Stand By Me

I just finished watching the film 'Stand By Me'
directed by Rob Reiner. It was an adaptation of
Stephen King's novella "The Body". It was one of those
films that I want to watch repeatedly because it makes
me look back at my childhood and the friends I had
while growing up.

Growing up in a small town in northern Philippines was
swell. Weekends and summer are the best times of the
year. We would play from sunrise to sunset, sleep over
at the house of friends and scare each other with
ghost stories.

We would ride around town on our bikes and would get
our fair share of our neighbor's mangoes, guavas,
sugarcane, and more. Of course, our neighbors didn't
know about it.

We would tease to death one of the youngest in the
group who had his share of "batok" and "sipa" from us.

But most of all, we would take care of each other;
make sure that each one has had his fill of the day's
lunch/snacks/dinner.

Then again, we do grow old and go on with our lives,
separately.

Save for one, I have not seen most of my friends for
more than a decade or two. Most them are already
married. One, I heard, is separated from his wife.
Another one is now teaching at a famous university in
Manila. My best bud is now doing very well in the US.
Yet another I will never see again having died in a
motorbike accident.

Needless to say, the memories of my childhood keep
playing in my mind, sometimes loudly, but most often
quietly.

But it is those childhood thoughts that I go back to
and rewind to get some quiet time, peaceful moments,
after a hectic, frustrating day at work. Those
afterthoughts make me realize how lucky I am for
having lived the best days of my life in our small
town.

The film ended with the main character (now a writer)
writing:
"I never had friends later on like the ones I had when
I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?".

That made my day!