Johnny be Good...

GO JOHNNY, GO!

Sonny, thanks for the compliments ....I"m proud to say that for the 21 yrs of public service as a teacher I was able to impart in the minds of my students the knowledge of wisdom and the 3 R's of learning. Most of them are now professionals in their respective careers. They are now living with all the comforts of life. They are more successful than their former teachers. Congratulations and don't forget to give back whatever you can to the community where you came from. If ever you can help your relatives back home please do so.

Sonny , you're one of the most brilliant pupils in the NCS.I  also remember Sammy Antonio,...when he was an instructor in the PSU , he usually made me my labels for all my reports when I was still a head teacher and  a principal.

By August 31, 2007 , I'm retiring from my job in UCSD (University of California San Diego) after 20 yrs. of dedicated service. If someday you and your family be here in San Diego please don't hesitate to call me or send me a line or two. Regards to all my pupils.

Your former teacher,

Johnny

****

I WAS NOT LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE ONE OF YOUR STUDENT. HOWEVER, YOU WERE MY MENTOR IN THE SCOUTING MOVEMENT.I AM FORTUNATE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE PROUD TROUP 497 OF NORTH CENTRAL.I HAVE LEARNED NEW THINGS AND IDEAS MORE THAN THE BOOKS HAS TO OFFER. THE LEARNING PROCESS GOES BEYOND THE FOUR WALLS OF LEARNING.IT EXTENDS IN THE OPEN FIELDS AND LONG WINDING RIVERS.I REMEMBER, IN THE PROVINCIAL JAMBOREE HELD IN BINALONAN WHEREIN WITH SOME SCOUT FRIENDS HAD TO TRAVERSED THE DENSE SUGAR CANE PLANTATION. YOUR GUESS IS GOOD AS MINE. (CALL OF NATURE). DONT KNOW IF SONNY E. WAS WITH US. MAYBE NOT. NOT DARING ENOUGH. HE'S JUST RIGHTEOUS).I REMEMBER BRENDO PASCUAL, EDGARDO SALES, RAMON DELMENDO, ELMER PISO, ALEX SOLORIA, ROBERT AGUNIAS AND OTHERS. YOU SCOLDED US WHEN WE WENT SWIMMING IN THE BINALONAN RIVER. SIR, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE EXPERIENCES AND YOUR GUIDANCE AND OF COURSE THE ONE RECIPE I NEVER FORGET, "TABUNGAW WITH SARDINES". OUR JANITOR ( FORGOT HIS NAME, SONNY E. CAN YOUR RECALL HIS NAME. HE IS FROM DUPAC) HELP US PREPARES THIS MENU ALWAYS. UP TO NOW, THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES DISHES.

*******

Are you referring to Mng. Kulas? The tall muscular guy. He is from Dupac, so I'm sure Sonny knows his last name. I'm proud to say that I'm also one of the students of the respected Scout Master - Sir Johnny Pascua.

--ARMANDO

Yes, of course. Who can forget the gentle and kid-friendly Manong Kulas (Mr Orpiano) from Dupac. From him and sir johnny, we learned how to survive the outdoors, make and tend fire, cook rice and various dishes. Aside from the tabungaw con sardines which you have already mentioned, other staples are balatong (alternately pinablad and buridibod), pinakbet and sinigang na bangus. We were thrilled not by the novelty of these dishes but by the fact that we were doing it by ourselves for the first time. You were considered extremely lucky if by chance you get a tiny bit of pork (sagpaw) from the balatong or the pinakbet. But with the appetite of about twenty tired and ravenous boy scouts, all jockeying to get to the kaldero first, who cares about the pork - anything is absolutely delicious. For snacks, kamote, sinkamas, green mangoes are always plentiful. In binalonan, it was cane fields. In natividad, we have to make do with onion and garlic farmlands. It is of course not easy to disappear among the sibuyas, unlike in cane fields. So we have to go further from the campsite to answer the call of nature – it helped a lot if you were wearing the green gala uniform instead of the white shirt. ha ha ha. Those farmlands must have become twice richer with all the organic fertilizers…

SONNY ESPEJO

*****************************

FROM ARSENIO MACANAS

Yes, APPLE CIDER VINEGAR IS A CURE for any kind of ailment but only if you follow the instructions of each particular ailment. Once you start taking it, it should be done   religiously.

