tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9684896.post113036591175032491..comments2023-10-14T01:01:05.454-07:00Comments on Katataspulong: GONAMBALsonny pulgarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10836688648547489688noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9684896.post-1131179776180297402005-11-05T00:36:00.000-08:002005-11-05T00:36:00.000-08:00Passage of time has a way of blurring one's memory...Passage of time has a way of blurring one's memory of the past. Moving away, like most of us did, certainly exacerbates it. <BR/><BR/>Trees I climbed, scrapes on knees from slipping on the railroad tracks, old westerns in the Moylsa, pilfering daisies up on the Morato gardens to slip into the teacher’s vase, singing camp songs with troop mates in the darkened GSP grounds, every detail of the rustic interior of my fourth grade classroom, gawking at boys – these are short but blistering sorties in the psyche that are tough to fend-off. <BR/> <BR/>Even the dreadful state of affairs over there - unemployment, bad economy, the big toilet we fondly call the seawall, the humidity, and yes, the hated adversaries who probably have ripened into first-class assholes – evoke warm sentiments within. WTF… <BR/><BR/>I moved to the US and had not returned in 21 years. There’s nothing like the uncanny power of memories (random grainy black and white memories, sir) to reduce an adult to a blabbering, homesick toddler. Then you get sucked into a life of googling your hometown and reading Sonny’s musings and realizing that “banil” was once, probably still is, part of the local lexicon. The first signs that nostalgia is taking root… <BR/><BR/>So yes, a trip back to the old stomping ground is in order. Calauag has its tentacles tight around me…<BR/><BR/>The Eagles’ old lyric rings true: “You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.”peacejoihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02874969643352292386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9684896.post-1130592914610864632005-10-29T06:35:00.000-07:002005-10-29T06:35:00.000-07:00...."brought you home"(sorry)...."brought you home"(sorry)sonny pulgarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10836688648547489688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9684896.post-1130570504424242392005-10-29T00:21:00.000-07:002005-10-29T00:21:00.000-07:00Thank you for that insightful riposte. Nothing lik...Thank you for that insightful riposte. <BR/>Nothing like it comes no less from a dear kababayan.<BR/>What I have are nothing but “ear-to-the-ground” notes <BR/>I feel worth telling. <BR/><BR/>When are you coming home? My simple pieces<BR/>I think bought you home.sonny pulgarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10836688648547489688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9684896.post-1130556674064869202005-10-28T20:31:00.000-07:002005-10-28T20:31:00.000-07:00Your tale is dripping (no pun intended) with folks...Your tale is dripping (no pun intended) with folksy charm and yet your account of your liquor-drenched lunches is frighteningly reminiscent of my old CCC days circa 1970. <BR/><BR/>The famed "gonambal" along with music and pot were the perfect cure for the cacophony and confusion of the 70's zeitgeist in Calauag. <BR/><BR/>Schools, the bundok, back of the church, tambayan, seemingly innocent parties such as the junior-senior proms, and even wakes were the venue of choice. Boys would disappear into the night then re-emerge later with either the booze "smell of manhood" oozing out of their pores, or in total purple haze.<BR/><BR/>We, girls, didn't get the memo. While you boys were busy getting plastered, we, an equally budding and eager group, waited in the wings for the opportunity to express our own individuality and loathing for authority and half-hearted social rebellion.<BR/><BR/>With the boys' revelry in full swing, we, armed with goofball utopian morals, threw them disapproving glares, immersed ourselves in seances, the mystery of training bras, poring over issues of Jingle magazine, exasperating teachers with tired angst-ridden rantings, coming up with lunatic interpretations of what the boys say, and pure, unadulterated hating of Yoko. <BR/><BR/>We all had to sludge through the crap to get to this point. <BR/><BR/>But who had more fun along the trip? <BR/><BR/>You probably did, but whatever.peacejoihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02874969643352292386noreply@blogger.com