By Estanislao Albano, Jr.
As Charles was ordering, I teased him “Sky is the limit” but the expression on his face did not change…”
SAVED BY A WEDDING
Bound for a documentation job at sitio Pinalo, barangay Magnao, I passed by the City Hall to time in around five minutes before 8 this morning. As I was proceeding to our office, a staff of the Mayor’s Office said that the Mayor was about to officiate a wedding. When I got to the Mayor’s Office, the Mayor took his seat and was about to begin the ceremony. The problem was when I switched on my camera, there was no display. Then it hit me that when I woke up, I charged the camera battery to be ready for the day. I opened the battery slot and indeed, it was empty. So I asked the Mayor for three minutes so I could run for the battery.
All day until now the thought of what could have happened had not the wedding occasioned my turning on my camera when I did keeps recurring in my mind. Most likely had I not been called to document the wedding, I would have only turned on the camera in the site which is 30 minutes ride and 30 minutes uphill climb away from where the battery is. It would have been pure disaster. Just imagine breaking the news to the people there that I could not take the pictures because my camera was dead. It means also I have to make another trip. And worse, the incident would spread like wildfire in and outside the City Hall. That was a very close shave.
BACK TO BEING VEGETABLE FARMER?
The idea of spending my retirement years producing vegetables hit me while trying to rummage through a mound of spotted and starting to rot tomatoes at the market this noon. When I asked the vendor where the tomatoes came from, she said that all lowland vegetables being sold in the Tabuk City market except for the string beans come from Nueva Vizcaya. What a shame! We have lots of space that could be utilized for growing vegetables and we are being supplied by another province. But then again I have already seen that decades ago when riding to the barangays in passenger jeeps, I could see the bags of other passengers containing vegetables bought from the market.
I have some experience growing vegetables. From 1987 to 1989, I raised all sorts of vegetables in a erstwhile rice paddy my father-in-law James Pekas had set aside so I could augment Florence’s income as teacher. I did not have a job then. I mixed babysitting Pia Ursula, washing clothes and doing other house chores with gardening. I guess I had already posted here one of my best products — a kamote that weighed a little more than a kilo. My problem then was that the prices of vegetables were very discouraging and in fairness, that must be the reason some Tabuk people do not mind vegetable farmers in Nueva Vizcaya cornering our market here.
But there must be a way to make vegetable farming here profitable. In the first place, they would be fresher when they hit the market as they won’t have to be transported four hours. I just might try to find out if it could be done when I retire. Who knows I might discover it and will become the city’s first tomato magnate. Please wish me luck.
CAT INSIDE THE HOUSE?
Florence found out lately that the cat of nephew Daniel Umaybas has four kittens. She had asked that he reserve a kitten for us when the cat which has some foreign blood will have kittens.
Florence: Imbaga ni Daniel nga adda uppat nga kuting pusana. Dawatek diay maysa. (Daniel said his cat has four kittens and he will give me one.)
Me: Kayatmo saoen agyanto uneg balay? (You mean you will let the cat stay in the house?)
Florence: Wen a. Kuna met ni Daniel a natrain dagidiay pusana. (Yes. Daniel said that their cats were trained.)
We are referring to the strong odor of the excretion of cats.
Me: Ibagam ngarud ken Daniel pakuyogna pay laeng diay ina diay kuting ta adda mangtraining kenkuana. (Tell Daniel then to bring also the mother cat so it could train the kitten.)
Florence: Kakatkatawa a. (Funny.)
STILL ON WHAT TO DO WHEN I RETIRE
I will go into the food service business with a restaurant to be named “Islawter.”
Only Baguio denizens and people of the carnivorous type who frequent Baguio know what I am talking about.
“SKY IS THE LIMIT” IN THE WRONG RESTAURANT
For breakfast today, Florence said we go to the Health 100 Retroreant along Magsaysay Ave. in Baguio City. Charlie, the driver, suggested on the way that we go to the Slaughter but Florence said we need some vegetables sometime.
As Charles was ordering, I teased him “Sky is the limit” but the expression on his face did not change. And he only ordered two dishes.
Try telling Cordillera menfolk “Sky is the limit” in a vegatarian restaurant. My guess is that if given a choice between vegetables and meat, 99 percent of Cordillera menfolk would opt for the meat.**