But remember this, don’t ever say anything in front of FDA or some doctors with connivance from FDA that ACV can cure because you will face off the consequences. They’ll sue you (Just kidding).

For those in the Philippines don’t worry they have also Apple cider vinegar in the big grocery stores like the ones in Urdaneta. They are imported from US of A. I bought one when I was there last year. It is just a  little bit more expensive than our local vinegar.

Beware of the Philippines' local vinegar… any kind that can buy at local store or grocery stores like datu puti, sukang paombong etc. Those are not organic or made from natural… these made with acetic acid and water only. If you remember Nana Minang Marcos from cabingcolan the vinegar she was selling then those are the organic or natural, that could be observed by looking the very tiny worms floating on top.

Manong Vic, I am happy to hear that Manang Meg regained her sense of smell after more than 20 years of suffering allergies. Neither I, I am not saying Manag Meg ailment has been cured by AC Vinegar.  I think it is time for her to be cured from above and the ACV is only the instrument.

****

Glad to hear that Manang Mig got back  her olfactory nerves.If you remember one time at DC when Bugsy posted about the use of vinegar,I responded by posting it as using a tea pot,warm it and let teapot spout steams my face part. my nose.

 

Also,I feel happy for her to  to go and visit her dying brother.We may not know if after  her visit,then  her sense of  smell came back.

 

Like what you said: the aftermath.

 

--annie

 

*****

A very good friend of mine also said God gave her back her sense of smell..Which is very true because ultimately, for any believer, everything in this world happens because of God.

 

Yesterday, we walked again to Humberheights Senior Home for our weekly date with the song-loving seniors there. They were so happy about our return.

 

The street leading to the Home goes uphill. Miguelita said:

"This is the first time I walked this road without suffering sny shortness of breath..."

 

---vic costes

 

the strange aftermath of...

OUR CALIFORNIA HOLIDAY

For more than twenty years, Miguelita could not smell..She lost her sense of smell a few years after we arrived in Toronto. The air quality in North America is not the same as in the Philippines..Immigrants, especially those who were born and who grew up back home will become allergic to so many things here, especially in a busy city like Toronto.

Anyway, her ailment was diagnosed as allergy, then asthma then a combination of both asthma and allergy. Great. In a combination of two ailments, if one won't get you, the other one will...

She underwent 2 operations in the sinus region, just to try to see if she could get her smell back. But both operations were FAILURES.. She had drippy nose most of the time. And when she goes up a long flight of stairs or even an inclined road ( like Baguio City's for instance ) then she would suffer from shortness of breath. Then she has to resort to a a kind of puffer. She has already resigned that she could never smell again due to her perennial/stuffy nose..

Until we visited California this summer.

On the 2nd day of our arrival in Echo Park, LA ( in Arsenio's pad ) she discussed her ailment with Arsenio..

I had the same ailment," he said.."But I had it was cured by apple cider vinegar."

"How?" Miguelita and I asked him.

"Take two teaspoon of the vinegar, let it stay in your throat, then make a slight movement in your nose ( hard to explain here ) so a bit of the vinegar fume would pass through your nostrils. The strong acidic vapor is supposed to loosen the phlegm in your nose..Do it all everyday..

If you can not do the nose trick, just swallow 2 spoons of vinegar daily.."

From that day, Miguelita started her apple cider vinegar regime.Well, in the past, we tried so many medicines, tablets ( someone reommended Red Korean Ginseng which we have been taking for 2 years already.) One more home remedy won't hurt. Besides apple cider vinegar is cheap and it makes a good adobo recipe.

 

The following Friday, we went to Vegas with Eddie and Susan Santos. All newcomers to Vegas are supposed to get sick because of the brutal mid day temperatures. We were no exceptions.

