Robertson

My earliest memory of the building at the corner of Rizal and De Vera Streets, fronting the old Velasco Restaurant, was Loida Theater.  I remember double features, The Sound of Music and Burlesk Queen.

And then it became a bowling alley and then the Kadiwa Store of the Marcos Days.  The DBP was there, too, if I remember right.

It might have had a string of occupants after the bank but I was too far away to notice.  The fact that I was home only during the Holidays and Holy Week was not good for my memory, either.  Suffice it to say that when I decided to come home for good, it was already Robertson.

At the time, it was the biggest grocery and department store in the city.  D' Best and Sampaguita were soon forgotten, and Robertson became the shopping haven hereabouts.

Alas, Robertson's days will soon be over.  Already there's a big sale on the second floor.  The owner, reports say, sold out to PureGold in a classic case of big fish eats small fry.  Come to think of it, Sorsogon City is turning into a mini franchise haven of sorts.

Oh well, the price we have to pay for development.