Talipapa - Center of People's Economics

Talipapa

- Center of People's Economics

Dr Abe V Rotor

Biking through, like drive in buying.

Market's birthplace,

the primordial concept of commerce,

beginning of exchange of goods by barter, 

where barter evolved into trade; 

flea market, local version, unique,

beautiful, distinctly Filipino; 

a place for thrifty spending, 

classless marketing; 

it's people's economics, 

family enterprise, 

where business is unlimited - 

outlet of farm surplus 

so with home made crafts; 

where transaction is by bargaining, 

the suki system as an institution; 

it's the "nerve center" of daily activities,

growth center of social and economic life

on the grassroots, 

fallback of the economy in crisis,

where the ordinary vendor, 

like the unknown soldier

is an unsung hero. ~

                                                      Talipapa in Mexico

Talipapa in the days of the Galleon Trade 

Talipapa, a tourist attraction in Boracay

 

 

 Go for freshness and access  

 

Stretch your family budget 

Talipapa, makeshift market or "flea" market

Talipapa-on-wheels

Starting point of entrepreneurship

and research topic in school ~

The Many Worlds of the Willow Tree

Dr Abe V Rotor

The weeping willow (Salyx sp) looks sad and in mourning, its leaves droop and are pointed downward, extending to the ground or water where it grows on river banks and pool sides. Like a Narcissus, its reflection is an illusion of awe and wonder, and fear. 

The drooping branches though makes a perfect promenade shade and shelter; it is a favorite subject of art and poetry. 

Author under a willow tree (Salyx sp). UST campus, Manila

At the slightest breeze, the tree "weeps" in whispers, and sways daintily without any apparent effort. Few dare to plant willow by the window - it transforms into a spiritual being to the superstitious, and courts bad luck to the pessimist. 

But the willow is an important tree. Where it grows it creates an ambiance of mixed feelings, and to many cultures it is a tree that is much revered - and feared. Overall all, the world is not what it is without the willow - weeping to the sorrowful, hissing and vibrant to the hopeful, romantic to the lover, sacred to the religious, miracle cure to the healer.       ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Direct crude extract (ground fresh leaves) repels mosquitoes and flies. It also serves as fresh deodorant in the bathroom and kitchen.  Dilute with tap water at 1:4, filter with ordinary cloth, and spray (atomizer) on garden plants and in dark corners. Another preparation is by dissolving the fresh extract with ethyl alcohol 1:2 ratio, air dry, and add Vaseline or Petroleum Jelly to the powder residue. This serves as ointment of minor wounds and skin problems.    

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The Importance of the willow tree
Medicine -

• The leaves and bark of the willow tree contain Salicin which is metabolized into salicylic acid in the human body. 
• Precursor of aspirin. 
• Salicin is isolated in crystalline form and formulated as acetylsalicylic acid, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. 
• Provides temporary relief. 
• Ancient remedy for common ailments to the Sumerians, Greeks and Native Americans 
• Claimed to be effective in cure of diseases including cancer. 

Agriculture - as source of nectar and pollen for bees. 

Energy - biomass and biofuel, 

Art - 

• Charcoal for drawing, wood for sculptures 
• Garden features and landscaping 
• Pen and ink paintings in China and Japan

Environment - 

• Hedges and landscaping 
• Land reclamation, soil building and soil reclamation
• Phytoremediation,(bioengineering) 
• Slope stabilisation and soil erosion control 
• Biofiltration, shelterbelt and windbreak 
• Wildlife habitat

Religion - 

• Ritual in Jewish holiday of Sukkot, and Buddhism
• Christian churches in northwestern Europe and Ukraine use willow branches in place of palms on Palm Sunday. 
• In China, some people carry willow branches on the day of their Tomb Sweeping or Qingming Festival. 
• Willow branches are put up on gates and/or front doors, to ward off the evil spirits. 
• The Goddess of Mercy Guanyin is shown seated on a rock with a willow branch. 

Literature - 

• Ancient Korean poem goes, "By the willow in the rain in the evening." The poet Hongrang to her parting lover wrote, "...I will be the willow on your bedside."
• In Japanese tradition, the willow is associated with ghosts. It is popularly supposed that a ghost will appear where a willow grows. Willow trees are also quite prevalent in folklore and myths.
• In English folklore, a willow tree is believed to be quite sinister, capable of uprooting itself and stalking travelers.
• Hans Christian Andersen wrote a story called "Under the Willow Tree" (1853) in which children ask questions of a tree they call "willow-father", paired with another entity called "elder-mother"
• Old Man Willow in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, appearing in The Lord of the Rings.
• "Green Willow" is a Japanese ghost story. Other stories: "The Willow Wife" and "Wisdom of the Willow Tree."
• Remember "The Willow in the Wind?"

A slice of rainbow, and other verses of Nature

15 Verses of Nature

A slice of rainbow, and other verses of Nature 

Life is like a rainbow: You need both the sun 

and the rain to make its colors appear.

