King James Version
24 And let us consider one another
to provoke unto love and to good works:
As a Filipino, how did I perceive America?
What were my thoughts early on?
What left a lasting impression?
Now it reminds me of those "autograph" books I used to fill in.
Nevertheless, as a child, I remember these:
1. Fruit of the Loom white cotton T-shirts
2. Tupperware
3. AAFES fruitcake
4. Toys
5. Washington apples
6. Wrangler jeans
7. Reader's Digest
8. Camp John Hay ice cream
9. Hershey bars
10. Walnuts
11. Brach's choco-covered cherries
12. Kraft caramels
13. Popcorn
14. Ovaltine in fat, brown, glass containers
15. Kraft jet-puffed marshmallows
16. Blue Bonnet butter
Of course, that's just a few that I can remember off-hand.
As you probably noticed, 11 out of 16 are "food".
Well, what can you expect from a child?
I plainly loved American stuff.
It just so happens, the Philippines was "flooded" with such then.
Until the American bases had to go by 24 November 1992.
As I got older, militant critics branded Filipino appreciation for American stuff as "colonial mentality".
I learned today, that phrase was coined by Marxists, aha!
Critics were probably Marxists and had lost the love and joy of childhood.
No wonder.
As a child, I only cared it's comfy, and yummy.
I can't see beyond my taste buds, and love for play.
We are apolitical at that age.
1 Corinthians 13:11
King James Version
11 When I was a child,
I spake as a child,
I understood as a child,
I thought as a child:
but when I became a man,
I put away childish things.
Colonial mentality, or not, I admired American goods.
Fruit of the Loom plain white tees were soft, and comfy.
Wrangler jeans were "hip" (that took me out of my gabardines in my teens).
Hershey bars were the best (though I find them too sweet now).
Tupperware containers were practically indestructible (we still have some at home).
Blue Bonnet butter was so wonderfully tasty, and spreadable (I just realized today it was "margarine" all along).
Kraft jet-puffed marshmallows were awesome (name a child who doesn't like marshmallows).
Washington red delicious apples had interesting spots on them (and the aroma, mmm!).
AAFES fruit cake was loaded with walnuts, raisins, cherries, and had the right amount of rum (or was it brandy?).
Walnuts were a tough nut to crack, but tasty, and crunchy.
Brach's choco-covered cherries were mom's favorite (I gagged from its inert sweetness).
Ovaltine never lasted with me (why dissolve in water, when you can eat it straight from the bottle? I also learned it was originally from Bern, Switzerland, but I tasted the American kind).
Popcorn was all-American (I could never get full with it).
Camp John Hay ice cream was a cupful of delight (only two flavors to choose from: cherry and choco chip; life was so beautifully simple).
Kraft caramels were chewy toffees (haven't seen those around lately).
Reader's Digest was so fun to read (compact, and informative; it's where I first learned to "cook", by collecting recipe inserts).
Life was simpler then.
Not too many variations, except for the toys.
Papa would take us to "Dau", where Clark Air Force Base was.
That's where we could buy ONE toy each, at Christmas.
I chose a tiny "refrigerator".
Complete with tiny plastic dressed chicken, a dozen eggs, a stick of butter, and a light bulb that would turn on when you opened the fridge.
I think I may have a loaf of bread somewhere there, too.
That was the coolest toy, ever!
So, if you think I have colonial mentality, bring it on!
I don't care.
I miss my childhood food.
ESPECIALLY my AAFES fruitcake.
And the toy fridge, of course!
America had "quality".
That's why I'm glad GOD appointed Trump.
AMERICA will be GREAT again!
And maybe, I can get my fruitcake again.
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