It was a bit of a shock to see how much my godson Rhyss have grown this past year. He is going to be a tall boy I'm sure. It took him a while to warm up to me but by the time I left on early Sunday morning, he let me hold him for a photo together.

His birthday party was loads of fun. I got to meet more of Marlica's friends and also got reacquainted with someone from home. Maye was younger than me and she was more my sister Emily's friend back then. I remember her to be intelligent and very talented in playing the piano and organ. In fact, she regularly played the church organ during her high school years. I've always admired that in her and it was indeed a pleasure to meet her again after all these years. She has her own family now and I was privileged to meet her husband and two of her kids. We promised to keep in touch and I look forward to seeing them again soon. Maybe when they come for a visit to Chicago. Right, Maye?

The drive home was still lengthy but the weather was more conducive. I managed to amuse myself by taking some snapshots on a particular subject that I had been interested on for some time now. Some photos didn't turn out as good  and there were times when I was sorely tempted to make an impulsive exit off I-94 to seek out those tall structures I glimpsed from afar. Anyway, I was content to add a few more pictures to my slide show on water towers.

I posted a blog entry on this before but I recalled something else related to this matter so I thought I'd write about it again. These water towers reminded me of one disparity between the Philippines and a country like the US; the lack of easy access to clean potable water.

When I was young and living with my grandmother, most people in the barrio would come to her house to fetch water from her pump -operated well. Every morning, neighbors lined up outside my grandma's gate armed with their buckets, ready to collect their water supply for the day. At sundown, a similar line formed again to replenish their containers (barrels, clay pots / banga). It wasn't until I was in high school that the village people finally started having their own water supply at home. Even then, it still wasn't dependable and could run out at any given time especially during the high volume usage. I think they even had an alloted time of the day when they had water flow and certain areas or households didn't. Much like the brown out (or blackouts) situation I remembered from my childhood. That's another story anyway.

When my parents had an additional bathroom built in their house, they equipped it with a shower stall upon my request. It turned out to be a waste of money and effort since the water pressure was too weak and all it could muster to deliver were a few drips at a time or nothing at all. More than a year ago, we commissioned for a generator and container and my mother was happy to report that the water supply has been more sufficient since. Confident enough about the water availability, another shower was installed during a recent renovation just before my last visit. Yep, I was finally able to take a decent, albeit quick shower. The water was way too cold for me since I can't seem to figure out the water heater system. Oddly enough, I didn't even mind the cold shower as much after sweating it out in a sweltering climate.

Knowing how water towers work, it really made me wish that the Philippines will someday find the resources to avail themselves of this necessity. After all, water is one of the basic needs for our survival. Anyway, if your town or city has an interesting water tower or if you have seen one somewhere else, I would surely appreciate it if you can send me a picture of it so I can add it to my gallery. That would be really awesome!