Good times anew in my hometown of Tagoloan

Photo by Jong Casino

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

For two weeks, I was home again in Tagoloan town, Misamis Oriental in northern Mindanao, Philippines.

I'm at home in a town where I learned to read, write and do my arithmetic and multiplication tables. At home where my family and the friends of my youth live in, where life is just the best. 

For two weeks I was in Tagoloan and it is a beautiful town. It is one of the largest towns in Misamis Oriental and it is located to the east of Cagayan de Oro City and located southeast of Macajalar Bay. 

It is a residential and industrial town and according to Wikipedia it has five high schools, three colleges and two hospitals. Tagoloan has a population of 99,677 people as of 2013 and 29,677 registered voters as of 2010. 

As a member of the media industry in Cagayan de Oro City I knew that in the early 2000 there are 23,000 registered voters already and the number listed by Wikipedia is reasonable.

Migration
Tagoloan produced two governors in Vicente Emano and his son, the incumbent Governor Yevgeny Emano.
   
Not only did it produce politicians but also doctors, lawyers, engineers, nurses, teachers and other related courses. 

We also produced top military officials like retired Air Force General Gregorio Gerry Paduganan, son of the late Dodoy and Denny Gaccion Paduganan.

But there are many Tagoloanons who remained in the town and stood by it through thick and thin. There are many of them. I don’t have to name names and I salute them- they are the witnesses of what Tagoloan is today. 

When the Phividec Industrial Estate opened, many migrants from other towns and provinces came to Tagoloan for employment. As Phividec started growing, the migration increased and intermarriages followed. 

Stranger
Now I barely recognize a face in the crowd. Of course I understand that my contemporaries are either six feet under or migrated to other places. So for the first few hours, I felt like a stranger in my hometown. 

I recall being startled by the changes and I wasn't sure whether I could locate all the places I went to in my youth in today's Tagoloan town. Most astonishing to me then were the Mercury Drug Store and Paula Hotel—an actual hotel in Tagoloan town.

Tagoloanons can now shop in the town and don't need to go to barangay Puerto in nearby Cagayan de Oro City. What didn't change are the people in my town who remain friendly and well. 

Ask my friend Roy Paduganan and he would tell you. The stretch of the national road is a place of business. The Mercury Drug Store is located close to the home of Landa Yap who married a Dalman. It is no longer vacant. 

There are stores and business establishments of all kinds. Even the entrance of the Catholic cemetery could not be seen unless one is a frequent visitor of the cemetery. 

'Chicken place'
Then there is the hotel where my uncle Norman Naelga works and is operated  by the Ragandang family of Sta. Ana. Right in the hotel's backyard is a gasoline station. 

The area occupied by Iya Linda Lee or specifically the house owned by Seigfredo Lee is now known as the “chicken place.”  I forgot the name of the outlet though. Beside it is the terminal of taxis operating in the town.

Transportation is no longer a problem for those who can afford to go from Cagayan de Oro City to Tagoloan town. I think the fare is P300. Taxis are plenty along with the hundreds of trisikad and habal-habal (passenger motorcycle) operating in the town. 

Since there are a lot of commercial outlets, Tagoloan had become quite noisy. I recalled a time when it was a lot quieter and serene. I couldn't see the house of the Marianos because it is blocked by a three door commercial building which they own I think. 

Many other things remained the same. Tagoloan Central School, the Sta. Maria Candelaria Church  Catholic cemetery, the town plaza, St. Mary’s High school formerly known as St. Mary’s Academy and the Municipal Hall.

Improvements 
The Tagoloan Central School where I studied had been rehabilitated through the years.  I hope it won't be demolished unless it posed safety risks to the students and teachers. The building should be preserved. 

The Catholic cemetery which many believed is a public cemetery is filled with  occupants. When I visited the grave of my mother I think it rained the day before and it was messy. 

But I saw that there are improvements undertaken by the church. Five years ago I saw “condos” inside for the dead. The plaza is different now as there are finished and unfinished structures that cut its old size. 

A few acacia trees remain. The plaza used to be surrounded by acacia trees. 
St. Mary’s High School now looks new since the old one was burned several years ago. 

I hope it still houses the pictures of the old school. Being a former alumni president, I am supporting any project that improves the school. 

Nostalgia
The municipal hall is new and its compound houses new buildings. The old Puericulture center is gone. I don't know if it was necessary to demolish it to give way to the new PNP building.

The Puericulture Center, just like any other landmarks of Tagoloan, should have been preserved and rehabilitated to help Tagoloan residents remember the past. 

A long time ago I saw the market transferred to its new location. I have not visited the Tagoloan River due to time constraints. Maybe next time I would make sure to visit it.

I felt a deep sense of nostalgia on seeing my hometown. Everything seemed smaller than I remembered but it looks to be progressing and that's a good thing.

Photo by Jong Casino

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who worked as a nanny and is now employed as a sub-teacher and a part-time teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.

Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.
You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063) 

The healing power of vaginal fluid

Taken from Wikihow

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

Vaginal fluid is said to be an antidote to insect bites. Many swore to its efficacy and potent powers including yours truly.

I tell you this to prove my point about the efficacy of vaginal fluid which is corroborated by others that got bitten by insects and used it as the immediate answer to the problem.     

As I came home from work last Friday I decided to do some light housekeeping when I saw the black jacket of my husband Ronnie on the couch. I picked it up only to recoil when I sensed that I was bitten. 

