THE SHOE-SHINE BOYS

Territorial boundaries. Our favourite hang-out is the Municipal Plaza. On a typical Monday, we have the municipal officials and employees in queue. It is their look-good day. We wished, everyday was a look-good day! On a quiet day, we go around offering home service. Sunday was always a good day. There are five churches within walking-distance from our favourite hang-out. Remember? When you have a new shirt, a new pants and even more so, a new pair of shoes, you have to wear it first time to church so it would last a life-time, a long time at least. Well, your shoes might actually last a long time, but the Shine-shoe boys can help make your them last for your grandchildren to .. is that Lolos shoes? .. that is a silly-looking shoes! .. did he actually wear that? Aloran then was not big enough for 'dayo' to ply their trade. During fiestas though, 'dayo' from Oroquieta are seen around. I do not say they were openly welcome, but hey, there was buck for everyone! Saturday is payday at Red V in Talairon, Oroquieta. It was always a frenzy for me and my partner, Abay Jerusalem. Here, we are the 'dayo'. Though I got the feeling that we were not welcome in their territory, the sheer size of the market might have made them think there is buck for everyone. And since my father works there, we had the duopoly on my father's friends shoes. One day, Walter, Zardo, Noe & I decided to test the waters in Jimenez, a nearby town. After doing a few pairs, we noticed un-friendly looks coming from our local brothers-in-profession. We understood the way they held their bangko a signal to back-off. We acknowledged their Exclusive Economic Zone in time. That was the closest we came to a territorial dispute!