Vacations in Tarlac
by Oliver Carlos
When I was a little boy, I always looked forward to our family vacations to Paniqui, Tarlac, my father’s hometown. I enjoyed long trips wherein I would just look out the window of a bus or car and see a totally different landscape from where I grew up in Laguna.
My curiosity on Central Luzon got intense after finishing Grade 3 because of our Geography lessons. We studied and drew maps of the different provinces and regions of the Philippines. Our teacher taught us that Region 3 or Central Luzon is a very large plain, and it is also the rice granary of Luzon. The rice that we eat everyday comes from that place. That remark made me feel good and proud about my Dad’s home region.
Our family usually goes to Tarlac either on summer or on Christmas. I can’t remember what vehicle we rode in, but most likely it’s the old reliable Harabas. And so in one of those trips after Grade 3, I was really very observant. Indeed, the place was a great plain. From where I stood in Paniqui, Tarlac, I couldn’t see any mountain. The horizon was flat in all directions. This was unlike Los Banos wherein a prominent mountain, Mt. Makiling stood. Along the way to Tarlac, I also saw rice fields as far as the eye can see, specially in Bulacan and Pampanga. I realized that truly this was Luzon’s rice basket.
One fond memory of Tarlac was when we went to the Tarlac River for a swim. I believe this was in the late 1970s or early 1980s. We didn’t have a photo documentation of this, but the images of the experience were very vivid in my mind. I can recall that the Tarlac River was huge or wide. As a little boy, I can barely see the other bank. There was a large bridge across it, with big “feet” or pillars underneath. We had a family picnic together with my cousins underneath one of those pillars. We sat and ate lunch on large flat rocks at the riverbank beside a pillar near the foot of the bridge.
The water of the Tarlac River was crystal clear. I could see the rocks and pebbles at the river bottom. Some downstream distance away from us, there was a group of ladies doing their laundry. There were portions of the river that were very deep, they’re greater than a man’s height. My Mom told me not to wade there, so I just enjoyed myself on a spot that was just waist or chest deep for me. But my older cousins were good swimmers- Noel, Manuel, and Bido. They swam across the deep part all the way to the bridge pillars planted in the middle of the river.
I find the Tarlac River awesome because of its cleanliness and enormous size. It’s so different from the rivers we have in Los Banos. Where I live, rivers are called creeks. They’re located at the bottom of deep ravines. They also have large stones, but the waters are just ankle or knee deep. During long hot summers, the Los Banos creeks even dry up. Another big difference is the noise. The ones at home are noisy, while the Tarlac River is amazingly quiet.
This reminds me of the world’s most famous psalm- Psalm 23. Many thought that this was a poem entitled “The Lord is my Shepherd.” It’s actually a song written by the shepherd-turned-king David of Israel. We don’t know it’s actual tune, but for sure it must be very serene and relaxing. Let’s read its first 3 verses:
“Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need! He lets me rest in the meadow grass and leads me beside the quiet streams. He gives me new strength.” (Psalm 23:1–3, TLB)
Verse 2 mentions about a river whose waters were quiet. This must be similar to the Tarlac River- crystal clear, deep, and wide. It’s not like the one in Los Banos that’s noisy, shallow, and dries up on summers.
The water supply that the Good Shepherd would lead his sheep to is stable and running all year-round. If a stream is quiet, it must be deep. The quantity of fresh and refreshing water is so great, even unlimited. That’s the kind of love and security God gives to us.
In this world that is so filled with stress, we all need a Shepherd who would show us the way to experience great peace of mind, contentment, and joy. But remember that it’s a personal commitment that you need to make. The psalm didn’t say The Lord is the shepherd of the world. It says the Lord is my shepherd. You have to personally seek him in prayer and say, “Lord God, from now on, I let you in my life, I surrender my old self, make me a renewed person, take control, I’ll submit to you as a sheep follows his shepherd.” Only then can you experience his green pastures and quiet waters.
