DILI kini mahitungod sa Sangguniang Kabataan. Kining atong lindog karong semanaha gipahinungod sa mga ingon-nahu, Sobras Kan-uman. More than 60.
Ato kining kinopya gikan sa email sa atong kahigalaang sobras kan-uman na pud. Apan atong gipahaum og dyutay sa atong kahimtang ilabi na dinhi sa Bohol aron malingaw ug mahigmata pud og dyutay ang magbabasa.
“First, some of us survived being born to mothers who did not have an OB-Gyne and drank San Miguel Beer while they carried us. While pregnant, they took cold or cough medicine, ate latik, balikutsa, bukayo ug uban pa and didn’t worry about diabetes.
“Then after all that trauma, our baby cribs were made of hardwood covered with lead-based paints, ang uban kay duyan nga habol gihiktan og pisi nga inigtabyog og kusog mapakong intawon ta sa bongbong. We had no soft cushy cribs that play music, no disposable diapers (lampin lang sa harina nga naa’y faded picture nga nag-salute), and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, no kneepads, wala pa gyu’y brakes ang bisikleta.
“As children, we would ride in hot non-airconditioned buses with wooden seats (Bisaya: Bus nga pultahan puros ang kilid, MB Liner nga senimana ang brake hahaha joke), or cars with no airconditioning and no seat belts (karon kay van or bus na man nga nindot kaayo og sounds ug bugnaw ang aircon). Riding on the back of a carabao on a breezy summer day was considered a treat. Karon, ang mga bata halos wa na kaila og kabaw tsk tsk.
“We drank water from the garden hose and NOT bottled mineral water sa Nature Spring or Viva, or Absolute. Usahay gani, straight from the faucet or poso or atabay! We shared one soft drink bottle with four of our friends, and no one actually died from this. Or contacted hepatitis.
“We ate rice with star margarine, bahaw nga gibutangan og asin ug mantika sa baboy, drank raw eggs straight from the shell, and drank sofdrinks with real sugar in it (dili Diet Coke or Pepsi Max), but we weren’t sick or overweight (at that time ha) kay…WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!!
“We would leave home in the morning and play all day, and get back when the streetlights came on. Sato/Syatong, Bato-Lata, Dakop-Dakop, Tagoanay, Ngita’g Kaka. No one was able to reach us all day (wa pa’y uso ang cellphone). And yes, we were O.K.
“We would spend hours building our wooden trolleys (kadtong bearing ang ligid) or Karitong Kawayan nga karaang tsinelas ang giporma nga ligid and then ride down the street, wala ma’y gidungog nga naligsan adto! After hitting the sidewalk or falling into a canal (sewage channel) a few times, we learned to solve the problem ourselves with our bare and dirty hands.
“We did not have Playstations, Nintendo’s, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 100 channels on cable, no DVD movies or Netflix, no surround stereo, no IPODs, no cellphones, no computers, no Internet, no DOTA, no ML, no chatgroups, and no Facebook nor Instagram. WE HAD REAL FRIENDS and we went outside to actually talk and play with them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no stupid lawsuits from these accidents. The only rubbing we get is from our friends with the words, ‘Sakit Bai?’. Pero kung kontra gani nimo ang imong kaduwa, singgitan lang dayon og, ‘Mayra, Mirese! Gabaan!’.
“We played marbles (jolen) in the dirt, washed our hands just a little and ate Pan Bahug-bahug and Bagumbayan (recycled bread man diay to kay wala mahalin!). We were not afraid of getting germs in our stomachs. We had to live with homemade guns (giporma nga kahoy, gihiktan og garter ug lastiko), pintik o tirador ug uban pa nga pwedeng magkasakitay. Pero lingaw gihapon kaayo ang tanan.
“We made up games with sticks (Sato), and cans (Bato-Lata) and although we were told they were dangerous, wala man gyud to’y actual nga nabuta bah, bukol lang nuon sa agtang naa. We walked, rode bikes, or took tricycles to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or batoon og gagmay nga bato ang bungbong, or just yelled for them to jump out the window! Others had more creative ways of whistling.
“Mini basketball teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t pass had to learn to deal with the disappointment. Wala pa nang mga childhood depression ug damaged self-esteem; ek-ek ra na. Ang maglagot, pildi. Ang mga ginikanan naa ra sa daplin para motan-aw ra sa duwa sa mga bata, dili para manghilabot ug makig-away sa ubang parents.
“That generation of ours has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem-solvers, creative thinkers and successful professionals ever! They are the CEOs, Engineers, Doctors and Military Generals of today. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had failure, success, and responsibility. We learned from our mistakes the hard way.
“You might want to share this with others who’ve had the luck to grow up as real kids. We were lucky indeed. And if you like, share it to your kids too, so they will know how brave their parents were. It kind of makes you wanna go out and climb a tree, doesn’t it?!”
PS – I know you wish this column was written in a bigger font because your eyes may not be able to read this (at your age, noh? Luoy, luoy!).
Sa laing bahin, good luck sa tanang molangsad sa Sangguniang Kabataan.
