Modern peddlers

Hearing peddlers shout their guts out on the streets everyday remind me much of my childhood. The days wherein me and my cousins would patiently wait for that familiar bell sound almost every afternoon. Heck, we pretty much enjoyed spending two pesos and fifty centavos each on ice buko. Not only because its price was still somewhat bearable back then, but also because we liked the guy who sells it. What’s somewhat shocking is that the peddler is blind. Yes, blind. The first time I saw him walking down the street, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’d often find myself asking the same questions over and over again. How can he stroll down the streets with such ease? How does he deal with obstacles? Is he really sure his customers are paying him the right amount? For sure, there’ll always be pranksters waiting out there in the cold. He seems very comfortable with his job. Could he be a magician? Or maybe a sorcerer of some sort? Could he be God?

Well, maybe not.

All my questions would seem to fade away temporarily the moment he stops by our gate. He’ll advertise his product once more, wait for the usual stampede, and churn out a big smile in his face. We’d pick out our flavors and give the guy our payment. All of them would go running back inside after that (because they were all too eager to eat their desserts) and leave me outside to wait for the change. He’d ask me how much I gave him, and he’d give out the appropriate change. What amuses me a lot is his trust in his customers. Are you honest? Are you dishonest? Heh, doesn’t matter. As long as he played it fair.

Would it be better if we were blind? Heh, maybe. Just maybe.

What could’ve been the cause of this post, you might ask. Nothing pretty serious. It’s just that I was shocked to hear an unfamiliar peddling sound yesterday morning. At first, I thought I heard taho. But as the source of the sound got closer and closer to our house, I’m starting to hear three syllables being coughed out by the peddler. It can’t be the ice buko guy, since it’s too damn early for ice drops, and that I haven’t heard from him for three years now. Heck, it’s not even close to anything I’ve heard before. The sound gave me the feeling of something new. Something really unheard of (in the domain of peddling). What could it be, I asked myslef. Dragging my feet outside, I rushed to the gate, hoping to get a clearer cut of the sound. Could it be really something new? Not that it would really matter to me, but I decided to give it a shot. I was shocked.

“BAYANTEL! PAKABIT NA KAYO NG BAYANTEL! BAYANTEL KAYO DIYAN!”

Yes, Bayantel. She’s peddling Bayantel subscriptions! I’ve heard of the “promo girls” tactic and stuff, but THAT was really something new. Last time I checked, they were only distributing flyers and advertisements. It felt awkward, really. A new age peddler? Probably.

What could be in store for us next?