July 14, 1995 Yesterday I thought my ability to use my right hand was totally gone! A slight touch, a little movement of my wrist gave me almost unbearable pain. I asked Maria to help me; “Do something,” I asked her. Of course, I prayed, took pills, placed holy water from Lourdes (give me by […]
1994 Memoir – 49. Bangued Memories – Calaba River Bank
Calaba is the western boundary of Bangued as Casamata is its eastern boundary. These are the two areas where we went for recreation. At Casamata we picnicked and exercised our legs, while in Calaba we did our swimming before the pool was built in Casamata. On weekends the Valera clan, consisting of Mg. Conchang, Mg. […]
1994 Memoir – 42. Bangued Memories – Passenger Buses
With the construction of the TANGADAN road linking Abra and Ilocos Sur, buses started plying between Bangued and Vigan. The first buses were the SANTIAGO SAMBRANO of Vigan, the VALERA TRANSPORTATION, the BENEDITO BUS, the bus owned by one from SINAPANGAN called Moriana Favorite, all competing against each other for passengers. Buses were parked in […]
1994 Memoir – 38. Bangued Memories – Piped Water
One great community improvement in town was the digging of the reservoir on top of the Casamata Hill and laying down pipes of water to houses in town. This was done during the Administration of Mayor Lonzino Bersamin, a Protestant believer. During the digging of the reservoir, we went to pick up pieces of adobe […]
1994 Memoir – 15. Early School Experiences
I was enrolled in school at the early age of 5 although 7 was the required age for first grade enrollment. Tony was also enrolled at the age of 5, or rather started being brought to school by our first grade (Apt. tenant) teacher, who called him “saling posa,” then included his name in her […]
1994 Memoir – 13. Pre School Life and Out-of-School Life
As small kids, we did not have toys to play with. Hence, we made our toys from clay, the mud we dug from the street. We made figurines of persons, animals, birds, fish, houses, and furniture. With the use of sticks, leaves, fibers, and stones we molded stoves, pots, pans, and cakes in our game […]