Even at 11:00 pm, the temperature was still humid and uncomfortable. When we came back to LA 2 days after, Miguelita received a text from her sisters in Seattle. Herbrother Mike was seriously sick. He had prostrate cancer.

Miguelita and I  were still sick. I always took tylenol everyday when a splitting headache started and my throat was inflammed. Miguelita decided to go to Seattle while I stayed behind. She left on a Friday. On a Saturday afternoon, I and Arsenio's family  went to Cambria and came back Sunday night at around 11:00 pm.

Was still sick of course, but I continued with the tylenol and apple cider routine. The headache subsides in an hour after the tylenol sets in. I was worried: what if we would need hospitalization in LA?..Perish the thought...

Monday morning, Arsenio gave me a haircut. He was an A-1 barber. Am not surprised especially after hearing his dad was also an A-1 barber in Asingan. I thought a friend would pick me up Monday evening. But I got stood up..Oh well, there is always the next time..

Tuesday morning, Miguelita was back in LA..She was not still feeling well, just like me. Most of the time she was taking a nap.

She said her brother was very very happy to see her again after so many years. It was a tearful, emotional experience. She visited him everyday for the remaining of her stay in Seattle. He could heardly speak anymore and they communicated with words, signs and smiles. Pain was already coming in waves to his body and he wrenched when one hit him. He was to die a day after Miguelita left Seattle..

Tuesday night was the time we went to Hollywood boulevard around the areas of Chinese Gruman and Kodak theatres.

We were back in Toronto Wednesday afternoon at around 1:00 pm..So nice to be in the familiar sights, sounds and smell of 19 Dixon road.

Only then that Miguelita noticed that she could smell the interior of the house as we opened the door.

Her runny nose became dry. She found out she could walk up our house steps without losing her breath. She entered the bathroom and exclaimed exultantly: "I could smell the soap!" She got her smell back after 25 years. Many doctors said, her smelling nerves are already gone and she could never smell anymore..

What happened? What cured her? We can never be sure..The apple cider vinegar? Maybe. Arsenio can testify to the vinegar cure which cured HIS allergy..

But Miguelita?..She is just so happy to regain back her sense of smell. She has not used her asthma puffer anymore. It is almost a month now when for 2 decades, she puffed it everyday.

This is a true story. But I am not telling that she was cured by any single substance. She was just cured, period.

And we will always thank God for it!.---#

 

 

THE EMPRESS GOES FISHING..PART  2

Who can forget our Yankee fan Scout? He goes everywhere with us.

 

Here is my fisherman who is trying to teach me how to fish since he claims he knows everything about fishing.

 

 

Here is Daddy still trying to fix my fishing pole that I managed to always tangle  :(

**************

 

A FISHING EXPEDITION...

The Empress went Fishing

 

 

I just came home from my shoppe when my boys told me that we were going fishing...I put on some Tshirt and shorts and here I am.  But I did my Filipino way of fishing I went to the water...thinking that I had a better chance of catching anything...all I caught basically were water weeds....

 

 

 

 

My first fish!! he was so excited to catch this one...first we thought that these were baby fish until we got home and did a research...they were actually full grown bluegill fish...we let a lot of the fish we caught go..thinking that they were just babies, ...I know that if Nana was with us the fish we caught would have been paksiw... This one though came home with us...he is named Skip who now lives happily in our 75 gallon fish tank.

 

 

And another one!

 

 

Little guy, but I think he had much fun!

 

 

Actually Daddy caught the first catch of the day....that wound up in our fish tank at home. 

 

 

I think Scout was the one who caught the fish first

 

 

 think that my hubby is now ready to go back to the hospital at this time and rather deal with gunshot wounds...he spent most of his fishing hours fixing my fishing pole...when I casted on the tree branches most of the time. Scout however opted for a much better way of relaxing...sleeping next to his beloved friend Aiden on the lake bank.

 

MORE PHOTOS TO COME......

Remembering East POBLACION, Asingan Pangasinan

Mang Vic, 

 Thank you for sharing your journals.   I enjoyed those scenaries  about  plants and  nature outdoors. I am planning to print most of those and put them in my file. 

