Talan- Awon

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

The Three Buddies and the Spoiled Terrier

By Liborio S. Cabanlit

At my retirement from teaching in the secondary education of La Salle Academy, I have come to be deeply closed to my three buddies and a spoiled poodle-mix terrier at home. They gave me company and I feel their happiness being with me the whole day. These buddies are my house security guards who were of a different mixed-breed canine. Adding to them in my security force is a visiting poodle who insisted to stay with me in the house after a week-end visit by her master to us.

When I was still teaching, my buddies seldom saw me at home on weekdays as I was in school teaching and went home late in the night only to rest. Most Saturdays, I would still be in school for the training of my Dramatics group, the Publication Staff, and my Chess team. On Sundays, if I opt not to be in the early morning mass, I may gave them their bathe and shower. But, most often, our house helper do this task for them. If I attend mass early, I used to proceed to the malls, after the mass to buy materials necessary for my teaching activities. I set these things and prepare it for the ready use of my weeklong teaching activity. In the afternoon, I watched movies and be home late. I can see their great joy to welcome me every time I arrived home.

Now that I have retired, their joy was doubly great as I took care of their needs. I personally fed them their food and freed from the chains. I constructed kennels made of cool bamboo strips which they loved to recline and rest. They stayed permanently to the cubicle assigned to them. They understood my communication and responded accurately to what I desired for them to do. They returned and gave me back the ball I threw or chased astray cats that prey on our pigeons and ducks.

At about fiesta time in Iligan City, my grandniece in Fuentes, Iligan City dropped me a visit bringing with her a newly purchased dog. This female canine looked so beautiful with her creamy white fur neatly combed by her new masters. She was so snob that doesn’t want to make friends with any of my buddies. She screamed and barked at anybody that gets near to her. Later, she became friends with the youngest of my buddies and they became playmates in rolling the ball and chasing the cats. My grandniece noticed that she seemed reluctant to go with her as they are about to return home to Fuentes, Iligan City. Her husband, who noticed the reluctance, suggested that she be left to have her enough time to play with her new found friend where she learned tricks of chasing cats or scaring feline to death. They learned this trade from the eldest of my best buddies at home. Let me introduce them by their names.

our dogs at home, talanawon.blogspot.com

The eldest is Bernie, a cross of a Pit bull and a Rottweiler .Actually, we named him Brownie because of his dominant brown fur colors. But most kids at home mispronounced his name into Bernie where he politely responds. That’show he got his new and popular name –Bernie.

Bernie is the most intelligent among my buddies at home. He learned his tricks and trade from the elder buddies that stayed with us ahead of him. He has witnessed the death and tragedies of his elder buddies that made him cautious and careful when strolling along the highway. He would avoid white van type of car, owned by the city government impounders. He had a traumatic experience from these impounders , when once they raided our barangay. He was caught and placed inside the van together with other astray dogs. One dog owner got mad and opened the van as he challenged the impounders to a fight. After a heated exchange of words, a great brawl happened that made all dogs, including Bernie, find their way to exit and ran for their freedom. As a Pit bull, he fights bravely and knows how to scare enemies to death with his wrinkled forehead and protruding pair of eyes with a matching eye bags on his face.

The next buddy is Mitzie. He was named after a Japanese passenger vehicle car we used to have. This vehicle car model is Mitsubishi which most of our dogs before used to take shelter when it is no longer operating and showed dilapidation. Mitzie is just his nickname. He is a cross of a Japanese Spitz and a Golden Retriever and by parental history he got a Dalmatian foreparent. His right point finger and his right thumb seemed cut off and according to his first owner, that was already part of his freak birth. Mitzie is lovely and adorable. He behaves well and follows instructions accurately. He seem to have a high intelligence quotient.

The youngest of my buddies is Worchester, a mix of an English golden retriever and a Japanese spitz. He is worst as to behavior and seem to have a low I.Q. We call him Worshie and it seems he loved his name. He stayed with us for about five months already but seem to have not understood an instruction. When I am about to feed them, he will cross my path that I can not have my way to go or move forward. I have to shout at him so that he would clear my way. If I am not quick enough to avoid his trick, I would surely fall to the ground. He did that even to cars on the highway. He would suddenly block his body and the cars would have a sudden stop to spare his life to the thrill of the street by-standers who reported this case to me. I permanently locked the gates so he could not have the chance to go outside to the highway. One evening, he escaped and crossed the street. A rushing SUV bumped on him. He rolled yelping inside the car in between the tires, but when he was out of the SUV a rushing motorcycle bumped and run-over his hind limbs. My poor canine was thrown to the other side of the street and could no longer stand. We gave him a doze of pain killer and fed him with meat and milk to recover fast. After three days he can already move and run with a limping left leg.

