I won’t trade memories of my childhood for anything else. I was a free range kid…along with my two older siblings, our cousins, and neighbors.
I remember a time in my history when we would go for long walks in the morning after breakfast during the summer (or weekends during the school year). My siblings, neighbors, and I would explore beyond the familiarity of our street in Better Living, Paranaque.
It was once a paradise. Our house sat along a quiet, secluded street surrounded by lush weeds (which we would burn from time to time…and unknowingly violate RA 8749 or the Clean Air Act of 1999). But that was just a small patch that required weeding anyway. Behind our house was a vast rice paddy–with its water buffaloes, and a farm house amidst a band of trees in the middle of the field. Along its perimeter was a creek that ran parallel to our street. (more…)
