LOLA CANDING
Now let's talk about Lola San Jose.
One day, (i don't even remember what the occassion was) in the
terrace of her house in San Jose, I was in the company of my
uncles (Uncle Bursing, Uncle Proning and Uncle Ed *?* and some
others) drinking booze. And then out comes Lola and in to the
dining room we all went. This time, joined by mommy (Lydia) and
the aunts. Lola sat at the head of the table and made it clear to
everybody that she didn't think it was a good idea that her
granddaughter was smoking and drinking alcohol. In her words,
"Mga pagirpir (prostitutes) lang ang naninigarilyo
at nagbabarik (drinking)! yadda! yadda!" Actually
hindi ako and talagang napagalitan kung hindi and mga uncles at
mommy ko for condoning such unlady-like behavior. Oops!
Therefore, from that time onwards I never smoked or consumed
alcohol............in Lola's presence!
We were at the swimming pool one day and
Lola expressed that swimwear reflects how times
have changed. She recounted how they wore "bloomers"
for their swimming classes in U.P. They were so scared that some
boys might see them, so they took extra precautions against this
happening. They wrapped themselves securely in their towels and
didn't remove them until they were safely in the water. They were
so inhibited to the point that they assigned two girls to screen
them from peeping toms with huge towels before getting in the
pool and as they got out of the pool.
by Tata Lejano- Natori (daughter of Lydia O. Lejano)
My lola canding ...
counts her grandchildren
all nineteen of them
i wonder why she does this
ahh ... to give us twenty pesos christmas gift
My lola canding ...
counts her grandchildren
all nineteen of them
i wonder why she does this
ahh ... to feed us with hand-washed guava (or any fruits in season)
My lola canding ...
counts her grandchildren
all nineteen of them
i wonder why she does this
ahh ...so she can divide equally the rice cake made by 'Ka Ureng' (the master chef)
My lola canding ...
counts her grandchildren
all nineteen of them
i wonder why she does this
ahh ...so she can put all our pictures in her album
My lola canding ...
counts her grandchildren
all nineteen of them
i wonder why she does this
ahh ... so she can prepare or beddings for an afternoon nap (complete with ' kulambo' )
My lola canding ...
counts her grandchildren
all nineteen of them
i wonder why she does this
ahh ...to introduce us to every visitor in the house
My lola canding ...
counts her grandchildren
all nineteen of them
i wonder why she does this
ahh ... so she could include us in her daily prayers
THANK YOU LOLA CANDING!
by Trixine Ona (daughter of Bursing Ona)