by Telly G. Ocampo
For AUGUST 6, 2023
Treasured memories of the way we were!
I am 77 years old now. But events of the past are
still very vivid in my memory. And the things I
remember the most, are those simple joys that
children of today have never experienced.
I was born immediately after the war. What is
clearly etched in my mind is what my Lola Danday
constantly reminded us: “Save and Store the hand
me down clothes kay basin ug mag gierra pag-
usab. Everything must be done in moderation ug
ipang-apod-apod gayud ang angay nga
ipanghatag.” The dictum was: “Bisan ug ingon lang
kagamay sa bunga sa talisay, ang tanan mag-
angay sa pagbahinay.”
I also have memories of the abundance during our
youthful days. We had ample supply of ubi and
saging ug uban pa nga mga duma ug abot sa yuta.
It was because people who tilled our land were
very consistent and diligent in giving us our share.
Ilaha gyud nga ipanghatud ang among bahin sa
yuta nga ilang gitikad. As far as the ubi was
concerned, my grandmother was firm in her
instructions: Nga:amo gyud nga hagkan ang ubi
kung kini mahagbong gikan sa among mga kamot.
Akong nasabtan nga sagrada alang sa among
mga katigulangan ang produkto nga gitawag ug
ubi. I now realize that ubi was the prime staple
food that sustained them during the years of the
war.
I also remember that my old folks had to buy the
most durable shoes so that these could be handed
down to the younger siblings, as the older ones
outgrew the pair. Ipasunod gyud ang mga sapatos
ug tsinelas sa mga manghud kung kini matubu-an
na. Maoy hinungdan nga kinhanglan nga ang
paliton, kanang lig-on nga klase. Moreover, our
pairs of shoes, then, came only in black and white.
It is still vivid in my mind, too, that we could only
have a new dress during celebrations of fiestas
and Christmas. I could not remember a birthday
party for us children until we reached 18 yrs old. If
we were lucky, panahon sa pyesta sa Birhen,
pakulungan mi sa among buhok. Wala pay kulong
adto nga cold wave mao nga ang gigamit kadtong
mag-oros-oros among buhok inig basa sa tubig.
Ug moaso pa gyud. Ug mulabaw sa oras ang pag-
oros-oros, mapaso gyud ang among bagol-bagol
nga maoy makaingon sa gitawag ug “puno sa ulo”.
We had fun and honest games during our younger
days. The tubig-tubig, buwan-buwan ug ibo-ibo
were played mostly on moonlight nights. We also
enjoyed playing the sungka, korro ug bika-bika.
On our way to school, we didn’t take the car, nor
the tricab nor the motorcycle. We walked to and
from school. We had our bakya which we did not
wear until we were near our school. Among
bitbiton among mga bakya ug isul-ob lang kini
namo inig hapit na mi muabot sa eskwelahan. All
these I can still remember.
School was loved by us. It was a pleasure
attending classes every single day. I couldn’t feel
any competition among us, the pupils. We shared
books, pencils, sheets of paper and food with our
classmates. It was a joy to be in a chorus as we
answered questions in Geography and Social
Studies. There was no Google nor Wikipedia to
assist us. We didn’t have calculators to aid us in
our computation of problems in Arithmetic. We had
the fingers of our hands and feet to help us add
and subtract numbers. And we did the addition and
subtraction with the aid of our fingers under our
desks. Dili man gyud mosugot si ma’am nga
magkwenta mi ginamit among mga tudlo sa kamot
ug sa tiil. Mao kadtoy hinungdan nga amoa kining
itago – ang pag-ihap pinaagi sa among mga tudlo.
Ah! Our teachers were role models. They
exemplified to us the honest, dignified, kind and
generous human beings. We idolized them. They
were strict, but with compassion. “Cleanliness and
Orderliness. Cleanliness and Godliness”. All these
were the slogans of our youth.
We went to church in our Sunday’s best, to show
reverence to the Lord. I never experienced
wearing a pair of shorts and sloppy t-shirt to
church. And the church was (and still is) a sacred
place for us. We didn’t use it as a dating haven nor
an “in the meantime” venue.
My list of beautiful memories includes our task to
wash our clothes and have these starched
afterwards. Among gamitan ug almerol among
mga nilabhan aron dili kini dali migisi ug aron usab
hamis tan-awon inig utaw niini. Unya, dili pud mi
mugamit ug electric flat iron. Kalipay namo ang
maghaling ug mogamit sa bagol aron among
ibutang sa bug-at nga plantsa aron maoy among
ipang-utaw sa among mga sinina.
We had fun as we washed our clothes and after
rinsing them, we would apply Perla to the white
linens aron among ilatad ug iladlad sa kainit sa
adlaw to maintain its sharp white color. Butangan
pa man gani namo ug aniel powder. Aniel was a
household product used to improve the
appearance of textiles especially white fabrics.
And yet, we could do all the household chores and
still had time to play.
The beautiful experience of the pagpanginhas sa
baybayon panahon sa tinghunas will never be
forgotten. It was never a burden to go to the
shores and gather whatever kinhason, bat tuli, bat
pisot, aninikad, daw daw, kasag, lokot, lato,
gumon-gumon, lumot nga ambang, swaki, tujom
ug uban pa. We went with the neighborhood
children to the shores. Magdala mi ug bahaw ug
adto mi mupalabay sa sayong kahapunon hangtud
musawop ang adlaw pagtagbo sa kagabhion. We
didn’t have gadgets to glue us to our seats and
made us sulk in the corners of our homes.
I now wonder: What could be the memories of my
grandchildren be when they get old like me? They
have all the conveniences that life can offer. They
go to school with all the books and gadgets they
cannot even carry. Mothers are pressured and
stressed with the requirements in school and their
needs at home.
Ahhhhh – my sweet memories of yesteryears – my
beautiful childhood memories carved with
simplicity and tranquility – my treasured memories
of the way we were!
Ubi
