For three years running now, the hiking group has sponsored a charity event for the Aeta people’s village in barangay Old Cabalan, Olongapo.
The village is located near the Iram elementary school, shown at the top of this map.
A teacher I know, Grace, turns our cash donation (25,000 pesos this year) into bags of food to be distributed to the locals. Swan and her friends participated this year, collecting additional rice and food donations, and they prepared a spaghetti lunch with a drink for the children. It was an impressive effort I was proud to be a part of.
That’s Grace on my left. We met at her school, then caravanned over dicey roads to the Aeta village.My driver’s car had low ground clearance, and at one point, he asked us to lighten the load by walking.We offloaded the goods that Swan and her friends had gathered and carried them to the village in this trike.Hoofing it down to the villageAnd across the bridge to the village.Some hungry Aeta kids.Preparing the handoutsSoup is on the fireThe gathering crowdStill stackingStill waitingAlmost readyNice scenery around the villageA thank you to the contributorsAnd the requisite prayer.Let the giving begin!I reckon there were a hundred or so in attendanceBehind the scenesOur custom is to take a hike while the food distribution is taking place. So, over the water we go!Just Troy, Gary, and me yesterday for the walkA peaceful domestic scene along the wayAnother water crossing. Gary embraces the freedom of wet feet.Our navigator, Scott, was unable to join us this year, so we just followed this dirt road.This guy followed us from the village to be our guide. He didn’t speak a word of English, though.It’s not as pretty as a tree, but it’s still an impressive sight.On the roadAnd when we’d had enough of going uphill, we turned around and went back down.Gary did the rocks across this time.Back to the village where the handouts were still in progressSwan and friends handing out spaghetti and drinks.Kids enjoying their mealMe and the guys walked back to the school, where the cars were parked, and had some beers and snacks.There were kids in the ‘hood to share some treats with.
And that was that until next year.
The beer o’clock sun telling me I had another feeding to attend to.
Joy said only four girls were working yesterday, so not much food was needed. She suggested a pizza, and that worked for me. I brought Choco Pies for dessert. Mission accomplished.
Swan met me at Wet Spot for the nightcap, and I treated her and Aine to some Sit-n-Bull. Then home for another episode of “Shameless” (Netflix is working on my TV again. Yay!) and then off to bed.
And a scenic view from this morning’s dog walk. Life is good!
I saw something yesterday that said we have two jobs in life. To learn and to cope. I’m not too good at either, but at least I’m still in the game.
This is actually one of the jokes in my repertoire. I know I didn’t create the joke, but coming upon it in a visual rendition is really weird. On Facebook, no less. Oh well. I’m old, and so are all of the jokes I tell.
But stuff like this is ageless:
Today’s song is an old favorite from Mary Chapin Carpenter. Hadn’t heard it in a while, but I thought of it when Swan told me to “shut up and hug her” this afternoon. So, here you go:
2 thoughts on “Feeding time”
That’s Grace on my left.
Okay, so to be clear, “my left” means “my left” from the perspective of the “you” inside the photo, and by that reckoning, Swan is on your left. The woman to Swan’s left is also technically on your left (black tee, jeans with holes in the knees)… so is that the woman you’re talking about? I suspect you’re really talking about the woman on your right, i.e., the one wearing sunglasses.
Talking about “left” and “right” in a photo is always dicey. If you want to name someone from the perspective of the person looking at the photo, you can say something like, “She’s the third person from the left.” But the moment you say “my left,” you’re talking from the perspective of the person in the picture.
My driver’s car had low ground clearance
You ride around in a Lambo?
Hoofing it down to the village
Are Aeta villages officially marked on any maps? I ask because the map you show doesn’t show the village. Does the village even have a name?
Just Troy, Gary, and me yesterday for the walk
Troy looks way too young to be retired. What does he do? Or did he retire young because he’s rich? My Kiwi buddy (also named John) has a big brother who retired at 33 after helping to wire the Hong Kong telecom system years ago. Money just rolled in. No idea what he does with his time. If Big Bro is as athletically inclined as my buddy, he probably travels the world looking for mountains to climb and cliffs off of which to go BASE jumping.
It’s not as pretty as a tree, but it’s still an impressive sight.
