‘It takes a long time to be young’
The year 2023 marks the 60th diamond anniversary of our high school Class 1963. We’ve kept memories of those stellar days with warm affection, including those when we felt like we’d messed up.
Take the time when classes were dismissed because of torrential rains pouring on España Street. Instead of going home, my partner-in-crime, Fe Reyes, grabbed my hand to make a fast exit through the tall, iron gates of the university.
We waded through ankle-deep, murky waters and hailed a calesa. “Mamang kutsero, please take us to Calle Raon.” The kutsero, bored stiff, suddenly snapped to life. Sitting erect, he made a tsk-tsk sound that sent a signal to his horse to canter over flooded blocks and intersections.
Calle Raon was the popular music alley where you could buy vinyl records in 45, 78 or 33-1/3 rpms (revolutions per minute) of popular recording artists like Ricky Nelson, The Fleetwoods, Jimmie Rodgers, Bobby Darin, the Anita Kerr Singers, the Cascades, Frankie Avalon, the Beatles, and many more.
We scoured through volumes of these long-playing (LP) albums, unable to choose because there were just too many. “Which ones do we buy?”
The fear came after the thrill, “Uh-oh! How do we get home?”
These were times of unrestrained, maybe crazy diversions. Everyone was doing it, whether playing hooky or making noise to drive our teachers insane, or each other. What was more important is that we stuck together and kept the memory alive.
“We should celebrate our diamond jubilee since it happens only once,” was the popular cry, and so we got down to business even if COVID-19 and its effects were still being cautiously dealt with.
We formed an organizing committee to handle every aspect of the celebration: venue, catering, invitation and souvenirs, ID tags and lanyard, raffle and entertainment, music DJ, lights and sound, dance instructors, not to forget service tips for the waiters, plus meals for the service crew, and an emergency ambulance on call.
It worked like a charm.
Moreover, the biggest surprise came from classmates based abroad who wired funds to cover part of the cost of not only one celebration but two! The other celebration entailed an overnight stay in a mountain lodge owned by another classmate.
And if that wasn’t amazing enough, the Holy Mass that preceded the reunion was celebrated by our lone high school mate who was ordained a priest, Fr. Hermès Fabio, or Fr. Minch. His homily focused on building relationships that could grow stronger and more significant despite the storms, challenges and setbacks of life.
There were many ups and downs on our journey. One classmate suffered the loss of her husband after he battled a persistent illness. Another went through a life-threatening experience, but the perfect alignment of faith with medical rescue and miracles saved his beloved wife. Another classmate believed in the power of intercessory prayers to heal his young grandson and the class begged and pleaded while holding on to Blessed Mary’s rosary beads.
Who was it that said that when you reach your septuagenarian, or LXX, you look back on your life and realize that you have done many things, but there is still much to do? “Experience cannot be bought and wisdom grows out of the 70 years of experience.”
One classmate built on the meticulous training she received from school and her mother and made strides in the jewelry business. Another made a name in developing land to provide permanent homes for wage earners. Many more made headway in all kinds of industry, commerce, science, beauty, education, technology and public service.
Whenever we meet, the memories of high school are rekindled and the curtains are drawn full wide to reveal those happy times when we had no worries and absolutely no responsibilities except to be in love with life, and with love.
Music defined us, every time.
My partner-in-crime paid us a visit when we were based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She was so amazed at how green the whole city was, with pockets of rain forests, which was now being pushed further by a planting tree program called “Mission GreenPossible.”
Just when we were about to partake of the local feast of nasi lemak, char kuey teow, roti canai, seafood rendang and assorted satay with peanut sauce, the skies suddenly burst open with banging thunder and electrifying lightning zipping across the stratosphere. We jumped to our feet and rushed out of the house, giggling. “This is so Calle Raon again!” We walked with the rain bucketing down on us, unmindful of how silly and how soaked we were to the bone.
The LXX’s are bonus years. Let us continue to explore, to learn and to serve with a heart that is true and ever kind.
Picasso was right. “It takes a long time to become young.”