Scarlett is the poodle-mix terrier who stayed in my house during week-ends only. She is a mix of a Terrier and a poodle. Her being a poodle is being dominant as she loved wearing ribbons and prefer to be displayed in the family living room. She doesn’t stay in the gangs kennel but instead slept in my own room or be carried by anybody at home. Her only playmate is Worshie and they are very careful not to destroy our Christmas tree and Christmas balls. She is scared to be yelled at. One time she was brought by her master to a reach-out activity and she was fed by plenty of admirers. When they get home, she was vomiting and got so sick. She was rushed to a vet clinic and was hospitalized.

My buddies and their only girl friend gave us great joy at home. I became a powerful master and they remained loyal followers. At one command: “Pachaa…!” (killem!), they would rush to the culprit I pointed… and the victims are usually the felines from our neighborhood who pry at our pigeon. The poor cats will rattle and run for their lives, climbing up the tree top or to the top of our hexagonal bird cage and then jumped off the wall. And at the command of “Okay, enough..!” my loyalist would stop barking and settle back to their kennels and their friend Scarlet, run to my arms for a cuddle.

Buddies make one life lived to a full.

Tags # bernie # Dog buddies at home # mitzie Continue Reading

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Memoirs of the Past: Pam Pam Falls

Talanawon 11:40 AM 1

_{An Introduction :}

_{Jonathan is my grandnephew. His mother is my niece and has since wanted some of my traits influence her eldest boy. She sent Jonathan to the school where I am teaching and wanted him to acquire some sort of my abilities in the academics, the arts and in sports. I happen to be an academic head of the institution I used to work before my retirement. I served there as a language teacher in Filipino; the culture and arts moderator and a coach to the chess varsities. As my ward, Jonathan tagged along with me in going to school and in going home. I monitored him most often.True enough, his mother’s wishes seem granted. He performed well in the academic though she wasn’t able to witness Jonathan’s grade school graduation as she died a month earlier in his graduation day.}

_{In sports, Jonathan’s mathematical skill has worked relatively. He is good at analysis and he played well in the Chess games, where analysis is a challenge. He joined my chess team in the high school department and later became the team captain of our school chess varsity. He played well and has brought trophies to our school thru the tournaments we have joined in our locality. He has kept to himself one bronze medal from the Milo Little Olympics held in Cagayan de Oro City. He too become an inspiration and influence to his younger siblings. His youngest brother, who looked up to him, was hailed the grand champion in the Secondary Schools Competition in Iligan City Fiesta Chess Tournament, representing our school.}

_{In the arts area, Jonathan was not a concentrated artist in drawing and in painting. Though he knows how to draw and paint, his concentration is rather with his chess games. He tried some roles in my Drama Club, but showed his preference in the technical aspects of the play. It is here where I began to notice some changes in his interests. He loves photography, taking shots at some scenes of the play where we used for promotion purposes.}

_{The influx of technology has nurtured the love of photography in Jonathan. His friends noticed the pictures he often shot were worth viewing. I am happy of the trend. His mother’swish were all granted. When he opened this blog and named it “Talan-awon”, I understand he would make this as an avenue for the many things he collected as worth viewing. When he invited me to co-author some stories in this blog, I checked at his mobile cam and I saw images that have memories strongly imprinted in my mind. Right there, I consented to his suggestion. I knew I will be writing stories with pictures worth viewing from my grandnephew’s photograph collection..}

My first story:
Pampam Falls: Beauty revisited

By: LSCabanlit, (a.k.a.: sir Boy)

As I checked at my grandnephew’s mobile cam, a familiar image crossed my eyesight, and I exclaimed: “Where was this?” “… It looked familiar to me.”

“…Pampam Falls at Dalipuga, Iligan City.”- was the reply of the excited faces who were seemingly expecting to hear bedtime stories from a grand dad. One asked:“How come it looked familiar to you, when you haven’t been there? It’s a long trek, you know…after our joyride from the city.”

