(Partial) Memories of an 80's Childhood Part 4

Signing on

"Monkey,monkey Annabel. How many monkeys did you see?"

"Tagu-taguan maliwanag ang buwan. Tayo maglaro ng tagu-taguan"

"Doctor Quack Quack!!!"

Ahhh, the joy of being a kid back in those days. I would like to comment that kids back in the day are more creative in terms of entertaining themselves. I mean, internet was still a virtual unknown here, and aside from cartoons that I have mentioned in my previous posts, playing outdoors is our source of amusement, as well as an enjoyable form of exercise (no wonder we are healthier then!). When I was a kid we used to live with our aunt in Parañaque; me, my two sisters, our cousins, and other playmates would meet together every afternooon for some dose of fun and games. Read the intro? Those are some of the games that we enjoyed. Taguan is obviously hide and seek. The "taya" shoulc turn his or her back to the players, and facing the wall with eyes covered the taya must count to ten while the players scamper around for a place to hide. When all had hid the (okay, to avoid redundance I'll substitute taya with "it") it will search those who are hiding and when found the caught player must race with the it to the wall and, upon touching must shout "Save!"; if the player is unsuccesful in getting to the wall first he will be the next it. And the whole thing goes on and on until everyone is exhausted. In Doctor Quack-Quack, the it is the doc. The other players will entangle themselves and shout "Doctor Quack-Quack!" The it wll then try to untangle them. In Monkey Monkey Anabel, well, can somebody describe it to me once again. I still need to refresh my memory about how to play the game. I have also played luksong-tinik, habulan and patintero to name a few.

Being a son of a seaman I have the privilege of having toys that I treasured. I remember owning Matchbox die-casts, a toy laser gun, robots, and a slot car set. When I was seven I received a Transformers Sharkticon as a Christmas present. How I enjoyed it then because I was dying to have one.

Long before Sony Playstation and Nintendo Wii there was the Family Computer. When we lived in Baclaran a neighbor used to run a computer game rental business, and I must admit, it is a profitable one. I remember being one of the uzis who watched the game and wishing that we have one in our house. [Author's note: Hanabishi has produced their own Family Computer.] To play it a cartridge must be inserted in the slot. The selected cartridge contains a specific game. There are also cartridges that has multiple games stored inside. You know, the 5-in-i, 10-in-1 and other -in 1s. That's how it was back then.

Signing off