ENLIGHTEN, CITIES & BARANGAYS, DISCUSSIONS AROUND THE DINNER TABLE, FIRE HYDRANTS

ENLIGHTEN

Yesterday, fifteen year old Clarisse came to me and said that she could dye my hair blond.  All she needed was Hydrogen Peroxide, Baking Soda, Shampoo, and conditioner.  I told her that my hair was already light enough.  Clarisse then added that those were the chemicals needed to enlighten a person’s hair.  I love how my children will twist the English language around to fit their own vocabulary.  I replied, “What?” to that statement.  Again, she said that it you would enlighten a person’s hair using that method.  I asked my high schooler if she knew what enlighten (to give someone knowledge) meant and then gave her the definition.  Clarisse was quiet for a few seconds and then broke into an embarrassed laugh and offered that my hair would certainly get an education if it was highlighted.  So, how do you highlight white hair?

---

CITIES  AND  BARANGAYS

I live in the City of Himamaylan City within the (Former) Province of Negros Occidental (now named Negros Island Region).  My location is approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Bacolod.  Himamaylan City is a 3^rd Class City and was chartered as such in 2001. It has an estimated population of 103,000 of which I would estimate that 20,000 live in the city proper.  

Now that we have the statistics out of the way, let me provide you with a simple interpretation of a City/Barangay system here in the Philippines.  I would equate the City of Himamaylan as being equivalent to a county in the United States with the barangays (small communities) equal to towns within the county.  Much less Himamaylan City would be the county seat.  There are nineteen Barangays within its jurisdiction.  Four Barangays are within the city and the rest scattered around the geographical area of its boundaries.  The city itself has a mayor and a thirteen member city council.  Of course, it also has a treasurer, engineer, assessor, recorder, etc. just like a regular county in the states.  The barangay has a Captain (equivalent) to a small town mayor and a seven person council.  There is also an unarmed Barangay police force (Tanōd) whose size is determined by the local council.  I live in Barangay Two within the city proper and I have never seen any Tanōd within my barangay…however, when residing for four months (2011) in Barangay Panōd, in the municipality of Balamban on the island of Cebu, there was always Tanōd walking around in pairs with night sticks as their companion.  Probably one of the reasons I like Himamaylan City so much is the fact that the Barangay Police (for the most part) don’t seem to exist, which (for me) belies the safe environment this community provides… even if it is sort of separated from the mainstream services (and criminal element) associated with larger cities.  

---

DISCUSSIONS  AROUND  THE  DINNER  TABLE

Many of our meal discussions will usually cover a wide range of topics and today was no exception.  We started off with the 7.1 earthquake in Alaska which moved over to the effect of the sun and

Grandma Fuller (Cleveland) about 1970.

its effect on the northern hemisphere.  In this case, I related a story of my Grandma Fuller who recalled that once in late May they had snow in Iowa.  With that, it moved on to how a summer sun kept the Arctic cold at bay by its movement further north in the Spring and how the cold would take over when the sun moved south of the equator in the Fall.  They then asked if it could snow in July (in Iowa) and I related the story of the atmospheric effects when the Krakatoa Volcano erupted in Indonesia in 1883 and how the ash and volcanic gases sent into the upper atmosphere affected the global temperatures for years thereafter.  From there, we talked about how the earth traveled on its axis at over 1,000 miles per hour (1,600 kph) and then Toy asked where the center of the earth was and I replied that it was about 4,000 miles (6,000 km) below our feet.  I asked them if they knew where Indonesia was and they were pretty accurate on that (basically to the south of us).  Then I inquired as to what large body of land

My Humble abode in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental

was directly to the east of us.  Clarisse said Russia, while Santiago said China, and Toy chimed in with Alaska!   After a minute of reflection until the laughter died down, I enlightened them that South America was east of Negros Island while Central America was east of the big island of Luzon.  Finally, we talked about an intense cold front which was moving across the northern portion of Luzon lowering temperatures to between 15º to 20º C (59º to 68º) on the first day, but as it moved further south into the country the tropical air was raising the advancing cold front temps to between18º to 23º C (64º to 73º) on the second day.  I am just curious as to how cold the air will be should it reach this far south.  I must confess that our daily meals are always a enjoyable experience for me as well as it is for them…and I will never change that routine.

---

FIRE  HYDRANTS

I have lived in this city for over four and one-half years now and

The local fire hydrant..and very few of them at that.

have only seen a half dozen fire hydrants.  Except for one, they are all located about the Municipal Hall or the Plaza.  They are a strange sort of design, but I would guess that should the need arise, they would serve their purpose handily.   At least they are not quite like the ones you would see in Iowa. 

Daryl A. Cleveland  a.k.a. bounder

January 25, 2016