REMEMBERING VICKY

Vicky Fernandez Tejada made some postings recently in the Asinganian Journal..It is heartening to know that some townmates never forget you inspite of the long years that would slide  like the sands of time..She is a Methodist but when we had that Catechetical program under Fr. Lazaro de Guzman she joined the First Communion ceremony.I was her catechism teacher. I and some Catechists went to the Elementary school prior to this event. During the summer school break in the Philippines which is from April to June, she would join us ( the Asingan choir) in Sunday singing as well as in outings. I remember visiting a big calamansi orchard near barrio Toboy...When we got down from the carromata, she saw the neat groove of trees and she exclaimed: CALAMANCHI! Thus she was nicknamed Calamanchi by our group. One of the group was Juanita Orpiano from Dupac..She's also a laughbag, full of funny one liners. Well, I was up on one tree, picking the calamansi fruits when she called out to me..

"There are some big ones near your reach!"

"Where?" I was up there, holding onto a branch, my legs apart so I could keep my balance..

"Right there in front of you! Can't you see those two big ones between your legs?" I saw those two calamansis between my legs. but then she realized the inuendo of her sentence and she burst into an infectious laughter. I can not laugh because I might let go of my grip..

Then Vicky left Asingan for Sacramento when she was still in Gr. 4 or 5....Ocassionally, I would receive a letter written in the big handwriting characterstic of a young child telling me how life is for newly arrived Immigrants in the US..When she told me her Mom was raising Filipino vegetables in a big farm they own in Sacramento ( the farm is still there ) I related this story as an article for the Philippine News Service and it was picked up by newspapers because it was news. Filipina makes money out of Filipino vegetables in Sacramento. Vicky said she worked in the family farm after school and on week ends. Later that year, she also wrote me her grandfather who sponsored their family died and she sent me some of the photos at the funeral home. She sent me a school ID picture.She was already wearing glasses..

Letters became few and far between but I understand now that there is so much work in the US ( and not so much  in Asingan )..People abroad seldom have the luxury of writing letters to relatives in Asingan.Those were the days when Internet still belonged to the realm of Science Fiction. But there was an occasional letter with photos or Christmas Cards from her..I always answered her using 4 or 5  sheets of bond paper. Anyway I was in Asingan where the living  was easy and people had so much time in their hands. When she started to work, she sent me a shirt one Christmas..That was so sweet of her.

Then one day I received a letter informing me she is going to spend Christmas in Asingan. It must have been  about 7 or 8 years absence and now she wanted to visit the old hometown to see old friends ( like Tessie Cruz and maybe me ) and her relatives ( the Nitcha Family )..I do not think the word Balikbayan was already coined at that time.

I was not there when she arrived at the airport.. I forgot the exact date and time...But one night, I was walking past the Methodist church with my friend Florante when I heard somebody singing through their PA system. Her voice rang through the evening air like a church bell.The song was the popular hymn WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS."I think that's Vicky," I told Flor.." Aha, so your Fil-American friend arrived," he said..I did not go inside the church to see her. I am a Catholic and in Asingan some churches are for members only. But the next morning she showed up in the house with Tessie and one of her first questions was "Why weren't you at the airport?"

She stayed in Asingan for 2 weeks, I guess. When I had a chance, I accompanied her around. One time I brought along my portable typewriter to the Asingan Public Library ( at that time, it was still in that beautiful edifice beside the old Puericulture Center )she could type her homework to be submitted when she went back to school. But then, if you are on Holiday, the last thing you would like to do is school homework.The librarian at that time was Pelagia Delmendo.Then another time, we went to visit a relative in San Manuel so she could measure her for a new dress. I also joined the whole family when they went to Baguio City. We stayed in the small "Chalet" of my relative Miss Margarita Macaraeg in Scout Barrio. Her Mom, her aunt and 2 brothers were in the trip. ( One brother Resty Jr. died sometime in the '80s, not so sure about the date).

It is amazing how soon holidays would end. . When she left Asingan to prepare for her trip back to Sacramento, I was not able to see her. I just saw her already at the Departure area of the Manila International Airport, the old name of the NAIA. One minute she was there, next minute she was gone after a flurry of good-byes..

