daniel bowman simon

Looking back to my much younger days, I remember an inescapable and all too persuasive TV jingle "Showbiz Pizza: Where A Kid Can Be A Kid!" Man, they’ve got nothing on the Philippines. Here, kids are free to roam wherever the wind blows them, with no parental supervision, no purchase necessary.

A few weeks ago, a rusty old barge docked at the local wharf to deliver rocks (to make cement into for the national road project.) When kids got word, they showed up in droves to experience this temporary playground. At high tide, the kids who can swim (and believe it or not, in this coastal town, there are many who can not) began jumping from the top of the barge, probably twenty feet above the sea.

Those too cowardly to make the jump (myself included) eventually got peer-pressured into taking the plunge. The kids got a kick out of my thunderous "KOWABUNGA" and total lack of ability to execute a proper dive. They demanded more. And I realized there was a greater risk of contracting tetanus from the barge itself than injuring myself jumping. So I swam to shore, climbed back onboard and leapt again. One pint-sized ball of energy, a boy about three years old, must have soared off the top once a minute for as long as the tide allowed.




As to be expected, the bulldozer transferring the rocks to the hauling trucks broke down, so the barge was still at the wharf the next morning. This mechanical problem and the high tide gave plenty of kids another reason to be thankful summer vacation was not yet over. (Although school resumed the following week.) When I pulled up on my bike, the kids hollered "Daniel! ambak!" (jump!) and I was more than happy to oblige their wishes again. I always am. They are the best part of living here.

Fun like this never happens in America. Can you imagine parents allowing kids to leave their supervision for more than a few minutes? Do you know any barge companies that allow their vessels to become jungle gyms, especially without parental supervision? I didn’t think so. The Republic of the Philippines: Where a kid can be a kid!








P.S. Sorry I don't know how to use Photoshop. These photos deserve a bit more POP than I can deliver. And those tokens ain't mine. I found them on a Showbiz fan site. How lame is that?

Posted by dbs at June 28, 2005 08:41 PM