Burning the road

Media

Part of Green and White

Title: Burning the road
Language: English
Year: 1930
Rights
Fulltext: 220 GREEN AND WHITE - - - - -------tire frqm his creaking board,-vanquished. It must have b~n a'bout five o'clock by the time we turned our backs on sleeping Taal. and set our faces to Manila. W~ arrived home happy as birds, but a trifle tired. However we did not worry about this, as ahead of us we had three non-school days in which to rest our weary limbs. By common consent, the picnic was voted to be a staggering success, and we are ready for another such outiqg any day now. In conclusion we .must thank all who helped to make the day the pleasure that it was. We especially thank our follow class-mates and their parents, who placed their autos at our disposal. and whose names have been mentioned earlier. Jose Herrera. BURNING THE ROAD By Pedro A. Revilla Nigh an uncanny section of the notorious Vito Cruz, a mocking bird woke in the starlight, just before the break of dawn. In a house around this neighborhood,· a steel bed creaked. It was our much-beloved and .;muchabused Prexy, Horace Villa, who got up to listen to the ill-ti;med screeching of the matutinal bird. There are many kinds of birds, song birds, jail birds, etc. The bird, however in this instance, was non other than our senile pal. "Pat" Anido, who was beguiling the moments singing with all the ferocity of his larynx. Let us be merciful and let it go at tha_t. . .. SINGING! After all th£re are many others who can sing more melifluously than our genial "Pat". Take me for instance. Well, if I can sing, Johnnie Klingler can sure play tennis! However, let us switch back to our narrative. George Cui was still enjoying his stolen nap. when a friendly poke in the nbs snatched him aiway fropl. the a11ms of Morpheus (With apologies to my aide-de-camp, V. Zaragoza). A sour, murderous look greeted him. It was from H. Villa. We never realized that such a peaceful. honourable man, or rather boy (he ain't passed fourt.zen yet, according to statistics furnished by himself) possessed such a vindictive spm!t. He had not forgotten Georgie's welltimed pokes during the night. After a hurried bre'akfast, we shot right off, to fetch some of the boys, and the "Professor Good-Advice" (Professor Buenconsejo). Anido, in the mean.while had been taking his habitual rounds around Wright street. No harltn in that, eh readers? Just a hobby of this gent. At the sound of our horn, my mistake, we have no horns, it was our (?) car's, Tabor slipped into his pants, and believe it or not, gmtle readers, it only took him fifteen minutes. Not a bad record for a fellow of his generous proportions. Next we called on our witty professor, who was with us in a jiffy. Back to the rendevouz we went, to join the others. Papa's "Stutz" announced the arrival of Professor I1mperial It was not long before we made the marvelous discovery that he is hu1man after all. Why, he can even crack jokes without referring to the nauseating laws of Physics. An i~prO\Illptu roll call followed, to remind those poor forgetful souls who had not yet paid their fees, that the "Ides of March hath come" and alpiost gone. The ·treasurer, however, found no stowaways. The bus we had hired, showed signs of rebellion when Tabor placidly climbed to take his seat. Tabor is so hardhearted, he would si.t on inflated tires. At least we were on the go. But not much of a go a,t that. For five minutes the truck crawled along Viti0 Cruz and for- five minutes we thought we would never get to the other end of that street. We were somewhat consoled hlowever with the thought that it might only be a preHminary thrill. However, ten, twenty minutes, and even thirty minutes sped by an.d still we were going along at the same hu,mdruim speed. Whereupon Valdes who had brought •his traveling goggles with him, thought it was a great injustice to the pr-eparations he had made for a long "FAST" flight. "Step on the gas, bimbo!" shouted Gonzalo at the top of his voice. In response the truck gave a ratding sound, but that was all. It was not long 'before the whole gang beca(lne conscious of the fact, that at the ra.te we were going. we would be blessed if we got to our destination by twelve o'dock, which is no reasonable time for any sane man to enjoy _a picnic in his knickers, the weather being warm enough as irt -was. Thereupon, without any of the ~ustom ary ceremonies, and without breaking any botGREEN AND WHITE 221 tles of liquor, the truck was named "The Turtle Transit", with George Cui as the minister. We will mention several anomalies during our trip. We will begin with M. M. de la Cruz. This gentle:man · is the rarest human on two legs. Going to a picnic dressed in sartorial splendour, is very suspicious, but with Cruz not unusual. We just wonder ... ! Thzn there was Ray Valera. Ah! there indeed was a person who was quite different · from what he usually is. He seemed to have been suffering from some unusual, queer fit of "melancholia". Again I'm stumped! Again I wonder : .. ! Contrary to our expectations, Luis Feria' s spontaneous laughter was seldoo:n heard. Our host, Mr. Salas, was evidently in a hilarious mood. He cracked jokes, which nobody seeopied to appreciate (Even if he was our host) . M. Go and G. Go seemed s,et on enjoying the picnic, at lea&t that was what I could