Year-End Scenes

* all lights and sound: firecrackers and horns

being sold in the marketplace in San Pablo City

As the New Year nears, we can only hear the buzz of people negotiating for food to be served on Media Noche and firecrackers to be exploded at the stroke of midnight. I made a brief side-trip to the market just to see the busyness of the place. Firecrackers, fruits, cakes, horns, bread. Practically everything associated with the celebration of the coming of the New Year.

* all tents: stalls of vendors in the marketplace;

the street in front of the city mall was practically occupied by them

* a fire truck in standby near the market just in case of any emergency

One thing that I have just observed is the relatively ‘safeness’ of the streets in our city hours before midnight. There were years before when it would be entirely impractical to go out even in the afternoon as explosions of firecrackers are already around. Perhaps people are saving them for the exact time of celebration, can no longer afford too much expense on lights and sounds of explosions. But in the end, we all differ in the manner through which we celebrate the New Year.