Felt sad then of course..But that is how holidays are..As my sis Ester told me one time, "The hardest  part of hellos are the good-byes"---#

THE TORRES MANSION IN STA. MARIA, PANGASINAN

 

Edwin Torres is one of Miguelita's first cousins, mother side. They were good friends and neighbours when they were growing up in Sta. Maria long time ago..Then came the parting of ways: Miguelita to school and Edwin to the USA...He worked in San Francisco, California for a number of years.. He was affiliated to a very good US Company and  he decided to retire and put up a house in Sta. Maria, Pangasinan. Edwin is the kind of guy who wants the best for his money.Above is a pictorial of the house that Edwin built....

AMOR VINCIT OMNIA ( pt. 2, some memories of Sta. Maria )

 back to DWA

 

After New Year,I went back to DWA to continue my teaching. I frequented the library. I borrowed lots of books ( sometimes 20 at a time, but I never found time to read them )..The pretty librarian asked me, as she was checking out the books, "Are you really reading all of these?" I was about to give her a smart-ass answer but , I just smiled  and said.."I love books.." The actual meaning is : "I love books the same way I love you.." But I can never tell this to her in person..Not in the library anyway..

 

Then one day, something happened that improved my chances of winning from 1 in 1 million to a much better figure..

 

The school is about to celebrate a  convocation. One of the numbers is a live band number by Ricky Perez and his group..They have all the electronic instruments: electric guitar, bass, drums amps and a keyboard. One day the whole ensemble of instruments were brought to school and were deposited in a room on the first floor, the one beside the ramp on the left side. At lunch time, I saw the electronic keyboard. My fingers itched so I went inside, plugged it to an AC line together with its amp..I adjusted the volume not so loud as to rattle all the windows, but loud enough so Miss Hufana can hear it..When I started playing, my mind and soul got into my music, thus I did not notice that she stopped by the window, looked inside and watched me for a few minutes before she went up to the library..She said to her co teachers she did not know I can play the keyboard very well. Some members of the opposite sex would fall for a person with talents..One of the selections I played was TRIESTEZAS DEL ALMA, popular waltz during the 60s..It meant sorrows of the soul..Yeah, I was expressing  the sorrows of my soul in music.. 

 

Well, afterwards her attitude towards me was still casual. My serenade  did not make any big dent in her protective armor, but at least she already noticed me.

 

good-bye DWA

 

But at the beginning of the next  school year, I had a disagreement with one of the German priests of DWA. I quit without tendering a 2-week notice.  My subjects were given to other faculty members until they could find a replacement. Before I left, I said goodbye to Nitz but I vowed to her I would come back just to see her..even if that priest was still around. So all of a sudden, I became again a liability in our household. No job, no life, but no problem! As long as Mama is around! Although it was more than once that she urged me to return to my old job. But she found out that talking to me was like talking to a brick wall.

 

One time some faculty members of DWA  dropped by the house. They were in Asingan for some school business.."Why dont you come back?" they said.."Fr. _______ is not really that bad. He has a good side you never saw.." What good side,  all I could see then was his bad one..Me going back to DWA?..Fat chance, I said to myself..My position was still vacant at that time. But not for long. Pretty soon they found  Miss Edith Moreno from Urdaneta to take my place.

 

My parents found me another teaching job, in Dasol, Pangasinan. The Director of the Catholic school there was a former assistant Parish Priest of Asingan, the late Fr. Roque Velasquez from Mangaldan.

 

Fr. V was a good friend of mine and of our family too.He was a boyish looking chap, easy with his smiles and his jokes. He's the kind of guy you would love to  have as a drinking buddy..Asingan was his first assignment as a secular priest ( he was a former member of the religious order of the Benedectines in San Beda ).

One of the stories I remember about Fr. V is this : One afternoon he saw a man entering the church which was accidentally opened at that time...He looked suspicious. It did not look like he was going in to pray the rosary. He got the word THIEF! written all over his backside..Fr. V took his hand gun from his room and waited at the window of the convento. Then the man came out, carrying something valuable. Father shouted.."Stop there! I have a gun!" The man stopped..What must he do next?..Fr. V's mind began racing in circles..Then he said.."Do not move, I am coming down.." He left the window and started to ran down as fast as the wind..As Father emerged from the convent doorinto the open, gun in hand, he looked around: the son-of-a-bitch was gone!  Of course!! He was not expecting Fr. V to congratulate him for a job well done! Soon Father was the topic of jokes like: Father can never be a 007, he allows the bad guy to run away!..

 

a week-end in Dasol

 

When he left Asingan, I guess they must have assigned him to Dasol. He paid us a visit one day years later and found out I was out of work. He told my mom to send me for a holiday in Dasol and the next day, my Mom packed my bags and gave me some bus money. And off I went bound for Dasol!