make out fro.m their dizzying lingo and graceful ( ? ) motions. The next character is a personality, who should have been born a century or so ago. But you can't blame him, he came late. This character is one who seems to have stepped out of a book, of bold caballeros and fair senoritas. We refer to none other than our patriot, poet; and writer, Francisco Eguaras. All day long this caballero waxed poetic, imagine, gentle reader, how we suffered and sympathize with us! Nothing occurred on our way to Balete. Why, even Papa lnc Zulueta behaved just as their mothers would have them do! Midway between Biiiang and Balete, we ha:f to stop. The truck refused to budge another inch. It did not say so, of course not, but it certairil y made itself plain. Aft.er a little C) coaxing frOjm the drivet the truck once more responded to the touch of his able hands. At nine o'clock we were at Balete (imagine ot.r surprise!). The lake seemed inviting, and ;·;;e boys seemed too willing to be invited. So a few minutes, or was it seconds, we were ra.:ing like mad towards the house which Mr. Kalaw so graciously offered us, for dre·ssing and uw dressing purposes. Valera showed his first signs of graciousness when he obligingly posl<d for the hungry cameraman. Our boiys sure were bal;m for sore eyes, as they stepped out of the house in their bathing suits. Hor;ic:v Villavicencio paraded in a modest bathing suit but he proved to be a real shark in the water. Ramon Sevilla, was a gorgeous sight. Typifying the he-'man type, with chest inflated. "Pat" Anido just looked natural. Masculir:e grandeur is his claim too. George Cui, another ditto, felt perfectly at home in the water. Ease and endurance are nature's gifts to :11.m. In a cigarrett2 it may be taste, hut in the ole swim;min' hole it's George Barrenengoa. Barren, for short, but don't misunder~tand. F:ed De Lange was a wow! A. Salas !ooked like the aftermath of weight-lifting. M. Papa 1oo'bed alai:jmingly taller in his bathing togs. Mike certainly has a good build for a swimmer. \Ve won't be surprised if the Jantzen manufactures of bathing suits, changed their minds and put Papa's picture in mid-air pose in place of the old trade mark. J. Klingler was giving a fo~e demonst;ration on how to drown one's sdf. Too bad, Johnnie, that these recakitrant stuu."s of yours are not patented. Anyway, Johnnie ain't talking of swUriming across the Pacific Save Empty Packages OF LA INSULAR HEB RA cigarettes and take them to our PRIZE DEPART-MENT at No. 682 Rizal Ave. where you select a vafoable prize. 222 GREEN AND WHITE Ocean any(more. The Go cousins were makin~ merry by th0mselves. Gavino was performing the "shrimp stroke" (whatever tha~ is) to thz best of his ability, Mariano was emulating his cousin's exa;'mple .... with improvements of his own creation. In the meantime Ed Reyes was busy sho .ting us with his cinekodak. A. Hernandez VYC us a generous dctnonstration of how King '1 ut looked when he was unearthed, by posing before the caimera. Then followed a dress parade. First in line came R. Valera. Real pantomine grace, embodied all his movements. Ah! that was art. For a .moment I was wafo~d to heavens of delight, and my a·rtist's soul responded, but like all earthly things it ended! Then came Papa, swaggering, coquettish, striding like an ostrich. E. Zul ueta . . . . ,my pen refuses to write what my mind dictates, you must excuse me. After a rub down and a song ( ?) or two, we proceeded on to Lipa, for there our empty stomachs lead us, on to the palacial residence of Mr. Salas, where none but the brave gain access. Antique, historical hous·e of nobk lineage. Howev.~r. historical or non-historical. the house became a veritable bee-hive of goodlooking ( ?) boys, within a few seconds. R. Sevilla gave us an unask.~d. ty:rnpanic-breaking piano recital of what was once music. Louis Feria, on the other hand was nursing the vague illusion that he was singing. Hernandez kept tormenting Zulueta with his pre-war truncated pipe. Tabor consoled himself with the thought that the grub was near at hand. Our own Horacio Villavicencio began to get rid of his sphinx-like attitude when remind.~d that, that certain party wants him peppy, and how! Hernandez pretended that he was not looking at the dining roo,m, but Jack put us wise to it; and Eguaras is an honourable man. Cruz was giving an extemporaneous speech on the foolishness of Physics, with Rey~s. (Can you beat that!) as his lone audience. Klingler was spinning another of his famous yarns, but no one took the trouble to listen (We' re getting wise to you, Johnnie.) The dinner call was like music to our ears, it was an answer to our frantic S.O.S. All of us could not be accomodated in one round, so w.-~ had to split. One table was presided over by Prof. Buenconsejo, while the other by Prof. J,mperial. Eating and talking seldom go together that was why we didn't hear much fro'm several boys. Take Hernandez for example. All we could make out of hittn throughout the whole affair was the clashing of fork and plate. Ditto for the Go cousins. The r.