Konted's Make My Day: Wednesday Lunch At Andy's Place

Wednesday Lunch At Andy's Place

It was like a pendulum swinging back and forth. The date kept on changing as adjustments were made to suit one's schedule. First, it was February 11, as Andy suggested, as this would coincide with the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. And at 6pm for an early dinner at Andy's place in New Manila.

A phone call from Greg moved the date to February 8 as Feb 11 would be a hectic day for him. Greg still works part time at the Philippine Women's University as professor. I agreed even as the color coding scheme would affect me. That was no problem. Francis, too, gave his nod. As the appointed day was nearing, I got a text message from Francis that it was rescheduled to Feb 9 as there was conflict in Andy's schedule. And from dinner, it would be lunch for the four of us. Last Sunday's call from Andy was like the banging of the gavel -- Feb 9 was the final choice. At our age, we seem to have acquired the positive quality of being flexible.

Feb 9 was a Wednesday. I left at 12 noon as it was supposed to be a late lunch, taking the Kamias-Kamuning route and driving at a slow pace. The original plan was for me to meet Greg at the Welcome rotunda. But there were changes too at the last minute. Francis volunteered instead to fetch Greg and I was to proceed directly to #12, 13th Avenue, New Manila. This explains why I was taking it easy on my way to Andy's place. Again, these sudden changes were manifestations of our being flexible. Or was it being fickle minded? Never mind !

Like the old houses of the old rich in that area, Andy has maintained and preserved that 1960's architectural design that makes one nostalgic and yearn for "years gone by and for days of long ago." Enhancing that quaint beauty is a rectangular swimming pool situated between the house and another structure that serves as Andy's office. At the eastern tip of that pool is an old mango tree with roots deeply bound. But my choice spot is the Lanai where one gets that relaxing mood, where one is tempted to take that lazy seating position, grab a book and let the rest of the world go by. Also noticeable is a classic Mercedes Benz at the garage which, I suppose, binds Andy to the memory of his late father. And, yes, the old basketball court is still there.

We had our lunch at about 1:40 pm with Andy's wife Letty assisting us and making sure we had what we wanted. We feasted on Chicken Cordon Bleu, Shredded Beef and Baked Macaroni which were cooked by Mrs. Jimenez. The cooking was so good that Greg forgot that he was on a diet. The same with Francis. I concentrated on the Cordon Bleu and got my third piece when no one was looking. For dessert, we had Peachy-Peachy which old folks call Balanghoy.

Done and satisfied to the fullest, we moved to next long table as Andy served ice-cold beer for Francis and Carbonated water for the rest of us. After the usual taking of pictures, FLASHBACK TIME began. I broke the ice with my anecdote of how Mr. Roderos caught me in the act of returning Francis Roldan's test paper after copying the answers in our Algebra exam. For which I got a grade of 65 and had to take summer classes elsewhere. Greg remembered how the class would sing in unison as Mr. Varona would enter the classroom: "Rain, rain, go away, Little Varona wants to play." That made me laugh. Andy recalled our G.S. graduation at the Aristocrat in Cubao where we sang "When you walk through a storm, keep your head up high, and don't be afraid of the dark." On his part, Francis recounted the time when a rugged military truck would enter the school compound just to fetch Ed Castro and Arturo Sabado and their brothers.

The exchanges shifted to our classmates. Of Herbert Sy being good in basketball, of Jerry Singson as the younger brother of Chavit, of the Ututalum brothers, of Rod Salazar driving his own grey Valiant, of Antonio Lumanlan as being the son of the Chief of Police of Pampanga, of Perry Santos, who used to live in the same area, as splitting my Spanish book into two whenever an inspection was made, of Joseph Manapat's family as owners of Green Valley Resort in Antipolo in the 70's, of Manuel Pinto as a son of the co-owners of Max's Chicken, of Mike Velasco as a tough guy, of Manuel Montemayor attending an LSQC homecoming, of Jonathan Garcia as Provincial Commander of Cavite province, of Eric Cammayo being sighted somewhere in Katipunan in the 70;s, of Fadul and the Olizon brothers....and many, many more.

The stories, vividly recalled, amused us no end that we didnt notice that twilight had come. We were so engrossed that everybody momentarily stopped being time-conscious. But it was now time to say goodbye, to say "thank you" to our generous hosts. As we walked past the driveway, I took one last shot of the basketball court. It was my linkage to Andy in the 60's. And it will continue to be as such.

Greg and Francis boarded Francis' Honda City as I maneuvered my car near the far end of 13th Avenue. I turned left at Broadway and turned right at Espana Extrension with the intention of driving to Marikina Riverbanks for some pirated DVDs. I turned left again at Tomas Morato Avenue but just as I was approaching the traffic lights, I made a sudden U-turn. I had a change of mind. I opted to proceed to Cubao instead and had my hearing aid checked and cleaned. Again, that was a sign of being flexible. Or was it being fickle-minded? Here we go again!!!

- Konted