Iya Chronicles - a typical day with grandpa Ben

(An ad for a live-in nanny in London circulated recently and it touted a 100,000 GBP/PA salary with the use of the family’s Porshe, Maserati, Range Rover among other high-end cars. Apparently the nanny in our story is oblivious to this ad and would rather keep to his non-paying nanny job without the perks being offered above. Please avoid showing or sharing this story online, because there's a chance that it may reach the concerned family in London and he might be pirated for their convenience.)

Sofia a.k.a. Iya - a toddler by now, is blessed with a crop of hair that is fast filling her crown, strong legs to run around and a special person - her maternal granddad, to look after her - for a whole day, while her dad, mom, and grandma are at work. 

The day starts with mama Aya taking Iya to grampa's house before she drives off to work. 

first things first - say hello to the neighbor's cat

who is a regular breakfast guest at the back porch.

morning devotional is next and she has

a lot of materials to choose from. the aloe vera

drink got misplaced somehow 

reading and storytelling follows and she's

anticipating her next activity and favorite subject,

which is...

 

recess - playtime! apparently grampa had to 

drive to the playground a few blocks away.

she's famished after running around and she 

doesn't have time to use the spoon. grampa's

cooking looks delicious 

from the kitchen they head to the bedroom for 

the siesta period. she needs her iPad,  

stuffed giraffe and a bottle of juice/milk to help

her get into the mood

 in no time she is in dreamland and it is too

obvious that this activity of the day is what her 

grampa loves best. he's right beside her.

today she's the "cleaner" so she tidies up to make 

sure that she gets good marks in work education.

 Before class is dismissed they sing the school song

and national anthem and as usual she leads 

the singing on the piano. she's browsing through

the "beatles' best" song book.

 I just wish that I had a photo of her awesome nanny before Iya's mama came to take her home. It would have been an indicator of how they both fared through all the activities.

A Tribute to Eleazar Alburo Moreno (1928-1986)

Pastor, educator, musician, sportsman, outdoorsman, comedian are some of the many titles that allude to Eleazar Alburo Moreno. He was also the father of Noah - this writer.

Dodo - as he was fondly called by his kin, was the second in a brood of 8 by poor fisherfolk parents who thrived solely on what they could catch in the sea. So to be able to get a college degree he had to work his way through school to attain his highest career point as President of Mountain View College.

Physique-wise he was a fine-tuned rumbling engine. In the last decade of his life he would start the day at 3 AM on board his outrigger canoe, fishing in the predawn darkness a good distance from the Northern Mindanao coastline. His usual catch of about a bucket of fish was a coveted gift among his neighbors. The next stops in his daily routine were a game of tennis, office work and visiting church-related projects, another game of tennis at 5 PM and then a round of badminton, table tennis or bowling would cap the day's activities.

Apparently he knew the formula for a happy and healthy life, and making people happy with his presence came naturally to him. He sure was the epitome of a well balanced life.

Dodo could have enjoyed more of this if only he lived past the age of retirement, but an Aedes Aegypti mosquito unintentionally cut his run short, and at the ripe age of 58 he literally bled to death from Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever.

Fast forward 30 years and his son, now 60, reaches the mandatory retirement age at Yanhee International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. The challenge to do something epic in honor of his dad coupled with the unfinished business of trying to please him to make up for the mischievous years of a rebellious youth looms in his mind. 

At this point there was only one thing that would bring closure to a once strained father-son relationship, and that was to spend a year doing what his dad would have wanted to do if only he had the chance to live longer. So upon reaching the 6th decade of his life Noah set out to pay honor and respect to his long gone progenitor in a year-long marathon of activities.

This one's for you dad!

April - scuba diving in Koh Mak island, Thailand. The sea was your turf dad. You knew by heart what was under the waves. We went diving together along the coast of Lanao del Norte when we were collecting marine life for the aquariums at home and the hospital. You taught me what was edible, what was difficult to catch and what was better left alone.

 June - Cave diving in Hundred Islands, Philippines. You were a very good swimmer and diver, dad. A fisherman with a swimming instructor certificate from the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila, you had the grace and fluidity that mimicked the dolphins in the water.

May 2016 - January 2017 Cycling: 
- solo cross-country cycling Bangkok, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia = 400 km, done in 3 days. Dad, you had the knack for testing the limits of your body and I know you would have also enjoyed cycling through these countries. 

- solo long distance cycling through the Big Sur (Highway 1) and other picturesque roads in the states of California, Virginia and Florida, Thailand and the Philippines for a total of 1,366.2 kilometers/848.9 miles.

