OLD PICTURES STIR MEMORIES

BY Vic Odarve

As he opened the door, an old and gray haired Mang Peter said, “Come, Victor, come inside”. Excited, I slowly walked inside the old house which seemed the same features as fifty years ago when I was playing with Henry, his youngest son. Suddenly the framed picture hanging on the wall caught my attention. Looking nearer to the picture, I recognized my Dad and said,” Ah this is my father when he was young. The rests are his school mates.” “Yes, that was fifty years ago”, said Mang Peter.

Boy Scout of the Philippines

“Come, Victor, come. I am going to show you some old pictures that I have kept for some time”, he said as he opened the old cabinet and got the dusty old albums.  I was surprised to see number of photographs of their family members and some old folks that I used to see in the days of my youth. One of the pictures drew my attention. It was a picture where I was a platoon leader of a scout group ready for jamboree competition to a nearby village Lonoy. We were in complete uniform with a cap on the heads in a scout drill formation. Even in black-and-white, it was easy to tell that we were then kids schooling at Mayana Primary Schools. Scouting has been a part of my life for longer than I can remember. My parents have always told me that I always love scouting life during my primary education. And this old picture confirms!

College days

Upon scanning the pictures, old memories gradually flash back and forth on my minds from the events of the distant past. The traces of memories that appear to disintegrate over time seem real and fresh. Looking back to my childhood days, these memories are beyond forgetting!

“Where is Henry, Mang Peter?” I broke the silence as I noticed two children were playing few meters away from the backyard. Henry was my childhood playmate before our family transferred to the other province.” He is gone already Victor and the two youngsters playing are his two kids. His wife is now in Hongkong”, he said. Some tears in my eyes when he informed that my friend was no longer there. He returned to where he belonged. From dust to dust!

 Chocolate Hills Tour

Old pictures stir our memories and recall the days of our youth. Now, the place is one of my favorite getaway destinations. Going back to the old trail, I can feel like walking through mist and clouds along the mountain ranges, meet all the fairies and magical creatures, and watch the birds doing orchestra along the canopies. Remembering my good old childhood days, it is sort of feeling that cannot be captured on camera and more than the old pictures hanging on the wall. 

There really is no place like home. Old pictures remind me the place and events where I come from; the land of my birth, and with all its diversity, the good and the bad, I would like to go there first over anywhere else in the world.

For us the living, the old photographs keep us remember and stir our memories. It is beyond forgetting!