 Thank you as well for publishing  Susana  Delmendo’s picture.  She is as beautiful as I remembered  her to be. I hope she still remembers me by my nickname, Fe.  I just don’t know if she’s aware  that I married Rey (Renato).  She is the one who bought the De Gracia house Lolo Doro  (they called it “White House”)  in Asingan  Poblacion East. I can reminisce about the past in regards to the Delmendo sisters in Amianan. Everytime they were to sing songs in public, ( “Baile” that’s what they called, )  they were introduced as the “Delmendo  Sisters”.

 Of course their counterpart in Abagatan is the Navalta sisters ( me and my sister Yoly ) but that was a long  time ago. I also remember her as one of the beautiful teens in town (that includes, myself) just kidding!  

I admit that she danced gracefully. We always competed in the dancing contests held during  Christmas held in the  street dances surrounded by the Casimero’s, Alejo’s, Ginez’es,  Malalang’s , Dela Cruz’es  residences. Sometimes she wins sometimes, I win. It really depended on what category or what dance or music being played(stop dancing included as well).   

To me those were the best of times. Real Organic Party. They did  Christmas Carolings, we also did the same thing. But for us, we distributed envelopes in advance to rich folks and notify them that we will be coming to their house to sing carols. Then they would have time to put "x" amount of money which we used to buy gifts for the party or food for everyone  as well as to pay the music, That’s how I met my husband, (they used to own the movie theater in Asingan near  ASAT School). I  saw  two beautiful  eyes when he handed me the envelope but it was unfair because he saw the entire  me).  

The following day, someone was trying to locate where I lived with a bunch of friends, (like a gang).  

Radio Phono was so popular during those days.  (now they call it DJ). Remember this funny scenario? I don’t know if you had experienced it.   Even though the music was not played yet, a lot of  guys started to line up in front  just to make sure they get to dance with someone they really like.   I remember also that someone connived with friends  to throw a stone at a fellow whom they are familiar with so he  can’t have a chance to dance with  a certain young  young lady who was a favorite dance mate. But that didn't scare him black or blue. He was able to dance with the person he liked.  I just don’t know if he found out who did that to him. Bless his heart. 

I still remember I almost fainted when the person I had a crush on dance with me.  My knees were buckling up, but of course I pretended  not to show it and still made sure I did not dance too close! I don’t know if he knew but that is in  the past!  

These memories of the past makes me smile.  It’s such a wonderful feeling to see someone you know from  long time ago  because  the brain gets activated  with all these memories open up like a panoramic view. And your heart feels so happy and contented.  I have more to tell you  next time.

 Well Mang Vic,  Thank you, because of   you  and the pictures, I won’t be able to reminisce  these scenarios I’ve mentioned.  At least I know my brain still works like 20 year old. (?).   Regards to all and I hope I did not offend anyone  else with this story.  

Arsenia de Gracia 

##############################

check : http://journals.aol.ca/mabait42/ASINGANIAN-JOURNAL-book2/entries/2007/07/24/untitled/378

 

Cambria's plants

Cambria's weird looking floras:Enjoy!

I do not know whether this is a plant or a giant cigar wearing an afro...

 

This plant is tall I had to take 2 shots..One for the top...

 

And another for the bottom

 

The above plant is called  Maguey..It is used in the old days to make hemp ropes. Very common in the Asingan market. Now a days, ropes are already made of plastic..I guess the maguey plant is becoming extinct...

Exquisite canopy of leaves..

 

Man made fountains for the birds and the small critters

 

Flowers by the concrete  pathways

 

Yet another flower garden..The town's full of 'em!

 

Benilda Macanas perched on driftwoods..Very beautiful. Benilda, not the driftwoods---:)

 

The great lady and her dog..She went out on a limb showing us her turf, the typical Filipino hospitality..Thanks Ricky, and if things go well, book us ( maybe 2 doors will be needed ) in one of those quaint inns facing the ocean----#

 

viva las vegas!