The memory of my first bicycle at 8 years old is still fresh in my mind, Dad. You came home from a trip to Manila and it was raining very hard at about 7 in the evening. You told me that you had a present for me and sis Ethel, but that I would have to fetch it myself at the administration building, which was quite a distance from the Jamandre village where we lived. You said that it was too heavy to carry and that I may have to ride it on the way home. I knew in that instance that you got me a bike and I ran like mad in the dark with the rain beating down. The sleek and shiny brand new red bike got wet and muddied. If not, I could have kept it beside me on my bed that night. In those days, to own a bike in Bukidnon, one had to buy it in Manila and I know that it cost you a fortune to get one each for Ethel and me.

I know that I have to honor you dad for being thoughtful about getting a bicycle for me at that age. In retrospect, I can see that it was the best treatment for my ADHD (undiagnosed - since this entity was not yet discovered back then). 

December - fishing: I left this for last dad, because this is your passion. I know you could spend hours by yourself in a spot out in the sea with the 300+ hooks that you had in one long line. 

Deep-sea fishing was your real sport dad. We tried our luck at it in Clearwater, Florida, and we didn't come home empty-handed.

You have gone from our lives for 30 years now dad. It may have been too soon for you to go, but not too soon to be handed your reward by the giver of life himself - the Almighty God. We miss you like we miss mom, but you are always with us in thought and in spirit.

I hope you enjoyed this tribute dad.

.....

Noah would like to profusely express his thanks to the following for their direct participation in the realization of this tribute:

Arven and Marie Fe Somoso
Alice, Mafel and Rommel Cobangbang
Marilyn and Tagore Calma
Howard, Harold, Hardin, Mervyn and Geronima Joyce
Benjamin, Ethel, Aya/Bryan/Iya, Benny, Benjiro and Elaine Bibay
Jo Ann, Jaypea, Nok, JJ, Kukie and Kailee

...and above all to Jesus Christ for the gift of life and health.

The Grandkids and Noah

One nice part of growing old is the entry into the "grand" stage of life. It's a time when the title "papa, daddy, father" gets an added prefix - "grand." Another good aspect of aging is when you enjoy the company of the kids without the responsibility of bringing them up as parents... a role that is the cream of grandparenthood.

Noah's recent travels brought him to the hills of Santa Clarita north of Los Angeles where he had the blessed chance of staying for a few nights with a niece and her husband and kids. It was a rare opportunity after not seeing Daphne for decades and to bond with her adorable and well-mannered kids was an added feature that Noah felt right at the core of his heart.

Nathan, Camille, Kimmie and Jordan...that's

the order from youngest to the eldest (Noah not

included of course).

mommy Daphne and granny Jo ann

at the kitchen.

with the kids in school and the parents off

from work, breakfast is slow and relaxed. Dad

Frank had the breakfast served just as we came

out of the bedroom.

the eldest daughter - Kim, and she plays her

role really well by looking after the welfare

of her younger siblings.

These two urchins are all over the house just like

normal active kids. What grandpa Noah liked best was

Camille's activity on the piano. She's a budding

musician and Noah would love to see her play the

piano and clarinet a few more years from now.

This is Sunday evening activity. The kids prepare

their lunch boxes for the following day.

monday - the first day of school for the 

year 2017. It is 6:55 and they're already 

dressed up for school and having breakfast 

they prepared themselves. Nathan is waiting 

for mom coz he wants fried eggs.

That's inside the van for the short ride to school 

on a winter morning. Jordan left earlier.

Dad Frank at the wheel. the roads were

slippery and we passed by two car accidents.

we get to their school and there is a steady

drizzle, but they obliged to one more pose

for grandpa Noah.

Noah doesn't hold favorites among his grandchildren, but

Camille just has a special tug at his heart.

the kids disappeared into this entrance,

but not from Noah's heart. Thank you Jesus

for such adorable grandkids and thanks too,

dad Frank and mom Daphne for bringing up such

respectful, happy and well-mannered kids.

Of Flowers and Women

Women are often portrayed in song and poetry as flowers. Like the blossoms they go through the stages of budding, blooming, and wilting. With flowers it just takes a few days to a couple of weeks for this metamorphosis to take place, while in women it takes decades or simply stated - a lifetime. 

One has to be in the 6th decade of his life to be able to pen something like this, because the floral-like metamorphosis in women takes half a century to unfold and doing a write-up about it is often dampened by the wilting results, which is not worth expressing in words.

This blog was inspired by a recent reunion with the "flowers" that were lost from Noah's sight for about 3 decades. It is actually about a three-some who were playmates in their younger years. They share the same genes from a Spanish dude - their grandpa, although legally one was the aunt (Jo ann) and the two younger girls (Gizela/Kleng and sister Svetlana/Momo) were daughters of Jo ann's first degree cousin. Noah will call them by the names that they were endeared to him - makes sense, right?

