roads and time unencumbered

Days when the streets in Metro Manila are deserted are few and far between/ mayniladailyphoto.blogspot.com

 

Cruisin’ the highways during the Lenten season has become a favorite activity of mine over the years. On those days, the big city looks deserted – most establishments are taking time off, very few people on the streets and suddenly, one notices that four-lane roads are just that – four-laned – after all. (On ordinary days, cars are parked on either sides of the road – indefinitely. The moving vehicles had to squeeze through.) No banks open, restaurants hang their CLOSED signs and only a few pedestrians dare to walk on the baking concretes. It’s summer, all right.

The vendors that usually line up most avenues have also taken their holidays – doing the laundry perhaps, resting with their families at home, maybe or most likely, catching up on the Lenten specials. The city streets and the side streets all get to take their breather. A couple of souls  grace the streets and the pavements – on errands or on their way home. One or two private cars would zoom past us. Even the traffic lights look desolate, the pair of eyes looking at them markedly lessened. How many million city-residents went back to the province to catch up with their relatives? How many opted for a weekend get-away?

 

A Jazon Mraz with Raul Midon song was playing on the car CD.  I like Midon, he’s got a manly, soothing voice, one of the few artists I immediately liked upon hearing for the first time. My sister and I are not exactly in sync’d when it comes to music. She has this  You-must-put-up-with-it-am-the-driver-I-get-to-select-what’s-to-be-played (One can only choose among Mraz’s songs and most of them are lazy). I allay her fears, often. I tell her that I happen to like Mraz’s  Details in the Fabric. To which she usually retorts, “only because James Morrison is in it.” Haha, there’s some truth there, actually. She drove quieter than usual, her customary road rage temporarily tucked away, I don’t know if in observance of the Christian holiday.  We were on our way to the province, before her scheduled out of town Easter trip. ~~~

 

We did not visit the siblings and the relatives in our native village. We just did the rounds of relatives in the city in our province, only two sets of nieces and nephews actually. Then, we swung to the public cemetery in town to update our mother on who among her grandchildren graduated. We told her that her eldest son’s kids finished with honors – the grandson will now be going to college and the little one, the granddaughter (who’s not so little anymore) is a valedictorian. Afterwards, we took photographs of the sky – the moon basking in its full glory – with crosses atop the tombs serving as picture frames. It was fun though uneventful, unhurried and unencumbered in many ways. The three healthy teenagers with us had a good time – in the cemetery. ~~~

 

It’s still holidays and I am very much infected with the laziness of the surroundings. At any rate, let me share with you the music I’ve been listening to, in the past month  ~~~

 

 

Elend – dark and gothic indeed.

 

 

In Gowan Ring – very poetic, sounds folksy somehow.

 

 

Elisa – talented girl, sings of tough love.

 

Happy Easter, people! Many happy returns of the week…  🙂