Ang aming kabataan

Got this in my e-mail. I'm posting it here with comments dahil hindi applicable sa bayan namin ang ilan sa mga entries.

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1950's, 60's and 70's !

First, some of us survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. (sioktong ang inumin)

Hindi umiinom nanay ko (paminsan-minsan lang kung may matamis na tuba sa umaga pagkababa ng manananggot sa sanggutan sa likod ng kubo namin). Hindi rin siya nagyoyosi.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, fish from a can (brand :ligo ) , and didn't get tested for diabetes.

'Di ako nakakita ng blue cheese sa bayan namin, o kahit anumang cheese noong bata pa ako. Ang aspirin ay ipinapainum sa amin kapag may lagnat kami. Di pa uso yata noon ang dengue. Tama, may Ligo sardines na noon pero nakakain lang kami kapag may special occassion, pangsahog sa Udong na noodles.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints, pati na yung laruang kabayu-kabayuhan.

Wala kaming crib at kabayu-kabayuan e.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, no kneepads, sometimes wala ngang preno yung bisikleta.

Wala nga kaming medicine e. Meron kaming altar, nandon lahat kasama na ang orchid na ang tawag ay pangadlaw na nakababad sa tubig - gamot sa lahat na sakit.

Yup, may bike kami, walang brake.

As children, we would ride in car with no seat belts or air bags – hanggang ngayon naman, di ba ? (jeep )

Walang kotse sa bayan namin noong bata pa ako.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. (maykaya kayo pare !)

Nakikisakay kami sa truck (wala ring pick-up sa bayan ko).

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle (minsan straight from the faucet)

Wala kaming garden hose, pero umiinom kami ng tubig mula sa balon o kaya sa water pump, walang faucet sa bayan ko noon.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. Or contacted hepatitis.

Tama, lagi akong nakikiinom kasi wala akong pambili ng softdrink.

We ate rice with tinunaw na purico (dahil ubos na ang star margarine) , nutribuns na galing kay macoy and drank sopdrinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight kasi nga .....

Yong kanin sinasabawan namin ng kape na gawa sa singangag na mais at binubudburan namin ng asin o kaya asukal. Ang purico pang-prito lang. May nutribun na noon at napakabango nito, inspirasyon namin noon na pumasok.

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. Sarap mag patintero, tumbang preso , habulan taguan….

Hindi talaga kami umuuwi hanggang di masigawan ng nanay. Uuwi lang kami kung sobrang dilim na dahil nakakatakot tumawid sa niyugan at sa pilapilan.

No one was able to reach us all day (di uso ang celfon , walang beepers). And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our trolleys or slides out of scraps and then ride down the street, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

Wala kaming trolley. Tumatalon-talon lang kami sa umpok ng mga dayami at doon na rin kami nagi-slide. Marami-rami pa rin akong remembrance sa mga sugat na nakuha ko sa kasasakay ng bike na walang brake.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms....... ...WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents . The only rubbing we get is from our friends with the words…..masakit ba ? pero pag galit yung kalaro mo,,,,ang sasabihin sa iyo…..beh buti nga !

We play in the dirt , wash our hands a little and ate with our barehands…we were not afraid of getting worms in our stomachs.

We have to live with homemade guns – gawa sa kahoy, tinali ng rubberband , sumpit , tirador at kung ano ano pa na puedeng makasakit…..pero walang nagrereklamo.

May baril-barilan din kami na gawa sa "palwa" sa saging.

made up games with sticks (syatong) and cans (tumbang preso) and although we were told it would happen, wala naman tayong binulag o napatay….paminsan minsan may nabubukulan.

We r ode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Sigaw o sipol lang kami. Minsan pag trip talaga, binabato namin ang bahay, hahaha.

Mini basketball teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Walang sumasama ang loob.

Basebal ang uso sa amin noong panahon ko.

Ang magulang ay nandoon lang para tignan kung ayos lang ang bata….hindi para makialam.

This generation of ours has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and managers ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!