Impressive, indeed. I’m surprised not to see clothing, or even people, draped over parts of the tower. It’d make a great drying rack, and you’d think the kids would love climbing it even if they shouldn’t.
This is actually one of the jokes in my repertoire. I know I didn’t create the joke, but coming upon it in a visual rendition is really weird.
Just wait’ll you see the meme whose punchline is “I don’t know, and I don’t care.”
but I thought of it when Swan told me to “shut up and hug her” this afternoon.
Somehow, I’m reminded of how “Total Recall” ends with Rachel Ticotin’s character saying to Arnold, “Well, kiss me quick before you wake up.”
Yeah, I didn’t think that “on my left” through, although I did look at my hands to determine which one I write with. Next time, I’ll keep myself out of the equation and count from the edge of the photo.
Not a Lambo, but an Innova (the car on the left side of the first group photo). The stretch of road pictured is misleading; there were places where the car was, in fact, bottoming out.
As far as I know, this particular village isn’t named; it is more of a neighborhood within the barangay. I’ve seen some larger Aeta compounds that are named. It is strange to me that very few Aeta people integrate into Filipino society–they stick to their villages and live amongst themselves.
Damn, I didn’t know about all those memes, and now that I’ve seen them, I don’t care about telling that joke again. Thanks.
Oh, and Troy is retired from the Air Force after 20+ years, so he has a military pension. I’m not sure about other sources of income, but you can live a good life here for a couple of grand a month. I know of one young man in town who inherited a lot of money and is living large. He is very popular with the women folk.
That’s Grace on my left.
Okay, so to be clear, “my left” means “my left” from the perspective of the “you” inside the photo, and by that reckoning, Swan is on your left. The woman to Swan’s left is also technically on your left (black tee, jeans with holes in the knees)… so is that the woman you’re talking about? I suspect you’re really talking about the woman on your right, i.e., the one wearing sunglasses.
Talking about “left” and “right” in a photo is always dicey. If you want to name someone from the perspective of the person looking at the photo, you can say something like, “She’s the third person from the left.” But the moment you say “my left,” you’re talking from the perspective of the person in the picture.
My driver’s car had low ground clearance
You ride around in a Lambo?
Hoofing it down to the village
Are Aeta villages officially marked on any maps? I ask because the map you show doesn’t show the village. Does the village even have a name?
Just Troy, Gary, and me yesterday for the walk
Troy looks way too young to be retired. What does he do? Or did he retire young because he’s rich? My Kiwi buddy (also named John) has a big brother who retired at 33 after helping to wire the Hong Kong telecom system years ago. Money just rolled in. No idea what he does with his time. If Big Bro is as athletically inclined as my buddy, he probably travels the world looking for mountains to climb and cliffs off of which to go BASE jumping.
It’s not as pretty as a tree, but it’s still an impressive sight.
Impressive, indeed. I’m surprised not to see clothing, or even people, draped over parts of the tower. It’d make a great drying rack, and you’d think the kids would love climbing it even if they shouldn’t.
This is actually one of the jokes in my repertoire. I know I didn’t create the joke, but coming upon it in a visual rendition is really weird.
Just wait’ll you see the meme whose punchline is “I don’t know, and I don’t care.”
but I thought of it when Swan told me to “shut up and hug her” this afternoon.
Somehow, I’m reminded of how “Total Recall” ends with Rachel Ticotin’s character saying to Arnold, “Well, kiss me quick before you wake up.”
Yeah, I didn’t think that “on my left” through, although I did look at my hands to determine which one I write with. Next time, I’ll keep myself out of the equation and count from the edge of the photo.
Not a Lambo, but an Innova (the car on the left side of the first group photo). The stretch of road pictured is misleading; there were places where the car was, in fact, bottoming out.
As far as I know, this particular village isn’t named; it is more of a neighborhood within the barangay. I’ve seen some larger Aeta compounds that are named. It is strange to me that very few Aeta people integrate into Filipino society–they stick to their villages and live amongst themselves.
Damn, I didn’t know about all those memes, and now that I’ve seen them, I don’t care about telling that joke again. Thanks.
Oh, and Troy is retired from the Air Force after 20+ years, so he has a military pension. I’m not sure about other sources of income, but you can live a good life here for a couple of grand a month. I know of one young man in town who inherited a lot of money and is living large. He is very popular with the women folk.