After having dinner with the Delmendo sisters ( Julie, Mildred and Susan ) in a cozy restaurant, Susan asked us if we want to go to Vegas with them..I said : "Sure!"  Couple of hours later, off we went with Susan and Eddie Santos ( above photos ) driving us. We reached Vegas around 1:00 am..Best to travel at night since Vegas summer temperatures can reach as high as the triple digit mark...

 

We stayed at the house of Mr. & Mrs. Norberto Delmendo, Susan's elder brother. He retired from the LA times some years ago and he decided to enjoy his retirement in LV...

 

A view of Bert's dining room..

 

..and a courtyard. Mid day temperatures in Vegas when we were there, could melt some car's windshield wipers. Steering wheels would hurt unprotected hands...

Miguelita posing against the night streets of the "Sin City." It is the city of gamblin', drinkin'  and yes, wimmen..----:)

 

THE MIRAGE. We stayed at the lobby of this hotel to witness a "volcanic eruption.."

 

On top of  a waterfalls, fire and smoke start to sprout up...

 

Then some fiery "lava" start to fall down thru the water falls to the river below it...

 

Now, the Volcano god is getting really angry....

 

Now he really blew his top!!

Each hotel have different outdoor shows..And these are all free..But you have to stay up all night going from one hotel lobby to watch the free shows. Pedestrians never stop walking about this part of Vegas. Casino high rollers do not also leave the gambling tables.

For 200$, you can see and hear Celine Dion AT THE CEASAR'S PALACE.. For 40$,   in a smaller obscure looking club.  you can see and hear a Celine Dion look-alike. And you can even take a photo with her ( the look alike, I mean ) after her performance...

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!

dog stories

Mr. Vic, Michelle's pet puppy Boppy (whom Mia calls a "nervous wreck" because he barks at visitors, then runs away and hide...") is a far cry from the puppy we had when I was a small boy in Doliman, Infanta, Pangasinan, some five decades ago. Ours we called him "juramentado" (gone berserk); Why? When you frighten him even from a distance, whose ever foot near him, he bites.

SS

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Talking about dogs' names, here is one from Asingan. My brother in law has this small black dog with a big bark.

"What is the name of your dog?, " I asked my brother in law.

"King Kong",  he said...

 

This story years took place years ago when my 2 grandchildren Dillon and Chloe  (Berna & Simon's kids ) were smaller..Helen ( Simon's Mom ) has a poodle named Coolen.  Dillon was not still fully toilet trained at that time and Chloe has just started to talk...They were all  there in the cottage because it was summer..

One sunny afternoon, everyone was out there in the sun..All of a sudden, Chloe approached  Helen, her grandma and bravely made an announcement...

"Dillon pooed...Coolen ate it..!!"

**************

A mug shot of a pug....

Ricky and her pet..taken in her house in Cambria

a comment from Ricky ( on Sonny's comment )

Hey Sonny, I have those same shoes, hahaha. I've never been anywhere near the Persian Gulf, so is that "tallest tower in the world" done yet? Are you involve in that project? You know what would be nice is if you can take pictures of the locale and send it to Mang Vic. I'd love to see pictures of Dubai, that is, kung wala ka lang magawa.

Speaking of animals on the road, I once had to maneuver around a dead cow in the middle of the road. This poor thing was belly up with all fours in the air. Three hours later, I passed by the scene as they used a pulley system to move the carcass onto a flatbed tow truck. And one summer, there was a beached whale on our shore, and the locals (including me) went to see this gigantic beast. We were all speculating on how they were going to move this carcass before our town became a ghost town from the stench. I woke up the following morning, went to the beach and it was gone! No one seems to have noticed anything. Our local paper even had to speculate that it was airlifted

##################

The Happy Bunch showing the advantages of good dental care..:) The Morro "rock" is right behind..But sorry guys, no CLIMBING ALLOWED even if you are a seasoned mountain climber..!

from SS

 

Mr. Vic, that lake you went kayaking to was very pleasing to see --- plenty trees around and boulders too. It reminds me of the wide Pangasinan-Zambales boundary river (Nayom) on whose banks I spent my childhood, a nice place to make peace with the world and with yourself, and to celebrate also that we have reached the senior years and still healthy. I'll match your gin and ice with bacardi rhum and rose lime.
#3 Comment from ss6643 - 20/07/07 7:43 PM

 

I'd better try that combination too, buddy..Retirement is really great! We visit places, meet people and it feels like Friday all the time!

