I’VE noticed lizards, cockroaches, and spiders love staying in the bathroom. Because of the water?
Imagine taking a shower and there’s a lizard on the ceiling, a cockroach flying everywhere, or a spider crawling towards you.
At least I can see them better in the bathroom where there are lesser nooks and crannies for them to hide in.
But they can always sneak in out of nowhere like what this 2025 mayoral candidate did while we were having lunch at a resto. He approached us and asked a question, as if it was only his goal for the day. But then he introduced himself, and the first thought that came to mind was, Yeah, you lost how many times already?
Will he win this time? Or does he keep running to amass more campaign funds? Hmmm. Only God knows?
He does have a sense of humor. Upon learning we just had our Zumba class, he said, “Paghuman Zumba, humba.” Haha. I hope he’s always funny because if he is, he has my vote already. If only that could attract other votes, he will finally win next year. It’s about time he wins since running for mayor in Cagayan de Oro is becoming his hard habit to break.
There’s the Cagayanon who believes that the Cagayanon deserves a Cagayanon mayor, meaning born in CDO, grew up in CDO, studied at least up to high school in CDO, and related to one of the families who have CDO streets named after them. Add sense of humor to that, and the candidate who was chatty with us will surely win.
In recent decades, the Cagayanon voted for the non-Cagayanon mayoral candidate instead, perhaps because CDO is known as the Gateway to Northern Mindanao and everyone is welcomed here?
But the Cagayanon is not always welcoming everyone and everything. For example: Limketkai Mall changed its logo and the Cagayanon went berserk. And the change evoked memories of the old LKK Mall when Alemar’s was still there.
I remember the time when LKK Mall wasn’t even there yet. I was then working for a multinational firm located somewhere out there and whose shuttle bus would always pass by that vacant lot. It was then a catch basin for floods. And it’s still serving as such for the city. “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” as the saying goes.
It was also in that past that humba became the most popular food at Cogon Market.
Auto spare parts sales agents from Manila, who visited the stores along Osmena Street, often had lunch at Cogon Market because of its proximity and of course that humba. I don’t remember anymore if this was before or after the LKK Mall was built.
LKK Mall’s advantage over the other malls in the city is the fact that it’s homegrown. The old Cagayanon still remembers Roket and Kairo theaters which the Limketkai family owned.
Those two buildings are still there along Capistrano Street. Roket is right across Shanghai Bakery, and Kairo has morphed into Savemore.
It was at Kairo that my younger sister Joan and her friends joined the long and winding lines of Sharon Cuneta fans to watch her movies that also starred Gabby Concepcion. Memories. Sigh.