“I know. I have gone to this place, sometime in my boyhood . I just do not know how did it got it’s name. At that time people call this place busay… Pampam is such an ugly name for a pretty site like this.”- I said. Everybody smiled and seem to agree with me. Pampam is a slang term in the local dialect which means, a whore…a woman of a bad reputation.

I advised:”… next time you go to this place, ask people in the locality how did it got its name.” They agreed but asked me to tell the story how did I get to the falls and I shared them my story.

I spent my boyhood in Kiwalan, Iligan City and at that time there was no NAWASA for people’s drinking water. People scoop water from the spring either in Acmac or in kalubihon. Acmac is a village along the shore, while Kalubihon is a highland village above kiwalan.

One of my playmates was requested by his mother to fetch water from the spring as their supply was about to run out. He decided to fetch water in Kalubihon inasmuch as the water tastes better and cooler. He prepared his Kangga (a bamboo raft hauled by a carabao) loaded with eight emptied kerosene cans. He invited me to come along with him as we bring our kote (top) to continue our spinning game after loading water to the kerosene cans.

I was thrilled by my joyride with the kangga, a very common transportation for hauling heavy materials in those days. We rode at the back of the carabao and behind us is the kangga, attached to the carabao’s neckline , with the eight empty kerosene cans.

As we move through the rough road, the empty kerosene cans were making so much noise as they banged each other due to the bouncy rough road. The noise scared the carabao, that it ran as fast as it could to a direction where it thought to be safe and free from the frightening noise. My friend in the maneuver controlled the speed of the carabao thru the rope used as a reign connected to the nose of the animal. It slowed down and later, we passed thru a cogon grassland where the noisy sounds of the kerosene cans ceased. The speed become normal, but we kept avoiding the rough road and used the trail along the cogon grass as we went up to a place called panaghoyan . This was the spring site and it amazed me. The water sprout from the stone ground at the foot of the hill of sitioPanaghoyan . This forested place belonged to barrio Kalubihon. Bamboo poles were used as aqueduct to allow the waters run to a distant away from the spring source for sanitary purposes. No one is allowed to pollute the main source. There was a bamboo pole to serve as shower for bathers to enjoy cool spring water to fall onto the body. It can be used to load containers like empty kerosene cans for a household water supply. The excess water that fall onto the ground formed a shallow brook which has became a tunaan - a pit for drinking and bathing animals like the carabaos,( the Philippine buffalo.)

As we load water to our kerosene can, I can’t help but be mesmerized by the beautiful sight I have just behold. My playmate told me it’s an enchanted place. It never go warm, he said. Even at the dry season, the place remained cool. If ever the climate gets warmer, people will just hear sounds of a whistle (taghoy) and it summons the breeze to fill the area and the place remained cool. That was how the place got its name Panaghoyan. My playmate asked me to try whistling to summon the breeze and when I did, I feel the breeze moved the leaves of the trees and the air turned cooler.

We brought the carabao to the tunaan and decided to continue our kote game but I lost my mood to play. Instead, I continued asking more questions of the beautiful place. This ignited an idea to my playmate’s mind to bring me to another sight which he believed will surely amaze me like the Kalubihon’sPanaghoyan spring. I welcomed the idea to see another body of landwater cascading down to the lower part of the territory. We left the carabao enjoying the cool mud at the tunaan as it was tied to a tree nearby and we started our trek along a trail that my playmate only knew and true…I hear a cascading water from a place he called busay. It was a waterfall which is so beholding to human eyes. I cannot understand my feelings. I love the verdant herbs and trees in each bank and wanted to jump off to the clear water from the brook as it cascaded gaily along the bank. My playmate cautioned me that the place is also enchanted. Fairies and other spirits took care of the place and we should not disturb them. If we wish to take a bath on its water, we will ask permission by saying: “Tabipo, maligoko!” I chilled at his warning and looked around if there were other inhabitants. I found no other human except me and my playmate. I saw different colored dragon flies at the verdant herbs I appreciated a while ago and I suspected they must be the fairies and spirits that owned the place. I slowly murmured: “Tabipo…tabiapo…” My friend noticed my face and said: “You turned pale…Why?”

I gave an alibi: “My parents must be looking for me now…we better go.”

He said: “Okay… let’s go! We’ll see the other falls next time.”

He told me there were two waterfalls in that water line that must have come from one water source in the high lands above Kiwalan. The one we saw isbusaysaibabawand the one below is called busaysaubos. He hinted that we will revisit the place sooner. I agreed.

