Faded Glory

There must have been a time when the more affluent of the middle class flock to this place; a trading post across the Quinta Market where grocery items and liquors were sold at prices we yearn today. 

In those days, a seasoned shopper, much like you and I surveys the goods on display: stateside commodities sought after because of a generation's acquired taste. The postwar reconstruction is over, and yet, much of the merchandise in this store comes from abroad, from the liberators and colonizers we have long patronized in these isles. 

There is Anchor butter for breakfast and merienda, Coca Cola sodas for refreshments, and Sun Maid raisins for snacks. In another rack are cans of Campbell soup and Libby's corned beef. There is Alaska powdered milk down the aisle, as well as Royal instant noodles for those who are too lazy to cook. Best Foods mayonnaise and Hellman's ketchup belong to the condiments, and Gerber - the only processed baby food at that time can be procured with the help of a store assistant.

Such different time.

Speculation abounds as to what this grocery looked like in its prime. Did it occupy a much bigger space? Did it face stiff competition from rivals across the street? Were my elder folks been here and spoke to its owners. 

Did they know such grocer exists? 

For when I stepped foot inside and bought a lone Fibisco Chocolate Cookies as a bait, there lingers a sense of loss for a time that has already passed. 

"It might just be counting the days," I thought as I snapped a picture of the Lagomarsino Totalia printing calculator on the table. 

Looking around for traces of the shop's busy past, I caught glimpse of an old man, probably in his late sixties. He was wearing a white shirt with orange stripes, and was sitting at his desk. As he quietly sip a drink, while reading a paper, his frail frame appears to have live through a time of glory; of a romantic age where mom and pop stores reign. Unlike in the present where everyone goes to monolith supermarkets and supermalls, his time must have been a little more humbling knowing storekeepers like him can't have everything a shopper wants.