ALORAN, a perspective
STD OF LIVING/INTERNET AGE

Aloran is like a Subdivision.
I heard that from out-of-towners not too long ago.

Well said and there is probably just a slight exaggeration to that, if any.

Stand right where the old slaughter house is and turn your head towards the magnificent Mt Malindang, what you see are concrete houses, brightly painted, air-conditioned, with beautiful fences, paved and covered carport lined on both sides of a concrete road that reaches as far as your eyes can see.

The same can be said for the adjacent baranggays, Palayan, Lobogon and baranggays along the national highway.

Spare some time, visit outlying baranggays, again concrete houses, painted, paved and covered car port and I forgot to mention earlier, TV and WIFI antennas and satellite dishes, they can't be hidden from sight.

Often times when I drive around, motorists in their Toyota Fortuner, Montero Sports, Isuzu MUX, Ford Everest, pickups and sedans of varying make and model, I know they are trying to greet me, they honk two times, they can easily recognize me, I'm the only one driving a blue multi-cab with WWW.ALORAN.ORG front-marking.

Of course I return the greetings, but do I know them?
No, too many.

In fact there are carports I noticed with two, three cars in it, cars parked on the sidestreet, some car-owners don't have space for a carport, and though there are still empty carports I see, with the rate of progress I'm seeing, these would be taking occupants soon.

I visited some homes and true to what I was expecting, flat, wide smart TV, Internet routers, ref with inverter, washer and dryer.

And while my hosts were charging their iPhones, we were having coffee, brewed of-course, and boy, do I love imports?
If you are into fad, gourmet coffee and tea, burgers, sandwiches, traditional cuisine, classic sikwate, the ever-popular Silog series, Chinese, fried and greasy stuffs and some others that I find unusual, Drips, Tskoppee, Hollander are sure to cater your craving.

For the more adventurous, there is Pungko-pungko and carenderias just about everywhere.

For fine-dining, quick snacks, fancylicious delicacies and chat among friends, drop by.

Talking again about cars, there was only a handful, mostly jeeps, in the 1960s and 1970s.
Cocoy Bongalo, an NBA now living in Davao City, had this trivia question asked during our AHS-SMHS Class1972 Golden Reunion in September 2022:
Who owned cars (motor vehicles) in Aloran in the 1960s and 70s?
These names are among those that came up:
Generoso Cuajotor (Boongon), a Jeep;
Docoy Rivera, a Jeep;
Juan Tayone, a huge car, much bigger than the SUVs now;
Judge Mutia, a Bell Air;
Mayor Batong, a Jeep;
Mr Romero, a Jeep;

And who could forget MICAA (Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association) Basketball League?

There was only one TV in our neighbourhood, owned by The Orinos across the street that they always share viewing with The Boys every MICAA game.

It wasn't HD, not flat, black and white, but hey, will you complain?

It was so kind of them to share their TV, and thanks to them, to these days we can still talk about those Basketball Tourneys like they just happened yesterday.