BORN in Baguio, grown in Baguio.

BORN in Baguio, grown in Baguio. That's how many residents are, but today, many more are from places outside this city, now living here, enjoying too, like the pioneer residents, the good and cool climate while suffering the strong rains and typhoons that the rainy season brings, not to mention the assault of tremors once in a while.

Being born and grown in Baguio has its pluses. One knows the city by heart and if you're lucky to grow in the central business district, your playground becomes the main streets of the city and the nearby Burnham Park. As children, we used to call Burnham Park, Borham or from our friends from Manila then, Boorham. Later, the correct name stuck through English lessons where names were spelled and pronounced, thus, we know it's Burnham Park, named after the American architect who designed it. The name is pronounced like how you say " burn the ham" or better still, the "h" is silent and comes out like Burnam.

Growing up in Baguio, I've always known Burnham Park as a child's delight, with the wide open spaces to run through, a lake where a boat can take children and adults to another point imagined to be another kingdom or country, the biking lanes, the skating rink, the diesel cars that students then got drawn to because they taught them how to drive! The fountain with the rainbow colors at night was a new addition many years past that delighted people no end. Then and now, the plants and the flowers blooming all around, the trees, the grass, the open spaces...what a release from the hectic pace of speedily advancing technology and work that never ends! From the sidewalks of Harrison Rd., one could view the park then. So too could it be viewed from the roads surrounding the area. Burnham Park was and still is a relief from everyday drudgery; it's an antidote to the tiredness of the mind and the soul, a sanctuary for refugees of depression, sadness and loneliness or even brokenness. No wonder we see around this area, children, adults, people who walk alone or in company, hoboes, the mentally impaired but harmless ones looking so neglected but without any care in the world. People of all kinds come here and make this place a portal for their inner peace and refreshment.

Today I drive around the park, but I can't seem to see the open spaces where I used to run free with other children. There are now black fences all around with prettily painted slats carrying names and symbols. I wish in my heart and in the depth of my soul that the fences were lower, showing the shrubs and the grasses, the flowers and the trees in full view. I wish the fences were low enough one could jump over them and still be unharmed. I wish they're there only to delineate the parameters of a public park, a place for people to refresh their minds for free, and to make their bodies fit, not to hide from view the beauty of nature, nor to prevent people from enjoying a green space for free. I wish the black fences were really lower to protect people from possible stampedes while getting caged within. I wish the fences were lower only to protect the shrubs that stand as the real fences of nature. I wish the open Burnham Park would come back and be the green space every beautiful city must have and every person could rightfully enjoy.

I'd like to see the Burnham Park of my childhood growing better and greener each year, more open to people who seek a relaxing break from the rigors of daily life. I love Baguio so, and I love my Burnham Park, the seat of a child's hopes and dreams, a child's kingdom... come. I wish...

By Evangeline Murillo

Tea For Two

Thursday, July 4, 2013

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/opinion/2013/07/04/murillo-baguio-born-baguio-crown-and-burnham-park-290782