Tulabut: American Pikinisan 2

LOTS of stories to tell.

Yes, there could be volumes upon volumes of books that could be written about the way our Cabalens lived their lives with Americans in and around Clark Air Base (CAB).

From so-called house girls, yard boys, DODs (security enforcers hired under US Department of Defense budget and program), caddie boys and girls, taxi drivers, and all the rest of Filipino workers during CAB heydays.

I have my fond memories too of the American pikinisan (leftovers).

As a son of a former DOD officer (who also served in the Philippine Scout), I can recall my own experience growing up near a base which portion of a perimeter fence was less than a kilometer away from our house.

Last week, I wrote something about PX (Post Exchange) goods like chocolates and candy bars. I mentioned how scarce they were and how they were available only for the privileged like US service members and their dependents or the black markets in Dau and Nepo for the moneyed people.

Here is a continuation.

BASE WATER. The potable water from Clark Air Base was much vaunted. It was highly regarded back in the day to be almost perfect and very clean of impurities. Or so that’s the perception that I got back in the 1980s.

Who would not have that notion when some members of the family fetched drinking water from the base. A lot of neighbors too did just the same.

Why won’t they when the most accessible potable water then were from backyard handpumps which were “matabsing”. Online dictionaries say the word meant salty. But in our experience, it was more than that. It was salty and tastes like water that was just in a container that was also filled with rusting iron.

A brother in law who worked as a cab driver (yes, there were taxis then inside Clark) brought home some water in plastic containers. It was mainly used in mixing baby formula for his two sons.

An aunt who was married to a retired US military personnel did just the same as water supply in Balibago then was not good.

I have also heard of how locals (from Angeles and Mabalacat) would line up on faucets nearest to either the Main Gate in Balibago and Mabalacat Gate. If I’m not mistaken, there was also water pipes intentionally laid down by the Americans near Sapang Bato as local residents then found it hard to dig up water wells in their area.

The so-called base water was like 100 percent unpolluted and so pure, so much so that it was even seen (read: tasted) like it was filled with vitamins and minerals.

That perception was somehow changed though in the mid 1990s when environmentalists and advocates for bases clean-up made some revelations about toxic substances at former US military bases.

They came out with reports claiming that water inside Clark, particularly at the former motorpool (near the former Cabcom Headquarters in Dau), was contaminated with substances that are not good for the body.

The advocates even showed images of children from the Cabcom (presumably were evacuees during Pintatubo and lahar flow episodes then) that were malnourished. I think I even remember some with physical deformities.

As to our nephews, they grew up just fine. In fact, a lot better, taller, smarter than the average kids. Now in their mid 20s, I think that base water did them just alright.

THE AIR UP THERE. The common impression that we got then was that once you entered the base premises, it felt an awful lot of different from your regular neighborhood.

One reason was the air we breathed. There was somehow a sniff of fragrance, of uniqueness, of smell that was really pleasing, soothing and very likeable. Especially so when you are in the midst of a residential neighborhood or commercial area.

In residential places, such uniqueness of smell could have come from fragrances of fabric softeners (not locally available then) used in clothes that hang outdoors. It’s the kind of smell you would sniff from clothes in balikbayan boxes from the US. The other source of a different kind of smell were household kitchens that cooked prime ribs, steaks, turkeys and what have you.

But then again just like the controversy over base water, Clark’s air was also tainted with alleged contaminants. Environmentalists also claimed there was hazardous substance that floated in Clark’s air. There were allegations that came out also in the mid 1990s that some volatile organic compounds (VOCs) filled the atmosphere in some portions of the former base.

So, was the air inside the base really clean, enticing and likeable back then? I, together with the rest of other people who enjoyed its atmosphere would answer yes in unison.

Why not? Of course, I was used to only smelling local brands detergent bars on my clothes. The smell of softeners were more than fragrant. The smell was a far cry from odor of sweat, sourness and bawung aldo (smells like sun)

On food, for someone like me who got used to smelling tuyo, tinapa (dried and smoked fish, respectively) on a daily basis and even bulanglang (guava-based soup). The smell from this viand takes some extra effort to rid from my hand and clothes.

The smell of steaks and real beef burgers was heavenly enough.

+++++

PEPPERS 21. This is the new fine dining cuisine and bar inside Widus Hotel in Clark Freeport. I think this is the only restaurant in its class where imported and fine grade steaks are aged for 21 days in temperature-controlled room.

The steaks are not only carefully kept but they are also mixed, blended and served with an impeccability that cannot be matched elsewhere. The full meal deals include especially prepared soups, salads, appetizers and desserts.

I liked their Foie Gras, poached pear salad and the lava cake. As to steaks, one can order samplers of tenderloin, striploin and rib eye. Oh, it’s not just steaks they serve at this stylishly read-and-white themed resto. They have chicken, lambs, fish, scallops, prawns. The entire deal. The prices? Very reasonable.

This penthouse deck resto at the hotel's main tower is open from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Those who wanna check it out can make reservations at 045.499.1000 local 3008.

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