Lao Chao

I dropped by Kong & Gwammy's place this afternoon, amidst the onslaught of typhoon Falcon (BTW, I passed by New Manila and witnessed the destruction to trees & property caused by a mini tornado, locally known as buhawi or ipo-ipo).  The parents were just reminiscing about our 2 month visit to Taiwan in the summer of 1971 and they were talking about Lao Chao exactly at the time I walked in the door.  Lao Chao was the maintenance man in charge of the house where we stayed in Taipei, and I distinctly remember he would ride a bike to bring our daily ration of distilled water.  Those big 5-gallon containers of distilled drinking water were something new to me in those days, since tap water in Manila was absolutely potable.  I remember the gigantic watermelons we used to buy; Kong, Gwammy, my cousin Manong Peter & I would spend nights feasting on one-giant-half of the super sweet Si Qua and we would stow away the other-giant-half in the refrigerator.  I also remember that one night, the wind was so strong that the kitchen door slammed shut, thereby breaking the skylight to a hundred pieces!  I learned how to ride the bicycle that summer, and we went on to tour various places in Taiwan--riding a cab to the Temple on the Hill during a rainy day (Kong got mad at the driver for his wild driving habits), throwing paper wishes onto Taroko Gorge, losing energy while boating in Sun Moon Lake (reinvigorating myself only when Gwammy bought me a ham & cheese sandwich), riding the hammock in Hua Lian and watching the UP Concert Chorus perform on Taiwanese TV while eating in a Chinese restaurant.  I distinctly remember that because my cousin Gene was with the UP Concert Chorus at that time (Rey Paguio was the conductor.  We went on to visit Hong Kong with Uncle Tom during that summer.  Somehow, it seems just like yesterday...