 

Upon arriving there after almost half-a-day in a bus, I found  out my "holiday" involved teaching some high school subjects in  the  Parochial school ran by Fr. V.  I stayed for half a week. After my last subject that Friday,  I got so homesick and so I took off after promising Fr. V I would  return.. Dasol is more quiet and laid back than Asingan. It was more beautiful though. The slopping hills gave it a rugged look and the beach is close at hand. However, it is VERY FAR  from my hometown and my friends ( including Miss Hufana) that never had I felt so lonely and miserable.

 

When I returned to Asingan, I felt like a fish back into the water..I went back to my routine, hanging out with Belo and Flor; dreaming of projects that could make us millionaires someday. We discussed them enthusiastically between drinks of BASI a kind of wine fermented from sugar cane..We did not know what was talking during these think-tank sessions; the basi or our screwed-up brains. Becoming a millionaire while staying in Asingan? You have more chances of being hit by a lightning while hiding under your bed than by becoming a zillionaire in Asingan. But I had to admit it, at that time, it felt so good to become a bum again!

 

One night in January 1971, there was a party at the residence of Atty. Ambrosio Divina. His daughter was having a birthday shindig and all the DWA faculty members were invited.  It was an evening lawn party. Yep, all of my ex-fellow teachers  were there, including the willowy Miss Hufana. I just hung out close to the fence without them seeing me at first..Then I decided to come out in the open, walk in and greeted the celebrant. Anyway Atty Jun Divina was a good friend of my brother and a friend of our family.I just waved hello-goodbye to the faculty and other people there, then I left. Didn't stay there very long.

 

the trip that changed my life

 

It took me another month before I gathered my courage to visit her again inDWA.."What the heck would I lose anyway," I said to myself.I felt I have already lost just everything. A mysterious urge made me dress up, take an Urdaneta bound jeep and drop by the road leading to the DWA. As I slowly walked that road I felt like St. George walking towards the Dragon's lair. St. George sans any lance or armor..But I was able to overcome my fears: Sometimes yourself is your worst enemy.Well, I was able to drag my ass into DWA, even though I know Father Dragon was there, ready to have me for supper! So I found myself in the library again, just like in the good old days..

 

"Hello.." Miss Hufana said.."What are you doing here?"

 

"I wanna see you again.."I boldly answered. Seeing her again after so many months, is..its hard to describe the feeling so I just say undescribable....I was trespassing, I know. Fr. _______, upon hearing I barged into the school said to one of the faculty "What's that guy doing here?" .. Was it wrong for an ex-teacher to visit his old school?

 

That was not the last time I visited her..I came frequently having learned she just broke up with her boy friend in Canada. I felt alive again. Yessss!

 

One of the faculty members  was a very good friend of mine. He is from Asingan too. He laid some groundwork for me, putting in some good words for my credit to Miss Hufana. Then I started writing her love letters..After a few weeks, she accepted me..But she asked me not to come to the school though. She told me just to visit her in the teacher's boarding house which was Sonny Sison's residence. I guess the priest who forced me to quit has still  a sharp ax to grind, and she was afraid he might bury it in my back.

 

He could not forgive me for my article which came out in a weekly Urdaneta newspaper. In there, I painted an unfavourable portrait of him. That issue of the paper sold like hot cakes  that day and some students placed copies  in the library. He disposed of them, but another more copies would take there place .He complained to Miguelita about the papers but she said.." I can not control what the students do. Many of the students did not really like his attitude. This newspaper incident happened a few weeks BEFORE I went back to DWA for the first time since I resigned...

 

It was March 2 when I mailed her my first love letter..March 2, the Ides of March which proved fatal to Julius Ceasar. But for me, it was anything but...

 

And four months lateron July 4, we got married at the Sta. Maria de Pila church by our school chaplain in Adamson University where I got my AB Journalism degree. Some of my college classmates came to sing during the wedding mass. On July 6, after spending just one day in Asingan, both of us rode in a bus to start a long trip to Laguna. It was also the start of our colorful, exciting journey on the road named Marriage. A few weeks before, I was accepted for an editorial position in the University of the Philippines College of Forestry, College, Laguna. Nitz my brand new bride and I were to spend a few days honeymoon in Pila, Laguna. Then from Pila, she would go back to Urdaneta to continue teaching at the DWA and I would start working for the UPCF. ---#

some memories of sta. maria

The next town we had to visit is Natividad. Nitz had a cousin waiting for us there on that day. But before we could go to Natividad, we have to drop by Tayug to pick up another relative Nenet Tebangin, the wife of Dr. Tebangin an illustrious citizen of this town..According to Nitz, the Tebangin family is one of the rich families of Tayug: they have agricultural lands plus he has also his practice and a government job in the Municipality. Nenet Tebangin, his wife worked at the Penninsula Hotel in Makati as a Department head and sometimes she was sent to Hong Kong to the main office to attend some seminars for professional advancement. Because of her help, we were able to secure a 5 day stay at the Penn for a very good rate..

