REVISITING LIWASAN'G BONIFACIO

 I had a fun day today! First of all it's not the first time I did a tour of the Liwasan'g Bonifacio area, we covered it before after some colleagues of mine became Mabuhay Guides. What made this tour work for me was the nostalgia. My father was a stamp collector back in the day when I was a schoolboy. As kids growing up, we were encouraged to establish international friendships through penpals. I can't recall the name of the organization we joined as students back then. We submitted our names and in return, we received five names of kids our age with corresponding addresses. So we would write them and the more responses we received, the more names we were given to correspond with. I had sent postcards to Italy, Ireland, the US, etc. And then, eventually the letters stopped... maybe as teenagers, we had all developed other interests, gone to university, fallen in love, had families and responsibilities of our own... This tour of Renacimiento de Manila and Heritage Conservation Society, brought back a ton of memories for me as I recall: expecting presents, waiting for cards on Christmas or Valentine's day with money tacked onto the inner folds of the cards, parcels sent from friends and relatives abroad, the much awaited money order notice to ensure we as recipients received the love offerings fondly sent by ninongs and ninangs who have decided to live abroad.

Time and technology have changed the landscape of communications over a short span of a few decades. There's the ominous presence of email now. There are apps for facilitating the exchange of money. Social media and cellular phones have altered our mode of communication with friends and loved ones. Everything has become faster but not necessarily for the better... I still gush over receiving a well written greeting on Christmas cards. I enjoy receiving packages wrapped in brown paper and sealed in a gazillion feet of duct tape. I would enjoy messages from friends with all the sides of the envelope taped to prevent it from bursting at the folds because of the photos tucked inside with that one photo that has the hundred dollar bill stuck at the back with carbon paper and invisible tape. Time flies. But SJ Go (Stephen Pamorada) and Diego Torres gave me one hell of trip down memory lane. Thank you, Renacimiento de Manila, Heritage Conservation Society and Pilipinas Philately for today!