Cool Baratillo!

By: Danny S. Villanueva

As I was shopping for mechanical presses in Seoul, Korea in February 1990, it was winter. I could not resist trying on a look-alike B-42 Bomber Pilot leather jacket in a leather shop at Itaewon, a tourist belt area. When the $250 price caused me to shy away, the good Korean sales clerk started to bargain. Hindi niya alam barat ako, sanay yata ito sa Divisoria.

Finally, after checking with someone in the backroom, she offered me the coat for $200 if I would tell everyone I knew about the store and its location. It was still too much, and the exasperated clerk asked me to make an offer. I proposed $100. After another trip to the backroom, she said yes, under one condition: that I would not tell anyone where the store was. #

PS: I gave the pilot jacket to Kuya Noli in one of his visit since there's no winter in RP. I guess, he likes it since it carried a black and white photo of Marlyn Monroe in the inside. Dg