Anyways, we took some tricycles that brought us to Tayug via Santa Maria. A very fine bridge now spans the river bordering Asingan and Sta. Maria. Upon reaching the Sta Maria side of the bridge, we just turned left to continue to Tayug without passing through the Poblacion of Sta. Maria de Pila. Nitz and I were married in this town on July 4, 1971.

As our ride was coasting thru the streets of Sta. Maria I remembered one of my first visits to this town. .This story happened around Dec. 1970, right during the Christmas break from school..I have 2 close buddies who were still in Asingan: Florante de Vera and Francisco Malala. I love hanging out with those guys because we share common interests:books, jokes and besides Florante had lots of fruit trees in his backyard which we could raid every now and then. It was Christmas vacation, Christmas was over and boredom started setting in..

"Don't your brother have a jeep?" asked Florante.."Yeah, "I said.

"I will provide the gas," he proposed to Belo (Francisco) " we borrow your jeep..Lets go somewhere."

"Okay," I said. At that time, my brother was in Manila. The keys are in the house and I know where they were. "One condition, lets go to Sta. Maria..Wanna check up the house of Miss Hufana."

"Sure," said Flor." I have a close relative there..Atty. Marcos..Maybe we could hit him for an afternoon snack.."

I asked my mom for the keys.."No you cant take it.."

I asked my dad.."You can take it.."

I took it!

Minutes later, we were on our way to Sta. Maria via, Urdaneta, Carmen and Rosales..Soon we were on Sta. Maria town proper. I told him to go to the Poblacion-San Vicente border, the Hufana residence is there. At that time, it was called WHITE HOUSE of Sta. Maria..We slowly passed by the front of the house and we saw a woman standing and leaning against the door..

"So want me to drive in and say HI?.."

"No, no.." I said. ..It was just the start of the school year and at that time, she barely know then I existed. We were working in the same school yes, but she was pretty, popular with her colleagues and she had a boy friend abroad..What were my chances then?..Maybe 1 in a million. Still I wanted to see where she lived and I have seen it. I know she was not there. She hated staying at home because Sta. Maria is a sleepy town and there is not much to do there except housework. So as soon after the last day of school in DWA, she took off for Dagupan to visit her uncle Mariano Hufana, the brother of her dad. Don Mariano, as she called him was a big time businessman and he spoiled Miguelita. They had a nice house in Arellano street and one of her cousins ( named Chita )still lived there at that time. The rest are already in LA. So I know at that time that she was not in Sta. Maria.

So Flor made a U turn and headed back to town straight to the house of Atty Marcos..He was a short chubby guy and he was delighted to see his relative Florante..So we took a seat and chatted while waiting for the coke and cookies to come out. One of my students in DWA before was his daughter, Ofelia Marcos. I used to call him Imelda in the classroom. And she hated it because it is not her real name..Besides at that time not many loved Imelda Marcos..And this was even before Filipinos found out about the 3000 pairs of shoes she owned!

According to Nitz ( Miguelita's nickname aside from Meg, Meggie, Nene ) Atty Marcos had a famous poem..It went something like this:

PUTO PUTO ITI SAN NICOLAS, NABUS BUSSOG, NAIM-IMAS! ( White rice buns of San Nicolas, very plump and very delicious )..The English translation does not give the necessary rhyme, but it is said he would start his poetry declaimation with this short 2 liner! I wonder how many PUTOs he had in mind? Maybe two?

Then after some laughter and other pleasantries, we bade them good-bye and he asked finally what we were doing there in that neck of the woods. He was sure Florante did not miss him that much to warrant a visit. Florante said," oh we are just coming to see a certain Miss Hufana, but I think she is not at home.."

"Oh yeah?," Atty Marcos said.." I know Doming Hufana very well..He has one pretty daughter ready for marriage ( That was Miguelita )..Want me to contact him and arrange her to meet you?" The guy was offering to match Miguelita with Florante..

