When I was still a kid I really loved playing outside on weekends. Yup, I was a batang kalye as we call it. Fortunately, my Mom would allow me to play with my friends along our street since there really weren't many vehicles passing by inside our village.
And I remember having my boundaries. The two consecutive street humps near our house served as my playing limits. Special permission was needed if I wanted to go beyond those points (i.e. we have to make dayo to the other street to challenge the rival kids to a game of football) .
If it was a weekend, and I was not to be found outside playing, there could only be one of the following reasons:
a.) My skin tone, as perceived by my Mom, has already reached its nognog limit. It was a barometer my Mom used to know if I have been excessively staying out under the sun playing tumbang preso.
b.) Exam week was coming up and I had to study the whole weekend. Yup, I was a diligent student. Oh, let me qualify that. I was a diligent student when I was in grade school. Post grade school? Now that's another story.
c.) It was Saturday morning and Saturday Fun Machine was being shown on RPN-9. I could have gone out if I wanted to. But, you see, I wouldn't have anyone to play with anyways. Since all kids are glued to their TV sets, the streets would be deserted for quite a few hours.
Back in those days cable TV was just a payabangan story your playmate would tell you.
Playmate A: Sabi ng pinsan ko sa States, dun daw sa kanila, lagpas 100 ang channels nila sa TV.
Playmate B: Sus, yabang. Paano naman mangyayari yon eh hanggang 13 nga lang ang pihitan sa TV?
Playmate A: Eh bakit ba mas marunong ka pa? Inggit ka lang kase black and white pa nga lang yung TV nyo.
Ok, I just made up that last line. My friends weren't that mean, hehehe.
But the point is, there weren't much choices back then. Almost all kids watched the same TV shows. So, if a hit cartoon show was being shown on TV, you better watch it or be left behind when everyone talks about it the following school day.
And Saturday Fun Machine was a smorgasboard of cartoon shows that any kid wouldn't want to miss. It was a TV marathon which starts at 8AM and ends at lunchtime. It was cartoons-galore. My brother and I were always ready with our snacks when we watched our Saturday morning habit.
The Great Space Coaster. John Blackstar. Fraggle Rock. The Fonz. Thundercats. Space Ghost. Superfriends. My memory just fails me now, but that list is certainly a long one.
Question: Who were the superheroes who were always taumbahay at the Justice League Headquarters when the rest of the Superfriends go out to fight the gang of Lex Luthor?
Trust me, an 80's kid like me would definitely know the answer to that question.
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