The first time time I could recall that we resided in a naval base was
when we moved over to the Cavite Naval Base from Pandacan, and
occupied an officer's quarters opposite the base hospital.
At
this place, I had my very first experience of witnessing a full solar
eclipse, which occurred one mid morning, turning day into a quiet
night, with the crowing of the roosters breaking the eerie silence. We
witnessed the event from the street across the house in the company
of Uncle Bert, my Dad's brother, who was visiting then from my
parents' home province.
Young and reckless, my innate childhood
curiosity for things, which had often brought me some moments of
pain and discomfort, made me one afternoon to innocently insert a
hairpin into an electric outlet. Ha ha ha..... got the unexpected
shock which sent me scurrying to the nearby hospital for first aid
treatment. Can't forget that amused expression on the corpsman's face
who attended to me while I was trembling and crying.
After
finishing my first grade at the Ladislao Diwa Elementary School, I would continue with my 2nd and 3rd grades at the Malate Catholic School, which was only a few blocks
from our place, when we relocated to Plaza Militar in Manila. I
remember one morning, fear struck the student population as news
spread out that a large python was caught at the belfry of the Malate
Catholic Church, which was only across the street from the school.
Although I did not actually see the snake, I imagined a scene were a
big and long python was being brought out of the church by three men
holding it, from head to tail. Also, a regular pathetic sight in that
area was a hobo, in his soiled and tattered clothes, who we often
observed as he ate the leaves of the plants lining the school's
fence.
Guess you are aware how kids would often imitate what
they saw on television. Hence, there are TV reminders now, warning
viewers, especially children, not to imitate the stunts that are
shown. Well, a kid is a kid and the more intrepid ones will try to
live out their fantasies. I guess I was no exception to this and my
childhood memoirs would be incomplete without the following
anecdotes.
One time I caused my dear Mom to almost freeze in
fear as she witnessed me
perform one of my acrobatic acts, jumping
out of our still moving "school bus", a 3 x 3 truck carrier, in
front of our house and rolled over to the ground with my school bag. I
was lucky to escape with just minor bruises and scratches. Also,
during some afternoons, when everybody else in the house was taking a
siesta, my eldest brother, Kuya Sander, and I, would also imitate
the parachute jumps we saw on war pictures on TV. We used our
bedsheets as parachutes, with the four corners tied with rope for
holding on during the jump. Under the heat of the afternoon sun, we
would clamber up the lowest portion of the roof of our house, which
was about 10 feet high, repeatedly doing the jumps to the grass lawn
below. Though we could not really feel the support of a parachute,
living out our fantasy was the more thrilling part of it.
My
naughtiness, I should say, was at its peak at this stage of my growing
up years. There were instances I couldn't wait for our school bus
and had to walk home from school. Along the way, I would press every
house doorbell I passed by until I got home. That was my routine
until I got caught one day by an irritated somebody who probably just
waited for me to do it again. The fellow didn't hurt me though, but
admonished me not to do it ever again. I cried on my way home, but by
the time I reached our house, I was already composed as if nothing
had happened. I kept the whole incident to myself up to these days.
I've
learned humbling lessons from the experiences of my growing up years
and have never attempted to repeat the misadventures. After two
years at Plaza Militar, we moved back to the Cavite Naval Base and
stayed there for the last 12 years of my Dad's military service. The
next chapters of my memoirs of yesteryear, which were the most
memorable, would revolve around my growing up experiences during
this period.
[Living in Quonset Hut Homes]