Dr Abe V Rotor

A slice of rainbow, photo by AVRotor, QC

1. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living 

creatures of every kind on the earth. Genesis 9:16

2. In abstract art you lose reality;
How then can I paint truth and beauty?

3. Brick wall, brick roof, brick stair,
Glisten in the rain, dull in summer air.

4.What's essential can't be seen by the eye
Like the faith of Keller and Captain Bligh.

5. Similar is rainbow and moth in flight
When you see them against the light.

6. From respite in summer fallow,

The fields start a season anew.

7. From green to gold the grains become
As they store the power of the sun.

8. Not all sand dunes for sure
Ends up on empty shore.

9. One little smoke tells the difference,
Like a faint pulse is life's reference.

10. It's collective memory that I'm a part
To write my life's story when I depart.

11. Lost time, lost opportunity and lost gain,
like passing wind that may not come again.

12. Who sees silver lining of clouds dark and bold
seeks not at rainbow's end a pot of gold.

13. A clenched fist softens under a blue sky
like high waves, after tempest, die.

14. When a flock of wild geese takes into the air
a leader must get ahead to break the barrier.

15. In seeing our past we find little to share,

If the past is the present we're living in.

Centenarian Niko

Centenarian Niko
Dr Abe V Rotor

Niko at 10; below, 5 years after

 Photos taken August 7, 2012 at the height of a super 

flood that hit Metro Manila and neighboring provinces. 

His bark resonates at the crossroad,

standing through his den, 

night watch of the neighborhood, 

and pet to the children. 

A brave life this Doberman leads,

 trustworthy its essence;

Who would dare trespass his niche,

or ignore his presence?  

Oh, how the years quickly passed,

and age pushed to the edge;

Niko the brave, the alert no longer,

waits gentle on the ledge. ~ 

  

By human standard, 1:7 age ratio, Niko is a centenarian.  

Quotations my father taught me early in life

 "Nature never betrayed the Heart that loved her." - William Wordsworth

Dr Abe V Rotor 

1. "Happiness is one commodity that multiplies by dividing it."  Anon 

2. "A place for everything and everything in its place." Anon

3.  "He begins to die who quits his desires." G Herbert

4. "Just as tall trees are known by their shadows, so are good men known by their enemies." Old Chinese Proverb 

5. "If the official is himself upright, the people will play their roles without orders.  If he is not upright, even under orders the people will be disobedient." Confucius

6. "It's is always darkest just before the day dawneth."  Thomas Fuller

7. "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."  Epictetus

8. "Great men cherish excellence; petty men, their comfort.  Great men cherish rules, petty men, special favors." Anon

9. "Poor minds talk about people; average minds about events; great minds about ideas." Anon 

10. "Shall I tell you what knowledge is?  It is to know both what one knows and what one does not know." Confucius 

 11. "The eyes believe themselves; the ears believe other people." German Proverb

12. "The life of every river sings its own song, but in most thje song is long marred by the discords of misuse." Aldo Leopold

13. "The mind unlearns with difficulty what it has long learned." Seneca

14. "Impossible is a word only to be found in the dictionary of the fools." Napoleon 

15. The first step to knowledge is to know that we are ignorant." Cecil

16, When the state is most corrupt, then the laws are most multiplied." Tacitus

17.  A little learning is a dangerous thing." Alexander Pope

18. "A picture is a poem without words." Horace

19. "If you need a physician, employ those three - a cheerful mind, rest, and a temperate diet."  Zimmerman

20."To read without reflecting, is like eating without digesting." Burke

I shot my finger with an airgun

Dr Abe V Rotor

I bought an airgun from a classmate in high school, the Colegio de la Immaculada Concepcion (CIC Vigan) for fifty pesos, a good amount then, circa 1955. I was loading the pellet, when I dropped the rifle, and on hitting the ground, went off. The bullet pierced through the fleshy tip of my left forefinger. I tried to remove it but to no avail, so I went to the municipal doctor. There was no anesthesia available, and when I could no longer bear the pain, he simply dressed the wound and sent me home.

These vintage air rifles were popular in our time in the fifties (Internet). 

My wound soon healed, and the lead pellet was to stay with me for the next five years or so, when I finally decided to go for an operation. Had it not been for my playing the violin, and playing basketball, I would not have bothered to do so. And it was providential.

Our family doctor in Vigan, performed the operation. A mass of tissues snugly wrapped around the pellet, isolating its poison. He told me I was lucky. There are cases of lead poisoning among war veterans who bore bullets in their bodies.

There are providential things we should be thankful about.

x x x

I shot an arrow into the air and it fell on a newspaper

Dr Abe V Rotor

I must have been 4 or 5 years old. Dad was reading a newspaper - center spread - while relaxing on a rocking chair. I was playing Robin Hood nearby. Since our sala was very spacious (it had no divisions), anything on the ceiling and walls was a potential target. But something wrong happened.

In physics a crooked arrow would not follow a straight line, so it found an unintended mark – the center of the spread newspaper dad was reading. The arrow pierced through it and landed on my dad’s forehead, almost between his eyes. He gave me a good beating with my plaything as he wiped his forehead, blood dripping.

I did not cry, I just took the punishment obligingly. Dad must have seen innocence in my eyes. He stopped and gave me a hug. 

x x x