NURTURING CITIES

What makes a city or a town or a barangay? Above all else, it's the people. What makes Greece a memorable city? It was the center of philosophical discourse in ancient times in Europe.

What makes Moscow memorable? The sight of Lenin in the casket reminds us that he was one of the pioneering leaders in turning that part of Europe socialist.

What makes New York City memorable? At 12 midnight the streets are still lit up, the people enjoying being in the streets or cafe after watching a play or a concert.

Köln or Cologne was memorable for me because I saw a bunch of kids having very healthy bodies, skating around amid a very clean city.

Paris is memorable for me bcause of the first time I had seen the long bread and the sophisticated looks of ladies in very long robes, as it was autumn, and wearing hats some with feathers and others with a veil on their faces just like what I had seen in the American movies.

What about Hong Kong? Oh the efficiency of the trains is admirable. But passing by Mongkok is terifying. One time I asked the person standing beside me? what's going on? " There are pushers outside who would pack every coach like sardines," i had been told. My goodness, I thought my rib cages would break.

London, where I stayed for almost two years where I had seen the happy, bright sides of the West End and the musical plays,as well as the Brixton riots in eighties, and my joining the women's rally to protest nuclear armament in very cold snowy winter, is memorable for me because I could cmmunicate very well with every one since I was honed at home or at school, in speaking and writing English as our second language. 

What is remarkable about these cities is that the citizens have a high IQ. Their cities are full of newstands. Every morning, these stores have the freshest reports about what is going on in the city and elsewhere. Then come evening, there are flea markets where the people coming home from work can buy cheqp fruits, veggies and other foodies. 

Ergo these cities take care of the minds and bodies of the citizens. They make them a reading and a health conscious public.

What am I saying here? I think as we clear the sidewalks of our cities, let us leave space for newstands. We must inculcate and sustain among the people the habit of reading. By doing so we make them aware all the time of what is going on in the government, the community, and every human being's life, here and abroad too where our OFWs are working.

We must also have fleamarkets at night so that those going home could bring home someting to buy and eat cheaply for themselves and their families. Let us encourage our market vendors to delight in selling to our people and not deprive  them totally of their businesses. After all, food is important to everyone. Did you know that I could buy four carrots for P20 in Quiapo, whereas in my community, it is P10 each? How many eyes are deprived of carotene because of expensive carrots?

Let us mull over these, Folks and let iur lcal and national government sensitive to our basic needs for an intellectually stimulating and healthy environment.









What makes Manila memorble now?