The “sooner” did not happen. My family moved to the city and we were stuck to the pressures of a city life. Adjusting to new life made me forgot the place and the plan we made. I was already a college graduate when I met my playmate again. His interest is no longer on our Kote game. This time he was courting one of my niece who was then a young teacher in the public schools above Kiwalan. Eventually, he married my niece, who is the mother of Jonathan.

Seeing the place that once mesmerized me, drew my interest to revisit the place. This time, not with my playmate, but with Jonathan and his gang of trekking enthusiasts, who had brought him to the place for the love of beauty. They took pictures and posted them in the internet. His parents have died long before he finished his Engineering course.

Tags # Pam Pam Falls Continue Reading

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Saving Princess

Talanawon 5:38 PM 0

“…Thank God, it’s Friday!”- exhaustibly I said as I dropped my body to the old reclining rattan chair in the high school faculty room of La Salle Academy.

“Oh yes… it’s Friday”-gleefully chorused the teachers inside the room, with grin on each faces.Everyone looking forward to a restful week-end as a holiday.

It is Friday, my favorite day of the week where I have few loads to teach and my classes end in the morning only. I’ll be free in the afternoon, where I got ample time of checking papers and rehearsing my Drama Club for an incoming production until late in the afternoon.

Suddenly the phone ring and a colleague near the phone picked it up and greeted the caller.

“It is yours, Sir Boy!”- with grin, sir Danny gestured to hand me the phone. “…from home.”- he added as I come closer to get the phone.

It’s from my sister and I sensed, she seems bothered. She reported: “Find ways to save Princess… she’s with the city impound. She’s got caught wandering on the street this morning just while you left. I was told by our neighbors… they’re going to make her a pulutan…” – then she sobbed. My elder sister turned sentimental, a site I cannot afford to see, so immediately I replied: “Okey…! Okey…! I’ll find ways.”

As I put the phone to its receiver, I hang clueless on what ways should I find to save Princess. My colleague must have caught the sudden change of my emotions that they asked:”…Got a problem, Sir Boy?”

I nodded. “It’s my pet dog… she’s got caught by the city impound men wandering on the streets this morning.”

“Oh boy…! – Sir Danny gasped… “You’ll be charged for that!...You better pay fines or you’ll be jailed.”

“…perhaps, we can afford the fines… but jail, no.-I said feeling terrified. “My sister is so worried right now. She was told by our neighbor that the dog will be made a “pulutan" by the impound personnel.”

“That’s possible, Sir”- intrigued one of the teachers listening to our conversation. “The impound is just near the city’s slaughter house.”- he added, as fear gripped me more when I heard his last two words. Much more terrifying were the different versions I heard from experiences the teachers around me shared.

Terrorized, I became speechless. Like my sister, I turned sentimental as I tried to recall how did Princess get to the streets? Before I left to school this morning all the dogs had just been fed for their breakfast. Customarily, we untie them from their chains after each meal so they could do their rituals inside our lawn garden. While playing, they could have a fair sunshine bath before they will be tied back to their kennels. I live a distance of 40 meters away from the highway. A foot road of 40 meter connect my residence to the highway and seldom our dogs get astray to the streets.

Princess doesn’t have kennel and was never tied to a chain. Being the most beautiful dog at home, she stayed upstairs with my sisters. She was their company in watching TV and in doing kitchen chores. She love to watch tv shows. She didn’t miss an episode of “WalangHanggan.”

I love Princess. She stand so regal and queenly with her heads high up and her furs from the neckline to her tails, so thick white and curly. She walks as if she tip-toed with her limbs criss-crossing each other forming like an x. She moves like a ballet dancer or a queen of the Hawaiian dancers. She loves to be a decoration in our sofa in the living room or be shot by flashes of camera. She must have the instinct of a model. She is the cutest gift from my niece when we lost a black spaniel about two years ago and I call her Princess.

As I was waiting for a vehicle that would take me to school this morning, I saw our gate open and Princess got outside. She gave a blank stare to my direction and I thought she could not recognize me. As the vehicle arrived, I got into the car hoping that Princess would get back inside, but I was wrong. She must have followed me.

From the different versions and tales of experiences that I have heard, I learned that most dogs brought to the impound were no longer the same dog once taken back home after their captivity. According to Sir Danny, his dog could no longer recognized them after it was caught. Perhaps, because of the trauma, it went insane.The dog bit his only son. They sent the dog back to the impound. They cannot afford the euthanasia offered by their neighbors who have rifles.

