By Angel Nuñez
YOU KNOW YOU ARE AN OLD TIMER SANPEDRANO IF
You remember that during the rain, you used to get a crocus sack, fixed it in such a way that it took the shape of a hood, and you put that on your head and went to school or doing any other business.
AND YOU KNOW YOU ARE A MODERN SANPEDRANO IF
You do not even know what a crocus bag is. It is a sack like those ones made of plastic today, but it was made with fiber from the crocus plant. The bag was used for storing coconuts, nuts, corn, and our fishermen used it to store lobsters. Our old timer parents even made hammocks from crocus sacks.
YOU KNOW YOU ARE AN OLD TIMER SANPEDRANO IF
When it was mosquito season you simply took out a metal container and lit up some materials to make a heavy smoke which repelled the mosquitoes. In other words, we used to make our own repellent.
AND YOU KNOW YOU ARE A MODERN SANPDRANO IF
You do not have the vaguest idea of what I am talking about. Well, materials used to make a fine repellent smoke were leaves that were semi dry and green ones too. Coconut husks were good too and some green ones lasted for hours. Even wood that is rotten and wet makes a good smoke. Modern Sanpedranos, when it is mosquito season, start clamoring for the town council to make its rounds with the fogger machine because it is illegal to light up fires in your yard and you can’t really put one of these smoke buckets in your modern day house. Big difference today, right?
NOTE: I recall going to weddings, just to interfere, and there were two or three buckets producing smoke repellent so that the folks could enjoy their party. Imagine the smell of the bride as she went on her honeymoon!
YOU KNOW YOU ARE AN OLD TIMER SANPEDRANO IF
Your mother and grandmother used to do their laundry in a tub known as a “batella” and a little later on used the scrub board with scrubbing brush.
YOU KNOW YOU ARE A MODERN SANPEDRANO IF
As soon as your washing machine doesn’t work, you are angry and cursing and wonder when the serviceman will come and repair it or when your husband will come home so you start complaining so you can get a new washing machine, this time with a dryer too.
So what is a batella? It is a wooden tub, like a bath tub only that this one is only six inches deep. Half filled with water and with the help of a scrubbing brush, you could easily do twenty pounds of laundry in an hour’s time, and in the evening, you had no need to exercise because you had done it already at your “batella” or with your scrub board. No wonder why old time girls had pretty shapes, nice arms, but with rough hands.
YOU KNOW YOU ARE AN OLD TIMER SANPEDRANO IF
As a kid, when it was September and October, you were excited and busy catching “Tulish” or dragon flies from your mom’s clothesline or in any yard where there were some tall weeds or small flowering plants.
YOU KNOW YOU ARE A PRESENT DAY SANPEDRANO IF
You have probably never heard the word “tulish” nor the English word dragon fly. And why was catching “tulish” such an excitement. Same reason why a modern-day photographer is excited about catching one in picture. They are rare. They are seasonal only. They are colorful. They are a test of your patience. You see, dragonflies are some of the fastest insects in the world, so when you catch one, you are “good”.
NOTE: But don’t catch them. They eat mosquitoes and flies, so they help to keep down the population of those pests.
25 Years Ago Books Can Be Purchased At:
-Ambergris Today -Lala’s Store -Chico’s Meat Shop -Pampered Paws -Ambergris Jade -San Pedro BTB Office -Aquarious Salon (Kim) -S.P. Town Library -Di Bush -Richies Stationery -San Pedrano’s Stationery
Contact the Author at: nunez_nest@yahoo.com