The photos below show in perspective their age differences, which could be considered as Jo ann being an older sister to the two darlings.

the physical features of the kids in the photo 

show their Spanish heritage, while the hanging 

giant spoon in the background is glaring evidence 

of their Filipino ancestry.

some years later...

...and some more. Kleng is now catching

up with Jo ann in height.

Noah came into the life of these girls at an age when he was considered a "kuya" - not an uncle. The photo below will give perspective to that age difference.

this pool is at the Davao Beach club and the other

guys in the photo are Judy - holding Kleng, Victor

an Indonesian dude and Emmeline - mother of Kleng

and Momo.

Bonding moments with these girls were as often as a tight medical school schedule would allow. Noah in those years was fighting to survive the grind that is part of earning a doctor of medicine degree and the invitations by these girls and their mom to the beach, tennis court, parties and other gustatory/gastronomical events meant a lot to him. When you're cash-strapped and mental-fatigued, events like these are like a cool breeze in a hot desert and Noah just loved all these moments - not to mention that it was also an opportunity to be around the taller lass.

The last time Noah saw Kleng and Momo was before the flood, and this is how they looked back then.

At this point in the metamorphosis they were dazzling and it was apparent when guys started falling like dominoes while vying for their hearts. One love-struck and dumbfounded dude up to this moment - about 30 years later, can only manage to say - "speechless."

that's a shot from FB messenger. the 

yellow/blue circles conceal the identity 

of the bloke for obvious reasons.

Fast forward by more than 2 decades and Noah get's the chance to be with these girls turned moms by now and this is how they look.

Noah will stop short of describing the last set of photos above, and like the love-struck dude he would rather say - "speechless."

Thank you ladies for the wonderful memories and for staying in full bloom, fresh and gorgeous, always.

Florida vacation December 2016

The only place worth spending a warm vacation at this time of the year in the USA is Florida. Coming back here after so many years revealed that this state now is not only a favorite spot for retirees, but also for entire families who would rather sweat it out in the burgeoning theme parks than shiver in their snowy home states.

For this blogger and his missus, revisiting Florida was for only one urgent reason - to see long missed family. These kin migrated en masse from the southern Philippines about 2 decades ago and chose this sunshine state for very obvious reasons. Not seeing them for that length of time created a void in the heart that needed to be filled and the only way to do it was to hop in a plane across the pacific.

The first stop was in Valencia, Sta. Clarita, California for a night with Daphne - Jo Ann's niece. This was our first time to meet her husband and kids.

The temperature was 16C/60F in LA

The next stopover was Chicago and the temperature

was -13C/7F with the whole city blanketed in snow.

Finally Tampa, Florida (26C/78F) and these love-ones where

already at the airport waiting for us. Mervyn (in shorts) is

Jo Ann's first degree cousin. Beside him is Ronnie his wife, and

the 2 ladies are Jo Ann's nieces - Asset and Momo.

lunch with the welcome committee at an asian

resto in Clearwater. 

Dinner was with cousins Dr. Alfred & Momo Martin

and daughter Celine at BJ's resto and brewhouse.

Brunch the next day was hosted by cousins 
Eddie and Baby at the Olive Garden, who drove all 
the way from Zephyrhills to see us. Orlando is the 
next stop of the day...

...for a spin in the Orlando eye...

 ...a pose with the greatest...

...deep freeze at a Swiss alpine village at Gaylord resort...

...and a stroll in the Disney Springs resort...

the night at Orlando was spent at Harold D'Big

and Cecile's house.

a reunion potluck is next at Clearwater

...and the next day Noah rides to 

Fort de Sotto...

...for some fishing at the pier...

...with cousin Blas Dabucol. The next day

is a drive to Avon Park...

...for lunch at cousin Pelvina's house (we

stayed with her in this same house in our 

first visit)...

...and a back-to-the-past game of

pingpong with best friend Gershon at his

home in Sebring.

dinner that evening was hosted by cousins

Blas and Mary Ann Dabucol at the Golden Corral...

...and then a stroll at the Clearwater marina.

deep-sea fishing is next at clearwater...

...where Noah gets a chance to ride a

different kind of ark.

...that night was outdoor dining at Main street

Dunedin with gorgeous niece - kleng.

the next day Noah had to burn the fat

that was slowly building up in his belly

by riding the Clearwater - Tampa loop.

Finally, after 8 days in sunny Florida, it is goodbye to the family that was host for our vacation. The guy at the right is Howard D'Tiny who took a long break from his work to be with us throughout

our entire stay. His dad - Mervyn D'Ben and mom - Geronima D'Ronnie, and brothers Hardin D'Londong and Harold D'Big untiringly took us to

all the places mentioned above. Their home in Dunedin was our comfortable base and we felt loved and pampered throughout our stay.

Thank you guys for a wonderful time. May God keep you happy all the days of your life.