Thud

As a follow up to the accident prone thing,

Did you know I fell from the roof?

Twice?

I did.

Remember the playhouse that Tita Nini made for Rachel? The one that looked like a nipa hut? The walls were made of plywood. The door was a solid wood door, the roof lined with actual tiled roofing, and the height of which was level with the roof of our house. It was a really cool playhouse.

Anyway, during one summer many years ago, maybe when I was eight or nine, I decided to climb up onto the top the roof.

I don’t remember why now but as the playhouse was right beside a guava trees, I decided to climb up the tree to reach the top of the house. (The other side of the playhouse was a star apple tree…this is relevant only later in the story)

So up I went.

The house has been there for a long time now, being used as a storage area as Rachel did not play in it anymore .It really was very old.

So I climbed up the tree as best I could and when I was just at the point where I could reach the playhouse roof, I lifted myself up to step on the edge of it, hoping to get more leverage for myself.

Finally, I reached it… put my foot on the very edge of the roof tiling and pushed down on it.

It broke off.

The roof tile I had stepped on snapped off from the weight of me and I and fell straight down to the ground below.

At some point on my way down, somewhere in the split second I was airborne, I must have tried to right myself up by reaching or grabbing at whatever was available. I don’t know how I managed but when I came down,

I not only hit my head on the only rock there was on the ground, but the inner part of my left arm was bleeding.

And so I did the only thing a kid could do.

I hid it.

He he….The only thing that revolves around a kids head when they do something stupid is to not get into trouble.

You don’t want to get yelled at.

No way, no how.

So after I got rid of the dizziness from hitting my head on a rock, I got out my first aid kit

(Being in a “club” means every corner in the compound has an unofficial club house, and each one has a secret hiding place. In each, I had a first aid kit. Actually, if I root around here…I’m sure I could still find a really old one somewhere.)

I patched myself up, and for days and days, I clamped my left arm to my side. I walked kind of like Igor. One side elevated and moving as one, while limping all the while.

I almost got caught. Mama started looking at me funny and asked Mom what the heck is wrong with me. Mom didn’t know of course so she said “nothing…just acting weird” she supposed.

He he.

And after all that…did I learn my lesson?

No I didn’t.

Maybe a month or so later, when the wound had healed, I totally forgot about it.

So one sunny day, when everyone was lazing around enjoying summer, I spotted the star apple tree with star apples dangling from its branches.

I remembered that Jo Ann liked star apples so I decided to go and get some for her.

I had a teeny flashing danger signal flashing at me at the very bottom of my subconscious but I couldn’t remember why and what for so I ignored it.

I climbed the guava tree, and got safely on the playhouse roof.

I asked Mely to get me the ‘panungkit” (fruit picker).

I settled myself steadily on the roof, sighted just the perfect star apple, hooked the sungkit on the stem and gave it a pull.

Something fell.

Me.

The fruit stayed up on the branch,

I fell right into the roof...

Not off the roof…into.

My right leg went completely through the rickety old tiles and I was stuck.

I remember only that as I was going down, I had thought to myself

“Ay!! Oo nga pala…”

I knew I was in trouble, all the maids were shocked one minute I was standing, then the next, only half of me was visible.

Somehow, they got me out.

There wasn’t any pain, I guess the shock to having the roof eat your leg overrode all kinds of sensations.

Mama brought me to the FEU emergency room where I got a couple of shots and my leg got all taken cared of.

Today I have two scars to commemorate each falling. One near my left armpit, the other in my right inner thigh.

A reminder that I couldn’t ever say “I never make the same mistake twice.”

The playhouse got dismantled soon after that.

And turns out…

Jo Ann isn’t even partial to star apples.

Oh Well.

Accident Prone

You know how while you are a kid, you’re very accident prone?

You know, you run and fall, then get scrapes all over your knees, you slip and you sprain your ankle. You’re asleep and you fall out of bed?

Yeah. Those things…everyone has had those.

The problem was I have a strange reaction to them.

I laugh.

One time we were in Pandi and Joann and I were vying for who would be seated in the front of the van. It was a prime spot. It was where one had access and control to the front seat air conditioner, your very own window, and a lot of leg space to boot. I had dibs on the way home and was happily sitting in the front. The problem was, was that we stopped at the Pandi Palengke before we went home.

We bought this, and we bought that, or rather, Mom and Mrs. Lacson bought this and that, and when they were almost done, I ran for the front seat before Joann could claim it. (Because technically… I had my “turn,” even if only for 10 minutes)

So there I was, running towards the parking area, and I had my sights on the van and wasn’t paying very much attention to where I was going. The problem was, I missed seeing a small pool of water on the floor. Naturally, I stepped on it and as I was still mid-run,

WHUMP!!

I fell on my butt.

