Little Checheboo
I had a good childhood.
Summers were mostly spent in my grandmother’s house in Camarin. I remember how my cousins and I (there were around 13 of us, our ages ranging from 4-11) would always wake up to the scent of butter and freshly baked pandesal wafting in the air.
We were all coffee-drinkers even as young kids. Thanks or no thanks to my lola (Nanay to us) who, despite having lived in Manila for years, still led the Batangueña way of life. Mornings in her household when all her granchildren were there were replete with tiny chairs and tables hunched closely together, bags and bags of pandesal, thermos filled with hot water, and coffee cups of all shapes and sizes.
You will know when the kids with Ingles as their surnames or middle names are up because the entire house reverberates with noise and energy. Childhood frolics abound, and adults’ pleas of "Wag kayong maingay!" almost always remain unheeded.
Games usually follow soon after breakfast. We’d play tag…Tarzan-Tarzan, Langit-Lupa, Saksak-Puso, Pass the Message, Taguan-pung, Taguan-Tsinelas, Open the Basket, Trip to Jerusalem, Multo-multuhan, Bahay-bahayan… There was never a need for toys.
As a kid, I was such a weakling. Lampa, they used to call me. I couldn’t run fast (no one wanted me on their team as that meant having to save me all the time because I was always the first one to get tagged). I didn’t like physical games for I tripped on my own feet all the time.
The upside is that I often got praised by Aunts and Uncles because I was always quiet, choosing to stay in my own little corner and playing with a doll or reading a book while my cousins ran and ran. "Tingnan nyo si Che-che! Hindi malikot!"
If I am not playing by myself or reading, I could be found listening to older people’s conversations and, when I am feeling more courageous, asking gazillions of questions. I drove my mom crazy with my questioning, really. My curiosity is insatiable, even then–always yearning to know more, always wanting to find out why. Even now that I have grown, my favorite line is still, "Eh baket?!"
Afternoon siesta would include either watching video tapes (Betamax and VHS tapes pa lang ang meron non, optical discs were unheard of), or playing Mario 1 sa Nintendo. All of these small luxuries were courtesy of our Ninang Baby, our aunt who’s based in LA and takes pleasure in pampering and showering gifts upon her little nephews and nieces. I don’t know what it is with kids, but they just tend to watch the same movie over and over again without ever getting tired. In our case, it was Private School starring Phoebe Cates (we’d cover our eyes with our little hands whenever there were kissing scenes—with some guilt-laden peeking from time to time, of course). Oh, that and Sharon Cuneta’s Bituing Walang Ningning (ito ang orihinal na storya ng buhay ni Dorina Pineda).
As for Nintendo, we, the younger ones, were content with just watching our Kuya Allan (ang panganay sa magpipinsan) play. He was such a Nintendo whiz! Sya ang naka-discover ng lahat ng Warp Zones. Sya ang naka-discover ng lahat ng tricks (pati yung 300 lives sa World 3). Sya ang unang naka-ligtas kay Princess. We were supposed to take turns in playing, but he’d never die (sa game, I mean)! Hanggang sa natanggap na lang naming na mas masarap na lang manood at mag-cheer kesa makipag-agawan sa kanya sa controls.
When we got older, the running games, the video-watching, and Nintendo-playing just sort of faded. Now, our get-togethers are sure to include ciggies and booze. Some of my cousins are even married and already have their own kids. That house in Camarin has already been sold. It remains irreplaceable.
It has been almost two decades ago, but the memories are as fresh as ever…