We all laughed and I thought " Oh shit, this guy is about to destroy my case even before I could start building it.."

Well, the setting sun was already just above the western horizon and pretty soon all the cows would be coming home..So we bade a swift good-bye, went back to the jeep. Asingan was still a hell long way to go from Sta. Maria. We surely would feel easier if we would be traversing that wide KETEGAN area between Urdaneta and Asingan while there was still light. Very scary place, you might say because it is a long solitary stretch of rice fields and bandits would just stop and rob commuters! It is just a case of being in the right place ( or wrong place ) at the right time ( or wrong time ) depending whether you are holding the gun or you are staring at its' muzzle !! ---#

FEEDBACKS!!

In a message dated 3/2/2006 1:31:52 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, Angelito.Domaoan writes:

Hi Vic: Reading your Balikbayan’s diary is amusing and entertaining. I never thought you are still doing the same thing as before. Wow riding in a tricycle from Urdaneta to Asingan I can never do that. Knowing that there are lots of hold-uppers on your way home to Asingan. You really have guts. During my younger days I have been to Urdaneta once only to watch the movie “Tarzan in the Amazon”. In Manila my pastime every Saturday was to see the movie and have a walk in Luneta (Rizal Park). All I could say is keep on writing it’s very entertaining. Thank you

 

 

Hi M. Lito, I know, you didnt go to Urdaneta because of the smell of the theatres! I dont blame you though, but a movie addict like me would go anywhere..anusan even those movies shown in the plaza during our  town fiesta..Remember the Lamplighter guy?.He has a beard, black cloak and he looked more like Rasputin the mad Russian monk than anybody else! Sometimes, he would perform healing in public..right among the fiesta crowd and I once saw an old woman who had arthritis go up the stage to him..He made some incantations, massage her shoulder, then voila! She was cured, or at least that is what he made us believe! For 25 centavos, you could watch a movie inside his tent ( actually a space surrounded by black tarpaulin..) Outside he would heal some people, sell some medicinal oil, etc..Yes sir, he reminds me of Snakeoil Harry of the Wild, Wild West!!

 

***

From my friend Paula in Kentucky:

 

Hey!  I couldn't get into the site tonight, I have a numb brain.  Wasn't getting my pass word right.  The baby is darling!  This is your grandbaby?  I know the angels rejoice with you, another soul for the Lord.  Thank you for sharing.  I don't always get to look at these things right off.  I'm snowed under with kids & grand kids.  But I do read them, and I enjoy them a great deal.  Pretty soon, I can be part of the family!  LOL  

 

  Take care, Paula

 

Subject: PHOTOS DURING JR'S BAPTISM

FEEDBACK FROM ALFREDO

Your blog on "Urdaneta, then and now"...you only quoted 2 theaters(Nela and Elite)...you forgot to mention Consuelo Theater,where most Tagalog pictures were shown.  It was located where Majik Mall stands right now.

 

Alfredo G. Rodillas 

Hi Alfredo,

 

You are right, I recall the name of that theatre already..Although I think it was in the present location of  ROCCA  ( I might be wrong too re: location ) but I now remember the name of CONSUELO theatre in Urdaneta.Might be owned by the Arboleda Brothers who once operated a movie house in our backyard.The magic Mall I think occupy the former market site where the vegetable vendors and where they used to auction animals ( cows, carabaos, etc ) every Tuesday ..I heard that every Monday night, Urdaneta became a live Wild, Wild West because many  Pangasinenses came with heavy moneybags to buy livestock. So all night clubs, especially the "Chickenhouse" of Telles ( another name for the Highway )are packed to the ceiling with "cowboys". Liquor flowed like water. And not surprisingly, there would be a few fistfights and shootouts, and live bullets were used!

 

Just like the Biblical times when God rained fire on Sodom and Gommorah, a big conflagration "cleansed" that part of Urdaneta. Maybe the animal trade was transfered somewhere else. The Magic Mall is now there. The most interesting store in this mall for me is a Gun Store which I saw at the 2nd floor in 2003. I do not know if it is still there. Various guns and firearms were displayed in cases and racks like kiddie toys. Wanted to buy maybe a couple, but how would I get them  through the customs without setting the bloody alarms in the whole goddamn place?--#

JOHNNY AND JUNIOR

Back to Asingan. It is like spending the first night here again so I had another restless one..Not to worry, I said to myself. On your second night, you will be sleeping again like a baby inspite of the tricycles roaring, the dogs barking and other cacophony associated to modern day Asingan. But I had to learn how to brush my teeth by the window. This was what we did it before when we were kids. You do whatever you see being done by your parents. This time I had to go to a safer place to brush my teeth. I hate to be brushing my dentures by the window and dropping them by accident into the messy ground below. Some roaming duck might just pick it up and swallow it. Never mind that the denture cost a few hundred bucks but the poor duckie! If that happened we would have to kill the little bastard to retrieve my denture and have some roasted duck on the side for lunch.