I was so dazed and my butt hurt really bad…I landed right in the middle of the disgusting slimy water and started laughing my head off, I laughed so much that I laid down on the floor from hysterically giggling.

SPLAT!

Too late, I misjudged the size of the pool which turned out bigger than I thought. My hair and back were swimming in the dirty stinky palengke water. I was absolutely SOAKED. The other patrons of the palengke looked at me like I was an escapee of the loony bin.

I mean I looked the part, all dingy and wet and hysterically laughing. Spread eagled on the palangke floor. Jo Ann could not stop herself from laughing at me.

Mommy and Mrs. Lacson helped me up. Mom bought me a change of clothes from one of the stores and Joann magnanimously gave me the front seat to sit in for the ride home.

Actually, I think the real reason was that no one wanted to ride beside me anyway.

After all, I stunk all the way home.

Another time though, just a few years back, I came down from my bedroom all willy-nilly, fell down the stairs and sprained my ankle.

I felt bruised all over but the shooting pain up my ankle completely inhibited me from standing up.

It was almost evening and the room was dark as no one had decided to turn on the lights yet. I tried to move but couldn’t and I as usual, I had started laughing as soon as my butt connected with the floor. ( I don’t know why…must be a weird brain thing)

Anyway, as I lay on the floor trying to soothe my ankle, Manay barged in. She had heard me give a rather loud yelp of pain and decided to investigate what the hullabaloo was about.

She saw me maniacally laughing and asked frantically “ Anong nangyari…Ano?”

I half laughingly, half painfully told her “ Na-na-na ti-tisod ako.”

Manay, all a dither started running around like Chicken Little when she thought the sky was falling. Manay then started yelling “Tiso!! Tiso daw”and ran out of the room.

I was surprised she didn’t bother to help me up and just left me sitting on the floor in the dark.

I stayed there for a few more minutes when she finally barged back in and started throwing boxes and boxes of tissue at me.

“Manay?!” I bewilderingly asked.

And she said …

“Sabi mo tiso…”

O-k-a-y….

; )

WWII

Cristian gave me this picture a few days ago. He found it in a stack of old files in the basement of Mama's house.

Anyone have any WWII stories to share? What were you doing in Iloilo? I thought you were in Malolos?

Night Fright

Eric used to have Night Terrors.

Do you know what those are? They’re when you’re little brother goes to sleep, then jumps up suddenly, kind of awake but not, and proceeds to massively freak out. He can’t be soothed, can’t be consoled, and absolutely cannot be pacified. Then he goes back to bed as if nothing has happened. Also, he never remembers anything the next day.

It’s Bizarre.

There he would be, sleeping quite peacefully, not a care in the world. His curly head on a pillow, his legs and arms thrown every which way…just as normal children do when they finally pass out exhausted after a long day’s play.

Suddenly, in the middle of the night, a bloodcurdling scream, he would get up, jump up and down all the while screaming, screaming, and more screaming… almost as if he was trying to get away from something terrifying as he remains running in place. He would absolutely not respond to questions of what the hell is going on, then he would lay back down and go back to sleep unconcernedly, peacefully even

…leaving you all freaked.

We brought him to the doctor, then, to one of many “hilots” and finally, someone sent for one of those “spiritual” guides, a faith-healer, otherwise called your friendly neighborhood albolario

I remember she got a bowl of water, lit up a greenish clumpy candle, apparently blessed, and dripped the candle wax into the bowl. It formed a misshapen clump of stuff floating on top of the water. She looked around the house, into the garden, behind houses, and over and under the furniture. She prayed and read her bowl of water-wax, mushed up some leaves and finally declared that Eric had been beset by a nuno sa punso or a dwende who he had managed to offend while he was playing in the garden.

You know how tiny mounds are supposed to have nuno sa punso living in them, and how small dwendes were always around and you had bend down a bit, with our hands held out in front slightly parting the air in front of you and whispering “ makikiraan po” or " tabi tabi po" to the invisible little people who you may haplessly injure if they weren’t prepared for your coming, whose tempers so easily piqued that they would follow you about and play nasty tricks on you for revenge.

As proof of all this invisible activity, the albolario asked Eric to stand with his feet together. Heel level with heel. Low and behold, and this was very strange, Eric’s right foot was much smaller than his left foot. The tips of his right toes were about an inch lower than his left toes. Weird… but proof was in the pudding or in this case…in the footing. (Sorry couldn’t resist. He, he, he)

Anyway, she proceeded to waved a bit of stuff smoky stuff about the house, moaned and groaned over her water-wax bowl, whispered around corners, danced a bit here, and jiggled a bit there (just kidding) then she went home.

I guess her shenanigans made the dwende’s laugh out loud and appeased their anger…

Because Eric never had the night terrors again.