~st I failed to notice for I was a busy man mysdf. After a hearty dinner, some boys went out to play. Villavicencio was only too eager to show us his improvement in basket-ball but unfortunately for him the orwner of the court didn't want to tak,~ any risk (maybe he knew you, Villa). Finally it was decided, by common consent, to study the vicinity and the natural environment of Mr. Salas' natal town. Of course it was an unholy hour to spend sight-seeing, it being noontime, but we managed to giv;~ Valdes a break in tennis, his favorite sport. He was up against the town's best bet, so ·our host assured us, but Gonzalo gave a good account of himself, as usual. We (excuse our dust) gave a game fight in this contest, and I will not be surprised, if the man Gonzalo was up against, is still thinking of the auburn-haired youth who offered such a stiff competition. After our afternoon luncheon, we had some :music. De Lang·e's accordion was doing its share, and Hernandez pipe was not far beh'ind. But there was a voice shriller than all the .music. It was Sevilla's cachinations. Then the inevitable happened! Reyes tried to sing! And Ferrazzini too! Judge, oh ye gods, how we suffered! Don't lose all hope, tho, Ferraz, your voice is still undergoing a metamorphosis, that's why. Tihen in the middle of it all, came the ice crea1m as a soothing bairn for our jaded and much-abused nerves. Fischer was not very talkative just then. How could h~? Cui, Anido, and Sevilla, were acting their age. I have nothing to reproach th€'rn for, only George was kidding us into believing that he was not very anxious to get home early. And so did "Pat" Anido. When a guy has to give up a party, where that certain party is sure to be . ... why, it's no joke! "' GREEN AND WHITE 223 By a quarter to five, we were p~odding our way home. We Wi'i!re delayed somewhat by engine trouble, which did not have a chance to develop much. Feria was feeling gay on the way home, in fact he was wild. All I could make out from the muffled screaims was .. oh, why go on. It's none of our business anyway. Maybe he was fighting someone close to him, oh very. Wise cracks, in the meantime, were being shot hi!re and there. Cruz and Tabor were the main targets. Of course no one missed Tabor, who could? Eloquent silence ensued. Silence . ominous and penetrating. As if all were b.':!nt in a sol~mn oration. Everyone seemed loath to break the silence ...... until the sun gave its last gli1ll1'm.ers of light, as it sunk slowly in~o the distant horizon. Then pandemonium broke loose. The zero hour had come! Shrill bar-bars were again audible even to the inattentive ear. Lights were turned on, only to be quickly put out by the order of the famous middle row gang. A roaring, maddening laugh from Papa's and Peria's vicinity, gave us the hunch th<11t th~ inevitaple had happened agam. City lights were soon discernible and some kind of order (or was it disorder) was enforced in the truck. Songs and yells soon were the compom::nts of the lusty repartee. Down towards Vito Cruz we rolled (could it have been ortherwise ?) Singing and shouting, each one trying to get hoarser than the other. At last we arriv,-;:d at our honourable Prexy's house, and here one by one we scattered, without however forgetting to voice our varied opinions (which wer.~ not so varied after all) of the picnic. By unani!mous consent it was branded a failure, the chow being called the only bright spot of that there picnic. Every tilme I think of the food, it makes me want to have another picnic. Oh boy, the picnic may have been a failure, but the food sure was not. Ask my stomach! Putting aside all jest, and with all seriousness, we take this opportunity to thank the Salas faimily, who so graciously consented to prepare the food, and we only regret the shortage of funds which prevented us frO!m paying the full amount of the expenses. We also wish to thank Mr. Kalaw for the use of his house in Balete. Last but not least, we thank ourselves for helping th.-:: picnic to become a great (oh!) success (ugh!). * * * LOS BANOS FOR THE JUNIORS Gear. P. Reuilla, H.S. '32 The gray streaks of dawn were peeping along the horizon when Guzco Transit No. 10, carrying a carload of the La Salle Juniors, left the College premises, bound for old Los Banos. Cheers, songs, shouts, shrieks, etc., etc., ensued from the lusty throats of eager and expectant youths, as the truck rumbled on its way. The occupants of the neighboring houses, will no doubt, remellllber to this day, with chagrin not unmingled with wonder, the strange boisterous shouts which disturbed their peaceful slumbers. The day prormised to be a fine one, so it is no wonder at all, that we should be cheerful. If, however, we have really caused such disturbances, be it known here that we tender our apologies to the neighborhood. But boys will be boys, and that's that. A few unfortunate ones were left behind as they found the arms of Father Morpheus very cdmforting. But this is no time to shower them wit'h regrets. I guess they will know b.::tter next tilme. Everybody was dressed in roughing outfit except one, and that was Master Coronado Esq. Why anybody would think he was going to attend a party, as one latet" retmarked. Molina and V elhagen, were especially conspicuous in their twin outfits. Joseph thougiht there would be a baseball game and so brought along his paraphernalia, which consisted of nothing else than a cap. Cute wouldn't express the way he looked, with the AH WHAN MILITARY TAILOR If you want your Military or Boy Scout Uniform made to fit GO TO 74 Real. W. C. Box 2868 MANILA Tel. 2-81-48