I’m excited to visit once again my home country and this early lots of things going on in my mind such as what things to do, places to visit, and. friends to see.
At my age now 74, going to be 75 on February 14, some concerns face me honestly, like the difficulty of going around because my legs are not that stable, I have to bring with me all my medications, most especially for high blood because in case of stroke or heart attack, my insurance will not cover them, my insurance is good for accidents.
Being a senior, it’s doubly hard to have frequent visits to the homeland.
Despite some of these constraints, I’m determined to push through my visit—for old times’ sake, I want this sentimental journey to be memorable, I might not be able to do it again, as they say, life is uncertain, life is fragile.
Of course, I must meet with some close friends I have not seen for years.
I love to see some familiar places like my former Claro M. Recto High School building in Sampaloc, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila in Intramuros, the Journal Building in Port Area and the National Press Club. My agenda is reconnecting with friends and relatives and doing things with them that will surely re-live some of my forgotten memories.
Oh, I want to chat with friends and neighbours in Loreto in Sampaloc where I grew up. We can talk about our experiences in living in that memorable place that used to be inhabited mostly by poor people in Manila.
I remember this Loreto street where I learned how to be tough, to be street-wise.
This is a place where when I was a young boy I used to play patintreo, tumbang preso tiradora, holing, and eskrima with friends. I was with some friends when we went to mantutuli for our circumcision.
There is also the place where I learned to work early in my life washing taxicabs, and selling newspapers and cigarettes.
I will visit Project 6, Tandang Sora and Pasong Tamo—these are the places where I grew up as a teenager; I enjoyed these places because of the way they looked then as if I was living in a province far away from Manila. They had this countryside atmosphere with some idle lands, rice lands, and lots of trees—especially those Kakawate trees.
Going back home will not be complete without paying a visit to these families—Agbada, Eugenio, Cleofas, Panlaque, and Pangilinan—because in some ways I had a chance to mingle, talk and laugh with them. These families are considered to be the “Antigo” residents of Pasong Tamo, which means they have lived there for a. long time, some of them were said to be related to the Katipunan Heroine Tandang Sora.
As a teenager, I had a “crush”, the apple of my eye in Pasong Tamo and with my visit there, I can have some answers to some questions lingering on my mind like where is she now? Has she gotten married? How many children does she have now? Meeting her now– we as seniors– would probably have some good laughs in remembering our carefree, youthful past.
In 2018, the last time I visited these places, I was surprised when I saw these places, and I could not recognize them anymore because Visayas Avenue had been fully constructed and expanded– the bridge now connects the whole Visayas Ave, all the way up to Tandang Sora and in the middle of this road is the big Congressional Ave.
This area used to have a big squatters area where I made lots of friends. And I do not know where are they now.
The year before I last visited the Philippines in 2018, I had written this piece, A
Sentimental Journey and I would like to share some parts of this article because in the next few days, I’ll be re-visiting these memorable places again that have a great impact on my life:
“ Another special place which I’ll visit–the Philippine Journalist Inc. (PJI) office this is the media company where I spent a good part of my career as a journalist, where I honed my writing skills and where I tested my mettle as a union organizer.
I’m so grateful to the PJI in the sense that although I have had some disagreements with the company because of my union activities but still, I cannot deny the fact that I’d earned my living by working there for more than 20 years.
For old times’ sake, I’ll take a look at the former Chronicle building on Aduana St. in Manila this is where my first employer, the Leader Magazine, had its offices, the editorial dept, and a printing plant– and I had my first article written in this magazine.
Being a journalist, it’s a must that I see the National Press Club, my former watering hole where I used to unwind after a very hectic day’s work; it’s where I made some close friends in the media.
Surely, I have to see my favourite bookstores Popular, Erehwon, and La Solidaridad where the books for sale are not covered with plastic and the people are free to browse these books even if they don’t intend to buy them. Then, with a little money I saved from my school allowances, I would buy a book or two from these bookstores.
Maybe, once I drop by these bookstores and browse some of their books, I might be tempted to buy some and take them back home to Toronto.
Of course, taking my sentimental journey home will not be complete without ever having lunch or dinner at my favourite restaurants such as Ma Mom Luk, Aristocrat, Savory, Lim Nam Maxs, Little Quiapo and Barrio Fiesta. I want to taste again these mouth-watering dishes like the kikiam, pata tim, lumpiang sariwa na may mani, talbos ng kamote, fried dangit, alupihan dagat, litsong manok and kinilaw na dilis.
And for my coffee, is the Best Cafe located in front of the Quiapo Church still there?”
Oh, My friends, I’m raring to fly to Pinas right now!!