A VALENTINES PARTY TO REMEMBER

So what did you do last Valentine's Day?

Had lots of fun?..Got so smashed they had to drag you out under the table? Or just waited all night watching some late, late show waiting for that phone call that never came?

Miguelita being the Branch Manager of the Queen/Saulter TPL branch was invited as a special guest to a 25th Anniversary celebration in honor of the Ralph Thornton Centre (RTCC) which took place in the evening of February 14. .Her special guest was moi. And am so happy I was.

The RTCC occupies the 2nd and 3rd floor of this government building along Queen street East. The centre sponsors various activities and projects geared to help the Community of South Riverdale. So part of Miguelita's job is dealing with the patrons of RTCC which would borrow books and other materials they need for their special pursuits. These pursuits usually are: looking for jobs, learning English, learning Ballroom Dancing, Learning Computer skills, and lots of others. Sounds like something Asingan needs, no? Or for that matter, the WHOLE PHILIPPINES.. Such Community Centres here in Canada ( and in the US where these are Centers due to the fact that part of our words are still spelled in the British way ) receive good funding from the government.

So Miguelita was with friends that night. She introduced me also to some of them and the REAL fun for me started when the party chairperson asked me to do a set of piano pieces ( about 1 hour ) while the guests were eating. There were 2 of us pianists that night, and the other one was a young Chinese youth who played mostly classical music ( the stuffy, high brow type which nobody really listened to ). When my turn at the piano came, I rolled out the bouncy, old time tunes with a beat.Miguelita said she saw many people on the food line dancing. Then a mature lady came and asked me if I know certain songs. She gave me the titles and I said yes. Oh they are songs like ISLE OF CAPRI, WHISPERING HOPE, LET ME CALL YOU SWEETHEART, DANNY BOY etc. ) She took a microphone and sang in front of the appreciative audience. Mostly young professionals, the cream of the crop of South Riverdale.

And Miguelita had her fun posing with the political bigwigs who came..The biggest of course was Jack Layton. Jack stole the political limelight last November 2005 when he called for a vote of non confidence against the incumbent Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. An election was called ( maybesimilar to the snap election that took place during the last days of the Marcos era.) and Stephen Harper a Conservative candidate became the next Canadian Prime Minister. Jack Layton was the candidate representing the NDP. Of course Paul Martin ran also and unfortunately he came only second to Harper. So no People Power in Canada, eh? Just the old fashioned democratic process.

Layton appeared in the numerous TV debates that took place on national TV weeks before the election. He showed up in the RTCC party ( with a number of body guards of course ) only because he started his political career here in Riverdale and at the RTCC. He is one man who do not forget where he came from and who knows? He might yet become a Prime Minister of Canada someday.

Did we have fun last Valentines Day? Let the photos speak for themselves!--#