My neighbours who watched me wash my car with a pail of
water and a plastic dipper probably learned how to do so in the good old
fashioned way. Where there’s no garden hose or a pressure washer or $$ for a
car wash, there’s always a plastic tabo for one’s convenience. Imagine a tabo
of water for hand washing before dinner, a second for after dinner, a third for
dishwashing, a fourth for a sponge bath, a fifth for number two in the
bathroom, and so on, where there’s no running water? A tabo in every corner for
every purpose, and not a drop of water wasted!
Yes, we conserved precious water with our tabo on my
grandparents’ farm eons ago where the ever reliable family carabao would pull a
bamboo cart with containers filled with spring water fetched by grandpa from
the foot of the mountain hours away. Whenever he came home, leading the carabao
by the reins, little me would run to meet him with a tin cup, eager to get a
taste of that cool and sweet spring water, especially on hot summer days. It
would be later at age five in the city of Manila where I would learn about
sweeter drinks such as Coke, Pepsi, and Sunkist orange juice in classic tetra packs,
but nothing compared to spring water kept cool in an earthenware jar. No need
for a fridge. No need for electricity. But there was a need for tabo as if
every bit of water was measured and used well.
Thank you for the classic tabo used in the river while doing laundry in far-flung villages, used in the bathroom where there’s no shower, used in the garden where there’s no hose, used anywhere and everywhere in every way. Thank you for human ingenuity. What used to be made of wood, bamboo or coconut shell, now made of not-so-friendly plastic, has been our friend, companion and ally, especially when the world is shaken by the turbulence brought about by human follies. MLJ/25/03/2022
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