Watch Me Entertain Myself!

Sacha Guitry once said, "You can pretend to be serious, but you can't pretend to be witty." Oh yes, I'm the great pretender.
(pilot episode: 20 January 2004)

Monday, March 30, 2009

Hu-where’s Da Aratilis?

Met up with the Narnian Sunday afternoon for some frozen yogurt and lots of chikahan. And just like that, we remembered something from our youth (take note, the Narnian is only in his early 20s) that made us pause.

Who here remembers aratilis?

I remember running around our neighborhood and climbing the aratilis tree and eating the fruit. It was easy to pick, easy to eat. Our moms warned us not to eat too much of it, otherwise we’d get a stomachache. I remember also picking kamias and duhat off trees, but the lowly aratilis had a special place in our memory because, even in our suburban setting, they seemed to be everywhere.

But now, where’s the aratilis? I don’t see any trees around our village anymore. And even around the metro, I can’t seem to find any more aratilis trees. Have they become extinct?!

If you see any aratilis tree, get your cellphone, take a photo, post it online and tell me about it. And help the Narnian and I relive our childhood once again.

12 comments:

MkSurf8 said...

yes! aratilis kid din ako nun. extinct na ata to ngayon. wala ako mahanap na kahit sa probinsya.

Chuck said...

meron pang aratilis sa village namin. namiss ko yung kakainin yung water sa gitna ng santan flower after umalin kasi matamis din.

Unknown said...

there is one beside the guard house of magdalena town homes in pasig. nalalaglag lang yung mga bunga.

i also enjoyed eating the fruit when i was young. matamis at malambot yung red.

jamie da vinci! said...

we used to have two trees in our backyard in tondo. my dad planted them so his pet chickens could feed on the fruit... unfortunately for them, another flightless bird always beat them to it.. me! bwahahahaha!

Anonymous said...

I have a theory! A lot of people, including myself, seem to only remember the aratilis when they were young. Therefore, you only see the aratilis when you are young and innocent! It makes perfect sense!

Gram Math said...

these are what birds loves to eat, right?

joelmcvie said...

@LOBSTER-TONY: OMG! You just might be on to something, hahaha! Only the innocent can see aratilis... that plus a sprinkling of Tinkerbell's pixie dust! LOL =)

Anonymous said...

titignan ko paguwi ko sa bahay ng parents ko kung meron pa don. I shall upload a photo, if meron pa.

pero see! yung first picture mo shows that they are not in bundles!

ang favorite ko eh yung pink aratilis because it's still makunat, unlike the red na overripe na. MEGAKNOWN?

LOL @ Lobster_Tony

joelmcvie said...

@NARNIAN: "yung first picture mo shows that they are not in bundles" Korek! I believe I was thinking of kamias, which are in bundles.

"LOL @ Lobster_Tony" <-- Uuuy, nagpapa-cute kay Tony! MEGAKNOWN?! Hahahahaha!

Ming Meows said...

i remember nahulog ako sa puno ng aratilis. it's called mansanitas (little apples) here in bohol. magtanim kayo ng aratilis kase madali naman itong tumubo.

may-may said...

maraming ganyan d2 sa bohol...sa katunayan eh kakagaling lang namin kumain dun eh....sabi nga ng mga matatanda kakanin lang daw iyon ng ibon d daw pwede ang tao..pero cge parin kami sa pagkain..masarap naman kc db....eheheh

ZaldyBonagua said...

Help! Paano ba magtanim ng aratilis?