DayLXXXllI

Negritos

    I always found it amusing that during my time at Clark, we had both the tallest and shortest dudes in the air force in our group. The tall guy hated basketball, and he hated high school, because they were always bugging him to play ball. I believed he just didn’t have any athletic ability, and just didn’t want to look like a clown, so he refused to play for anybody, including the group’s team.

   Clark AB was a humongous place, about 40 miles north of Manila. It was spread out over 14 square miles, and built by us in 1903 as a fort. Within its perimeter was a Negrito Village. These people were pigmies still living in the Stone Age. They made leather bags, knives, bows, arrows, and scabbards. We were allowed to visit, and buy their wares. There was also a riding academy on base, and the trail passed right by the village.

    I learned to ride in Texas with my pal Angel. His family had a ranch near Dallas, and one time we got a three day pass to visit the ranch. They had mustangs, wild broncs, which they supplied to rodeos. The corral had a barbed wire fence on one side, and the usual wooden one on the other sides. The day after we got there, the family invited me on a trail ride.

     “Yo bro, ya wanna learns ta wide, man?” Angel asked me.

     “Cool man, cool.” I responded.

     “A ite then, my broder has a hoss all ready fo ya!” He said as he led me to the corral. Both of them helped me get on the horse, one held the horse by the bit, and the other was giving me support to get in the saddle. But, at some point Angel’s bother thought I was okay, and let the bit go.