When one is young, one’s outlook in life is so different and many times, askew. For example, new “things” are always more appealing than old ones. It is only when one grows older and wiser that the way you look at the world and the things in it somehow changes. For the better? In my opinion, yes.
When I was in grade school, I saw among my mother’s things a polished dark coconut piggy bank with a silver cover. It was very beautiful and unique. It had belonged to her grandmother and had the latter’s initials on it on the silver cover. My mother, generous soul that she was, gave it to me when I asked if I could have it. I did not take good care of it and now I don’t know what happened to it. Back then, I did not realize its true value. She also gave me some silver serving spoons, inscribed with her mother’s initials and I lost those too. Those were heirlooms that could have been handed down to my own daughters. Oh that I could get those priceless items back. Actually, priceless and valuable only to me because of their sentimental value.
In this life, there are things that one regrets doing or not having done. One of my biggest regrets is trading in a stereo unit, the cabinet of which my father had designed & made in his furniture shop. The shop started out as a hobby but pretty soon people started ordering from him. It was just a small shop, with one very good furniture carpenter and a helper-weaver who could do “solihiya”. Anyway, as word of his furniture pieces, known for their good workmanship and fine designs grew, so did his clients which included the parents of Mindanao Current’s Ed Montalvan, Tito Titang Fortich, Tita Tellie & Tito Nene Eparwa, Chitong & Alice Lorenzo, Mrs. Vicki Hannah and other American staff of Del Monte up in Kawayanon. Going back to my original story – thinking that a new stereo set would be nicer than the old one, I traded in our old one without even asking my father’s permission. He did not say anything but I am sure it must have hurt him. I very much regret it now and would gladly buy back that cabinet from whoever has it hidden in some corner of their house. Just as I would also want to buy back any furniture – buffet, side tables, dining & living room sets and other pieces that came out from my father’s old shop, from anybody who has them – so that I can fill my future “retirement home” in this city with furniture made in my father’s shop.
Wonderful old stuff that are precious and worth keeping – old pictures (I love those old sepia and black & white photos, especially of the old hometown and the people that lived in it a long time ago, the men looking so handsome and debonair in their “de hilo” suits and the ladies, in gossamer-like chiffon dresses & laced-up high heels); every time I go home, I bring over pictures from long ago, old songs (I still have old 33 RPM records and my daughter, Gretchen, has so many of those 45 RPM records; the lyrics and tunes of these old songs are so magical especially when sang by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby it makes one fall in love all over again), old prose & poetry (Shakespeare, the Brownings, Robert Frost, Tennyson, Shelley) old writings (the Bible, the Psalms, the Gettysburg Address, the classics) old movies (who can forget Gone with the Wind, An Affair to Remember, The Ten Commandments, Giant, etc.), old books/novels/short stories (by James Michener, Leon Uris, Edna Ferber, Guy de Maupassant, etc), and old friends from our childhood.
I remember some aunts who had ternos or gowns made by Valera & other renowned old couturiers – those ternos could still be in bauls somewhere. I wonder if their daughters realize how beautiful those ternos could still be even now. I still have my own wedding gown (39 years old) which I’ve been keeping for future use. I didn’t try to suggest to my own daughters if they wanted to wear it at their own weddings; but I know it will make a beautiful christening gown for my grandchildren!
And what is it about an old house that is so appealing? Well, while new houses are very nice since they usually come with the latest appliances and gadgets, new houses somehow do not have the patina that comes from old wood like tugas (narra) & balayong found in old houses. There aren’t any old houses in Cagayan de Oro, much less ancestral homes. The reason is this city was one of those that suffered heavy bombing during the Japanese Occupation. As everybody knows, Vigan in La Union is a favorite tourist destination because of its many old houses with antique furniture in them and cobblestone streets. Other places likeNegros and Pampanga also have these old, majestic, grand homes that evoke old world gracious living. Nowadays builders or interior decorators even buy old or aged wood taken from old homes including old doors and windows from old churches.
And then there’s “old school” (remember U.S. Pres. Barack Obama’s remark at the Inaugural Ball for the young, that he was “old school”). Old school for me means the old ways, good manners, graciousness, and a way of life that bespoke gentility and courtesy. These are traits that never go out of style.
And as for “old people”, meaning your own parents, grandparents or aunts and uncles – they are the best treasure of all. Who else can tell you about your background, your ancestors, or about life the way it was then during their time. You cannot get these things from books. It is something very personal in your own family. I remember receiving some nice comments from friends after I had written “Memories of the Old Hometown”. Teresa Balaba Almonte ofSalem,Virginia, wrote me to say that “You must have listened to your mother’s stories because you know so much about the old hometown”. She regretted not having done so with her own mother. So, it would be wise for children to listen to the stories narrated by their grandparents or parents even though they may seem repetitive at times. Remember that you will not find these nuggets of wisdom anywhere else. It comes from their own life experiences. Those are beyond measure and one cannot put a value on them.
As for the “old hometown”, the mere mention of the word elicits warm, happy thoughts of carefree bygone days. Native Cagayanons bewail the fact that our city is not the way it was then. We pine for the good old days; days that will never come back again. Thinking about life in Cagayan de Oro in the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s always brings great pleasure that is why my cousins, old friends and all Cagayanons in my age group reminisce about the good old days and the old hometown all the time. We just never tire of talking about what it was like then.