Bam Bam

I went to a college where everyone was expected to study all the time, and so when I had two dates my first year there, I considered myself pretty much a social butterfly. After my second date, I remember coming back to the dorm wearing a suit and the bright plaid vest my sister Barbara had made for me. One of my dorm mates asked me where I had been, and when I told him, he asked me what my date's name was. It then occurred to me that I had forgotten to ask her!

I guess some people just lack social graces.

After having gotten to know one of my favorite people here really well for over a week I finally got around to asking him his name. Unsa imong ngalan? His name is Bam Bam. When I asked him his age, Pila imong edad? he held up three fingers and then said three.

Then raised a fourth finger and I said four, and he agreed.

Bam Bam is the bright young man who runs down the path everytime he sees me yelling, Americano! or sometimes Americano dako--Big American. In the morning he is the first to grasp my hand and press it to his forehead so he can give Lolo, grandfather, his blessing. Then four or five of his friends follow suit. When he hears my play Bach on my flute, he rushes into the payag and asks me to play Bahay Kubo. When he hears me play jazz on my flute, he asks me to play Bahay Kubo. When he hears me play one of the songs that Danny Buenconsejo and I have written he asks for Bahay Kubo. I now have a video of him singing most of the words to Bahay Kubo.

Bam Bam's brother wears about one hundred rubber bands around his wrists. The rubber bands are used for a game kids play here. They also have a game where they have a piece of weighted cloth which they kick or hit on their forearm. They also have a game where they dance through two ropes held like jump ropes. Since I have been here I have been playing chess, Chinese checkers, and darts plus many juggling games with kids. I also see kids playing cards and bingo. When I ran yesterday four kids ran about a mile and a half with me.

The kids are active.

They are sharp.

And they are inventive.

They for the most part interact with strangers more than any group of kids I have ever seen.

As I was running with a new friend Ruel two days ago, he exclaimed, you have many Pans here. At first I wasn't sure what pans were, and then he explained to me that the Visayan word for the English word pans is Idol. OO--Yes. And I am a pan of my friend Bam Bam too.