has just sold her beautiful house by the sea. And the new owner, an American with a Filipina wife, wrote a beautiful letter to Gemma with deep appreciation of the house he now owns. A letter like that is more than enough to lessen the pain of parting with something dear. That house is a showcase of Gemma’s artistry: and it was not easy for her to leave behind beautiful memories of gatherings we used to have especially during the celebration of the feast of our Lady of Light. “Viva Birhen sa Kasilak”.
And Gemma’s recuerdo for me? It was a shawl that I truly love which came from Jerusalem. Even if I showed eagerness and willingness fot pay for it, yet Gemma gave it to me as a recuerdo.
Ino Manalo a good friend of mine who never misses to say, “Thank you!”