e-mail from Van

Vic,
UHMMMM!!!! I feel homesick.I like the bahay kubo.I miss riding carabao.Darn!!

I  want to be young again .I always enjoy your email.Very entertaining; mainly they make you feel homesick!!!.

Van

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Hi Van,

A friend once said "only the carabao grows old.."

We can only be young always, no need for the waters from the mythical Fountain of Youth..I just close my eyes and let my inner eye travel back to Pangasinan, where the living is easy, the neighbours are congenial and the food still taste the same way it did when we were young..

I love the smell of Lingayen beach anytime of the day, but especially after a strong rain and one could still smell the freshness of ozone ( especially after a number of lightning bolts swathed the sky )...

I love the sound and smell of the Dagupan wet market, especially in the seafood section where the sea crabs are still wiggling their way out into freedom..

I love walking along Bugallon Avenue especially at noon time when the Comida China is being sizzled in those unseen kitchens which reek with garlic, onions and pork belly being transformed into lechon kawali..

I love the sing-song lilt of the Pangasinenses calling out for customers in the market, in the sidewalks or in the jeep and bus stops calling out " the bus is now leaving.."  You took a look inside and there are just a few passengers inside and you would know the guy is just lying through his teeth...

Dagupan, for me, is the portal through my childhood. Let me go back to Dagupan again, and as sure as the sun sets into the golden waters of its mighty river, I will feel young once more and I won't miss going back to Toronto.

Vic

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