A LIFE WELL-LIVED...

WHERE I GREW UP Pastime(s)

A favourite among adults, that had tremendous effects in moulding us young kids into what became some of us, is Sabong/Buwang. Cockfight, like bullfight in Mexico, has many animal-lovers wonder why until now is still popular when you are killing these animals purposely for entertainment and money. The arena is called Sabongan/Buwangan. In my early teens, I remember having been into half-a-dozen of these arenas. At times we climb coconut trees to have a good view of the fighting cocks duel to their death. A number of these times, both succumb to the wounds inflected by the razor-sharp "tari" tied to their left leg. Watching Sabong was not the only thing we frequent these places for. Here, you can have all sorts of food for lunch, take-home for dinner, snacks and all kinds of drinks and "sumsuman". Sabong near me was usually on a Saturday. Another adult attraction here is "hantak". A bunch of gamblers gather around a perfectly-ground chiffon cake-shaped hard stone. A guy will have three one-centavo coins, (the old ones, about the same diameter with the twenty-peso coins we have now) antog/drop on the stone. The bet is on all three coins coming out "tail/hari" as opposed to "head/patay". BTW, all these were illegal, but only when some "law-abiding" citizens start making unbearable noise that the Police conducts raids.