Firepower

Creativity? I’ve got to hand it to my countrymen.

The Filipinos have always celebrated New Year with a bang, fire crackers, bamboo cannons and tin cans; it’s a Chinese influence. At the start of –ber months you’ll hear these crackling noise as if there’s a military skirmish out there somewhere. It’s the signal of the start of the firecracker season.

Firecrackers are expensive. But will that stop my countrymen from making noise? No! Someone from Cavite Province invented the “bazooka.” It’s a PVC pipe that uses denatured alcohol as fuel and, toy guns, or cigarette “electronic” igniter, or any device that can create spark as a trigger. What’s crazy is the way they design the bazooka. Some looked like a 155 mm howitzers, others like a stinger anti-aircraft weapon and others, not to be outdone, put these bazookas no top of an M16 toy gun complete with the camouflage pain; the effect is hilariously terrorizing. It’s not only the children who are taken in by the bazooka thing. I think there are more adults than children walking around with these deadly sonic weapons. Some even wear camouflage flak jackets to complete the illusion of military machismo. What is it with men and weapons?

The bazooka is a good alternative to the traditional gunpowder firecrackers. It is relatively safe, that is, unless someone point the thing on someone’s face. It is loud, it does not produce smog, it does not leave trash like paper and bamboo casings, and it’s cheap.

Creativity? I’ve got to hand it to my countrymen.