“You should not let your dog stay long in the impound or she will become as fierce as most dogs brought there. They become fighters. They fight and fight.” Sir Danny advised: “ Today is Friday and tomorrow will be a holiday for all government offices. No one would feed your dog there. Your dog will starve until Monday if you will not take her out today.”

Fear gripped me again. Starvation will cause insanity to my dog. “I must save Princess right now!”- I told myself firmly.

I went to the principal of our school and begged to be excused to fix the hassles relating to the captivity of my dog. In as much as I don’t have classes anymore, I don’t have to prepare any activity for a class, the principal was kind enough to let me go.

I went from bank to bank to find which ATM doesn’t have an off-lined machine. I must prepare myself, in case I’ll be fined or be charged. Luckily, I didn’t scout so much. I found an automated machine teller readily.

I do not know the way to the city impound. I asked some taxi drivers and I realized the place is too far and in a remote suburb of the city. I took the taxi. The driver brought me to the place and gave me some kind of conversation.

“You can easily get the release order of your dog if you have some connections there.”

“Connections?” “What do you mean?”- I asked.

“Well…if you know somebody inside, the papers will be released immediately, and so is your dog.”-he said. “You know in the government offices, you have to bear delays from accessing signatures of the boss. If they are not around, you have to wait for quite a long time.”

“Is that so?”- I asked again.

“Yes, and If they are not around today… you go back on Monday.

“God!... – I gasped as I calmed myself in a silent prayer…”let this Friday be my day!”

Finally, we arrived. After paying the fare, I thanked him and bid him farewell as he wished me good luck.

At the office, I was entertained. I was advised of keeping well my canine that it won’t risk people when astray. I was interviewed regarding my dog’s immunization and treatment so I recited accurately the dates of immunization and the vets that took care of them. The man was happy and declared my dog isn’t a threat. I was charged of fees and was given the order of release. I was brought to the cell and saw Princess on top of the table, eating her pan de sal given by the caretakers. At the floor ground, there were dogs of different bred caught by the impounders. Some were staying there for a week unclaimed by their owners. They were barking at each other.

“Princess!” – I called trying to over run the noise of the dogs. She heard the call and gave me a stare… a blank look. I found no emotions. My heart throbbed of fear suspecting my dog was in trauma. I repeated the call as I waved my right hand.

“Princess… It’s me!” She recognized me and wagged her tail.

The caretaker recognized me as the owner and told me that my dog is good and well-behaved. I felt elated. ”She doesn’t eat the pan de sal on the ground. She isolates and doesn’t mingle with the other dogs, that’s why she is on top of the table.” I smiled and said: “She is really a princess.”

When I bid her to come, she jump down to get out of the cell. She didn’t mind the barking. Instead, she walked unperturbed crisscrossing her limbs gleefully towards me. She licked my hands as I touched her head. She kept wagging her tails feeling her freedom restored.

The place is still far from the highway. No passenger vehicle ply in the area except for those specially hired like the taxi I rode earlier. The caretaker signaled a habal-habal to bring me to the highway. It is a motorcycle driven by a man who ferries passenger to a special ride under an agreed amount of payment.

I carried Princess as I set behind the habal-habal driver. When the motor started, Princess yelled and struggled to let loose as her limbs started kicking the man at the maneuver. As the motor speeded towards the highway, Princess kept yelling and her legs kept pounding at the back of the habal-habal driver. The motorcycle stopped.

“He doesn’t like me?”- ask the driver with an annoyed emotions.

“Sounds like that…” I smiled as I replied.

“Okey… said the man seemingly affected by the joke I said. …“Then, you might just as well hike from here to the highway.

Remorseful to have said an unpleasant joke, I handed him fifty bucks which he did not refuse while I requested. “Get us a taxi when you met one in the highway, please. And he said: “…I’ll try.”

Princess and I walked towards the highway for a few minutes when a yellow cab spotted us.. It went towards our direction. When it stopped near us, the driver peep at the glass window and said: “The Habal-habal man told me you want a taxi?” I nodded…”Yes…with my dog.”

The man looked at Princess and later he said: “No Problem…” as he pointed to me the door knob of the taxi.

As we travelled home, I felt so exhausted as I reclined to the rear seat of the taxi. I uttered: “Thanks God… it is Friday.