While we're waiting for the Indian Burial Grounds posting I have some time to kill. This page is really for any US veteran that may have been on the Philippine Islands while I was there, you might remember seeing me.

Like I mentioned on the Deadman's Walk page, in the early 1970's Olongapo City was a wild place and every known vice to man could be found here - you could even make up a vice or two of your own. The Philippines are very tropical, hot and humid weather. They also go through a pretty vicious monsoon season (heavy rain and winds) once a year.

During the late nights on Magsaysay Drive I used to sit on the sidewalk and watch this old Filipino man, he was probably 65 - 70 years old. Well the old man would push his ice-cream cart up and down Magsaysay Drive ringing this silly bell, trying to sell his ice-cream. Course, no-one was buying ice-cream from the old man, every one on this street was raising hell, getting loaded and only interested in the bar girls.

After a while I felt sorry for the old man, I knew he was trying to make money to feed his family. Finally, one night I walked up to him, my friend Edgar translated to him in Tagalog that if he let me borrow his ice-cream cart and that little bell I would make him some money. He agreed, and why not? He was doing it every night and not making ANYTHING.

I take that cart in the middle of Magsaysay Drive, ring that old bell and I'm yelling "Ice-cream, ice-cream, get your ice-cream with 'O'" (back then O meant opium).

Well, people flocked to me like flies on shit! I sold all that ice-cream in no time flat. I take the empty cart back to the old man and hand him his money. He was so happy, smiling at me and gibbering away in Tagalog, I never knew what he was saying.

The funny thing is, there was never any 'O' in the ice-cream, it was just plain ice-cream. I gambled here because I knew everyone on Magsaysay Drive was already loaded and would probably never notice the difference anyway. Incredibly, I actually had some folks come up and tell me how wonderful and blasted they were getting on my ice-cream with 'O'.

I did have one very scary moment. One night I had three people hunters right fresh out of the boonies of Vietnam walk up to me, Badass #1 says to me "Are you trying to tell us this ice-cream your selling has opium in it"? With these guys the game was up and I had to call my bluff. I looked Badass square in the eyes and smiled "Hey man, just look at my eyes! I've been eating this shit all day".

Later that night I saw the three of them walking back over to me. I saw no expressions on their faces, you never do with these kind of soldiers, they do you up close or will shake your hand. They grabbed my hand, shook it and bought more ice-cream.

If your a veteran and you were there, that was me walking up and down Magsaysay Drive ringing that old bell and yelling ice-cream, ice-cream, get your ice-cream with 'O'.

Maybe on one of those nights it was YOUR MONEY that helped that old man feed his family.

Joe

PS. Fellas, that seven year statute of limitations is in effect here, sorry no refunds ;-)

PPS. Visitor, those three angels of death that bought more ice-cream. They knew there wasn't any "O" in the ice-cream.