Benign Existence Post #4: Old Houses

There aren’t many old houses left on the street where I live. Recently, one of the houses that I like taking photographs of was engulfed in flames.

Hello and welcome to RA vs the World, where every weeknight, I post about mundane stuff in 500 words or less. In this post, I’ll talk about old houses!

I’ve been to many old houses. The house where Jose Rizal grew up was probably the most famous old house I’ve visited, at least among Filipinos.

Here’s my mom at the stairs.

Old houses like the Rizal Family’s would naturally be a “shrine” for many people. It’s a museum now, so thousands of people visit it every day.

But houses by families who have not attained recognition as high as the Rizals would not get the same attention, obviously. A week ago, an old house on our street was consumed by a fire that spread real fast because the material was mostly wood.

The firefighters could not do anything about it. The flames were determined to eat it all up.

All old guy, who we call Tiyo Rod, lived in that house. Luckily, he wasn’t around when the fire happened. The last thing I heard about him was that he was sent to Manila to be looked by medical professionals because he figured in an accident. The house belonged to the family of the former principal of a school just along the street. It was also the boarding house of students studying Agriculture at Bicol University.

Now, there’s one less old house in our street. Another old house belonged to my mom’s aunt, but no one lives there anymore. I wanted to buy the place, but obviously, having no money and shit, I can’t afford it. My relatives want to rent it out and I am honestly considering it. Maybe, having people live in these old houses would save them.

My dream before I retire is to buy an old house one day; transform it into a cafe where I can put all of my Peanuts, Snoopy, and sharks collection; and give people a new favorite hangout place. Maybe I’ll call it The Beagle’s Bite.

I like what they’re doing with this other old house at the adjacent street. It has become an establishment for somebody’s business.

Hopefully, there will be concerted efforts in reconstructing or renovating these houses, as they evidently lack the resilience to withstand more powerful weather phenomenons or other natural hazards in the future. Their current condition appears susceptible to roof leaks and or earthquake damage.

If you would like to share photos of old Houses in Albay or other Bicol provinces, please send me an email at feedback@ravstheworld.com! Thank you very much!