I am printing  some more shots from the cottage for your enjoyment...

VIC

*********************

Hi Dee..Did you see the Loch Ness monster when you were kayaking in Scotland?..:)
#2 Comment from mabait42 - 19/07/07 6:10 PM

*********************

I remember kayaking the bottom of River Thames...love Kayaking along the lochs too. Thank you Manong for sharing...your photos brought some precious memories to yours truly.  -- Deedee
*********************

 

 

Sceneries like these would bring out the "poet" in us..Poet ng baso, ha-ha!

 

 

A small promontory on the edge of the lake near the cottage. The lake is actually surrounded by another lake...

 

 

Boppy, Michelle's pet and everyone in her household. Mia calls Boppy a "nervous wreck.." He barks at visitors, then runs away and hide...

 

 

 

On a clear day, you can see Forever...

 

 

The waterline on the rocks shows the water level is much lower this time of the year..

 

I sometimes see the pine strands as part of a gigantic harp..that make an eeire harmony when  strong  winds blow at night....

 

Back part of the cottage..The front part has a dock where visitors come in with their gear and provisions..My "abalayan" who hails from Scotland love our Filipino dishes....

 

Mia, our grandaghter dropped her eye glasses on the water. She is virtually blind without them.  Thanks God she was able to recover the precious thing!

 

**************

comments from all over

from Sonny Espejo..

manong vic, i’m so thrilled to read about sir johnny pascua. he was our teacher and father-figure in the elementary (back when it is still macho to be a grade school teacher). he was the toast of the scouting movement in asingan at that time and the scout master for north central school’s troop 457 – the best there is, he he he. his tall frame, good looks, booming baritone and infectious confidence makes him a deity to us, his boys as he effortlessly won our trust and deep respect. under him, we learn the basics of survival and how to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind…, (i could still recite it). as boy scouts under his watch, we forged lifetime bonding and camaraderie as together we camped-in, sat around bonfires and won pennants and championships on municipal camporals in asingan and provincial jamborees in binalonan, lingayen and natividad. countless guys including sammy antonio, armando tayaba, elmer piso, reynolds garcia, robert agunias, edgardo sales and myself, to name a few, benefited much from his exemplary ways and inspiring leadership. but i never really had the chance to tell him then (for fear of being branded a sipsip) how much he is appreciated. now, there can be no hidden agenda and i hope he can read this. thank you so much, sir johnny – from the bottom of our hearts! hope we could have a reunion of sorts – knee socks, neckerchiefs and all. :=))

*****************

Johnny never changed really, in fact, like wine, he improved with age. He talked with gusto about his experiences as a public school teacher in our town...

That is the REAL compensation of working in this branch of public service.  The pay is not much, especially in the Philippines, but school teachers are respected by the Filipino community, especially in the small towns like ours.

Johnny really had us in stitches. He shared the limelight with my sister Ester Costes Lomboy in those special event programs in our town ( fiestas, graduations, etc ) . He has the gift of gab and a good sense of humour to match..

Archie and Johnny...

 

Meetings like these are the precious highlights of any holiday..Meeting old time friends whom you thought you would never see again..HAPPY RETIREMENT, JOHNNY..Now you have more time to visit your grandchildren ( and babysit them too, while you are there! )

Beside Johnny is his better half, Fely Victorino Pascua, an Asinganian too.

*****

from Archie

I remember that Black 50’s Chevrolet from Back to the Future. That was Biff's  car that slammed into  the back of a truck full of manure that poured all over him after he crashed! He tried chasing Marty (Michael J. Fox) riding on his flying skating board while he was on the run.