It is quite an experience being back to the house where you grow up. But as my sister Aurora said, you can not really "go back" to your house, because that house was a real happy one when you were a kid. You associate the house to a happy childhood ( maybe unhappy to some ) but when I am there, I see my image as a boy again, just like in the movie BACK TO THE FUTURE. But then my parents were still alive and I hold a special relation to each one of them. I remember bringing an old music book PROGRESSIVE MUSIC SERIES Book 1 to my mother asking her "How do we sing this song?" It was called STORY BOOK LAND and the lyrics conjured images of elves, fairies and other magical beings . It has notes so my Mother wrote the equivalent letter above each note ( like C for the note C, etc )..Then after when all letters were written, I would ask her "How do we sing it?" Of course, knowing what notes they were and singing them at sight are quite different things, like knowing whats wrong with a car..and fixing it! Anyhow I always kept those music books which were remnants of the music education left by the Americans after the war..The books were printed and bound in the USA and I remembered having volumes 1 to 3...Even when I was in Gr. 5, I saw them used by our teacher Mr. Melecio Villanueva. He had a nice voice, and he could sing music on sight and he is one of the kindest teacher I met during my childhood. Years later, I would be visiting his house very often because I and 2 of his sons Nestor and Oscar formed a music group, a Combo..But this is another story.

But that morning, I went to visit Johnny Sindayen. Johnny together with Leopoldo del Rio ( Oldong ), Rudy Manuel from Ariston, Roger Agpaoa from Cabalitian ( the Engineer ) Dr. Ruben Bugayong and some other classmates would always get together each time I visit Asingan. Johnny, in 2003 was recovering from a stroke. His face never changed, good looking as ever and he never lost his sense of humor.."Imagine," he said.." a few days after I had my stroke. I could hardly talk and could hardly write. But I had to go to the bank to cash a cheque. I had to sign the cheque then the idiot of a teller looked at my signature and told me 'this is not the signature you have in our file, sir'. I told him, 'you moron..I can't write the same way now, I just had a stroke sometime ago! ' "

Just then a red car stopped in front and who would come out if not Gregorio Velasco Jr. aka Junior. It was my first time to see him that 2003 holiday..and the last time too because he died sometime last year. I requested him to bring me to the market so I can buy some fruits for Johnny..He told me there are some grapes for sale, and Johnny loved them. So we went there, and he parked his car near the western market entrance near Caliope Chua's merchandise store. I bought 3 kilos of red grapes from the fruit section of our market. They are also selling most of the fruits we have in North America. Nobody could foresee if one is living in the '50s before that this would take place in our town.Talk about progress.... I gave 1 kilo to him which he also gave to his wife Josie when he passed by his house on our way back to Johnny..Josie was also my kumare and we worked in the Asingan choir together for so many years. Josie died too shortly after the demise of her husband. Her daughter whom I sponsored during her baptism died much earlier.

So we went back to Johnny and continued exchanging stories and jokes about the old days while watching Sports Channel ESPN on his TV. We also had some San Miguel beer. No gathering is complete without San Miguel beer Inumin ng tunay na Pilipino.( the drink of a real Pilipino ).

But unfortunately all good things must end..My cell phone chimed and Nitz told me she is in Urdaneta already on the way to Asingan to pick me up..She was spending her holiday in Trinidad with her sisters and they were on their way to Natividad to visit her cousin, Atty Fe Hufana from LA. I made a quick goodbye to Johnny. Quick and sad but that how things are in this life...Life passes by unforgivingly but one must not forget our friends..(Oh yes, in this trip I FORGOT to call on my friend Dr. Ruben Bugayong and I really feel bad about it up to now..Sorry Doc, but I will make it up next time.During our high school days, we spent countless hours talking about Hollywood movies..The same topic I enjoyed talking with now Ambassador Rudy Dumapias.)

"Come, I will bring you home," said Junior.. So we rode on his red car and he offered it to for my use in case I need to go somewhere. I said "Thanks" as I got out when I reached my house.--#