REMEMBERING LORETO MIZAL AND FRANK HILARIO

 

The late Mrs. Mizal, formerly Loreto Blando was the teacher-writer who inspired me to keep on writing. She must have also heard about Frank Hilario because writers from the same town usually know each other. She had high praises for Frank's talent. I chatted with Frank also just a couple of times in Asingan then that was it.Now we fast forward to the present.

I met Annie Cano thru the net and it was she who gave me the link to Frank's website and  also his e-mail address.Well, surprise, surprise; Frank has established his roots in Los Banios Laguna and working in the same Campus where I was four years before I came to Toronto. Mrs. Mizal also retired from FORPRIDECOM, a government agency located in the slopes of Mount Makiling. My place of work was UP College of Forestry, Department of Forestry Extension where I edited some Forestry periodicals. It is just a 5-minute walk from FORPRIDECOM. The area is a writer's haven as the atmosphere is quiet except for birds doing a "symphony" of sounds especially when the day starts to end and not very many jeepneys go up to the Forestry campus anymore. There are also a lot of exotic trees one of which is the "candle-tree". The fruits, believe it or not, look like candle sticks. The stem of the fruit is the "wick".

So I immediately e-mailed Frank:

Remember me?..Vic Costes..We have talked a couple of times..can't remember when but I can remember you because we have a common interest: writing. ...

Could not quite forget College, Laguna because I had some friends there. I moonlighted also as an organist at Eva lanes then also at La Paz Beer garden one of the seedy clubs in Bamboo Groove. The owner was a homosexual and there were a couple of hookers hanging out there every night plying their trade. But they did not quite look like Julia Roberts character in PRETTY WOMAN. ..

Less than 12 hours, I received my first e-mail from him..part of it said:

Were we not classmates in high school? I remember you: you lived next to the Aglipayan Church in poblacion; ... I think your sister is Ester. Rody Necesito was also fond of writing. I think he is in the States somewhere. Our fiesta is April 18. I am in the Executive Committee, Chair of Documentation – I went every two weeks to attend the meetings. I hope to document the activities in digital and send anyone a copy by email.

One of my daughters is in Toronto, Christina Marie, married to Christian Capati. They have a daughter named Maia.

I am still writing. I have many blogsites already (would you believe 20?). I have no problem with spelling and grammar when I blog because I read again and I use the spelling checker – I use Word to compose my messages, like I’m doing now.

And so started an online correspondence, thanks to Annie, thanks to the Internet and to you, Manang Loreto, wherever you are: Thanks to you too! She was the one who help me find that job at the DFE where I honed further my skills as a wordsmith.---#