The scene was taken at the Griffith Observatory and Hollywood sign. That place was on fire two months ago. Sayang hindi tayo pinatuloy ng guard dahil closed pa rin after the fire. Hang-gang ngayon sarado pa rin yata sila. ( Too bad we were not allowed by the security guard to continue to the place: up to the present, the place is still closed )

Maybe it took me five times to watch this movie before I understood the concepts. I introduced this movie to my son when he was 11 years old. Now my 11 year- old daughter just finished the whole collection (1 to 4) but I had to watch with her because  she  asked me a lot of questions.

I really like to recommend this movie to everybody particularly the youngsters because I love to discuss the theme… a kind of sci-fi on  Albert Einstein's  concept.

--Archie

I too love this movie, one of Spielberg's better works. The premise of two sets of the same characters working in a small segment of time-space continuum ( whatever this term means ) was also used in one HARRY POTTER movie.

I too is a sci-fi movie fan. I have an almost complete DVD collection of the genre which were made in the '50s and beyond.

Archie, minutes before bringing us to LAX at the end of our 2-week holiday in his home.

 

I am throwing in this photo from the Universal studio tour which I have just recently found. The cars are part of the FAST AND FURIOUS ensemble.  One could feel the fire's heat even at a distance...

****

Archie, here is a comment on your article ONE NIGHT IN CABINCOLAN..

"Very concise biography. My kind of reading material. Thanks for sharing. NDE.."

*******

from Sonny Espejo

from the Asingan Bulletin Board

Some postings from this Board are worth  reprinting in the AJ since the readership of each is quite different from the other.  Not many Asinganians know re: Pang.Org's Asingan Bulletin board, so here goes...

From: sonny espejo,

dupac/dubai
Saturday, July 21, 2007

I know you didn’t really mean what you posted about your aprehensions of domanpot pero mukhang matagal-tagal ka na rin yatang di nauwi sa atin, mr. president. sa dami kasi ng magagandang alternative route ngayon di mo na kailangan pang dumaan sa domanpot. if you’re taking a private car from manila, you can take the villasis to asingan road via carusucan; or from carmen, turn right towards rosales then to santa maria and cross that long magnificent asingan-sta maria bridge over the river to asingan. both routes offer excellent road conditions and lighter traffic – milage is a bit more but the travel time is usually less. but even if you miss those two exits, you could still proceed to urdaneta and use the recently paved (relatively) palaris road towards toboy. if you are from the northern part of dupac, this could even be your shortest route because of the new diversion road that runs through the northern tips of macalong and dupac and eastward towards the asingan-sta maria bridge. even if you take the public transport, you may end up stepping down the bus right into your doorstep because provincial buses like partas and viron trans usually re-route their trip via asingan-binalonan to avoid those atrocious traffic jams in downtown urdaneta during daytime. kahit papano umuusad naman ang bayan natin – reason enough for us to be proud of our town instead of completely giving up on it…

Siyanga pala bago ko makalimutan - avoid taking the villasis-asingan route at night, especially on rainy ones. sometime in 2001, i had a near-miss between carusucan and cabalitian because of a "parked carabao" (outrageous but true)right on the road. some unthinking folks, not wanting their herds to soak all night in their flooded corals, hitch them by the paved road! Its not easy to detect this dark beasts during a rainy night until you are just a few meters away. Me, I braked and slalomed my pick-up truck down to a ditch as soon as i noticed two shining eyes reflecting the headlight!

Sonny, from my photo files

Sonny, with his wheels...

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One Asinganian I visited on my LA trip was Johnny Pascua who lives in a seemingly isolated part of San Diego. One needs a map to find his bungalow. But it is worth the drive just seeing him again. He was my first friend in Grade 1 at the Asingan Elementary School. We never saw each other for 40 years until that happy meeting in his "ranch". Yep, the dude looks like a real "cowboy " all right with his house perched on a rolling hill. Very quiet at night. We shared jokes and laughs together inside a couple of hours..But  his most rib tickling question was:

"Who is the bravest woman in Asingan?"

It was my first time to hear the joke. When I heard the answer, I almost rolled on the aisle, laughing my ass off..

I still smile, even up to now, remembering the answer..

Hey Rudy (Dumapias), buddy!! You should know the answer to this one!!

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