Our residence in Surigao was four kilometers away from the city proper. If you live in a place like ours where regular transportation is a problem, owning a vehicle is a necessity. Hence, one day I saw papa driving home an owner-type jeep. He acquired it from Cagayan de Oro City. If I'm not yet mistaken, the brand was Toyota.
I had a lot of childhood memories with that owner-type jeep. My siblings and I used to sing songs (and sometimes shout) to our hearts' content while papa drove us home. Mama would sometimes scold us, but would secretly hum along. That was the good ol' days...
My papa had the top fabric of our vehicle changed a number of times. There were also instances when my siblings and I, being adventurous as we always are, would request papa to take out the side and rear skins of the jeep. The air then was still not as polluted as it is now...
When papa passed away, it was as if the jeep died along with him. We were not able to maintain it the way he care for his jeep. It stayed in our garage for many years before mama reluctantly sold it. It took a lot of convincing from her children that disposing that precious memento does not mean forgetting papa. It's just that there are things in this life that we just have to let go... and move on...
