TAKATAK BOYS: These are the ubiquitous cigarette vendors in the streets and are so-called because of the sound they make by rapidly moving back and forth their wooden selling box’s sliding lid (where the money is put) to call customer attention. I was one of them. Many summers back when I was a 13-year old boy growing up in Paco, I wanted to earn money and in my own little way help augment the family income. And so applying the little woodworking knowledge and skills I learned in the elementary school, I constructed a simple, make-do wooden box (though without a money compartment and ‘takatak’ lid). Then with a small capital, I bought packs of Marlboro, Philip Morris, and Hope cigarettes and started selling. This was my first experience of being an entrepreneur. Earning money on my own and giving my mom to help put a little more food on the table was very fulfilling. This episode of financial ‘struggle’ now strikes me as one of the most beautiful events in my life. My children are fortunate enough (or shall I say unfortunate) to not experience the difficulties I went through as a child. And I find it ironic that I am working hard to give them the comforts of life so that they won’t experience hunger and poverty and other disadvantages – the very things that made a man of their father.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 01:00:18 +0000
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