It took a few seconds to zero in on the jacket as the cause and I saw a creepy crawly thing scamper on the wooden floor. It looked like a bee and I stepped on it, but the poor thing didn’t surrender as it kept moving. 

I got a can of pinto beans and used it to pulverize the insect. Anyway, I ran to the sink to wash my bitten skin with warm water and Dove soap. Before I can apply  Neosporin cream, the area was already swollen and red. 

Swollen
I panicked as I talked on the phone with Ronnie detailing the circumstances of my predicament. The first thing he asked was if my breathing was normal. Hell yeah, I was breathing but the itch was killing me as it reached my entire arm. 

Taken from telegraph.co.uk

He asked “do you want me to call 911.” Then I answered no, saying what for? 

It dawned on me that insect bites were ordinary for me as I came from a tropical country with insects flying all over the place. I was not worried back in those days. 

Though the pain was overpowering, I remembered then that I could have been bitten by insects a lot of times when I was growing up but I couldn’t remember it now, it’s very blurry in my memory card. 

After I called Ronnie I sent a message to my daughter GG in England who is very good on handling insect bites. She said I should apply cold compress. When I applied cold compress on my swollen skin, I felt that the pain was fighting the cold compress.  I could feel it. 

I posted my status on Facebook and it immediately got 70 comments and close to 90 likes (to be honest I don’t know why they hit like- Did they like that I was bitten?) 

Remedies
I was amazed anyway and thankful for the comments that came from across the world. They all gave testimonies about their experience with insect bites and their chosen remedies. 

It ranged from saliva (David Breden of England) to lemon grass (from Malou Tabada Cordery and Alice Cincoflores Dabalos). The problem is I have to go the Asian market to buy lemon grass. But I fully agree with Gwendolyn Garcia that bee stings can be life threatening for those persons allergic to stings.

There were two doctor-friends of mine--Drs. Maelen Santua  and Irwin Arribas of my home city of Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental in northern Mindanao, Philippines—who prescribed ice compress, hydrocortisone cream and allergy tablet to me. 

But what caught my attention was the comments from Alice Dabalos, Merlyn Adis Santiago and a private message from Melba Tagam. It has something to do with vaginal fluid. Their advice was to obtain vaginal fluid and apply it to the affected area. 

I don’t know why I forgot that my Nanay (mother) used to do that if any of us, her children, are bitten by insects in the area especially after a week’s worth of rains.

Friendly tip
It’s funny advice for others but for a person who wanted immediate relief one would not hesitate, right Melba Tagam? (Our secret Bang). I can sense that Joan Dequina Lightle smiled as I mentioned this, since she did this many times.

Taken from Wikihow

I was torn between the medical recommendations and the old ways. I remembered which worked on me before when I was young.  

I did it anyway and then I Googled it after a few minutes but nothing came out of my search for the efficacy of vaginal fluids.

Whatever, the combination of hydrocortisone cream, the allergy tablet, cold compress and toothpaste (which I remembered using and actually made me feel better) could have been working already when I swiped my little finger on my flower and placed the fluid on the affected area.

It was Tuesday when I wrote this piece and I noticed that the skin didn’t worsen and I feel much better now.

Is it because of the vaginal fluid? But many of my friends swore that they have done it in the past. From my reading of Wikipedia, it seems that the vagina has bacterial properties.

I read that vaginal fluid has acid, glucose and fructose (is that sugar?).  In fact the vagina is a self-cleansing organ. Writers and researchers call it vaginal ecology which can protect itself from bad elements. 

My simple mind tells me that the human body produces its own soldiers to fight off its enemies so the vaginal fluid must be effective.  

So a friendly tip to women out there; the next time you get bitten by an insect, you may consider swiping your “flower” and apply your “nectar” on the swollen bitten area. But if the symptoms persist, then it’s time to consult your doctor. 

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who worked as a nanny and is now employed as a sub-teacher and a part-time teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.
Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.
You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

My five years with Ronnie

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

“Married couples who love each other say a thousand things without talking.”

-Chinese proverb

Today, May 20, is my fifth wedding anniversary. I thought about whether it is appropriate to write and publish this since this may not be the right place to do so.

Then again I answered my own question; if I can write about others why not write about myself and Ronnie? In short it is the “I’m going to write anything I please” day.

We were married in a simple ceremony in Gatlingburg, Tennessee. The place was romantic and lovely, almost like you're visiting another world. Gatlingburg is the wedding capital of the Carolinas and in fact, the US.

The ambiance was perfect and simple. It was simple because there were only four of us: we, the officiating pastor and the assistant. 

The chapel was located atop a semi-elevated land where the car can only park at a certain area on the plain level and the people who wish to reach atop have to walk. 

It was adorned with all the beautiful flowers that one can imagine the garden of Eden in books and illustrations. The shrubs and trees were manicured and maintained. 

The pathway was clean and everything on it is really designed for that beautiful “aha moment.” I was panting as I walked since I wore heels. It wasn't an easy walk because even Ronnie took sometime to move.

Eventually we reached the top. Looking back I likened it to the walk we had for the five years that we have been married. Never been easy, there were good days and rough days but mostly there are happy moments shared by two adults who pledged to stay together for the days of our lives. 

I was reminded of that saying either from a movie or from a book I read. Maybe it was sort of my “East, West, North and South,” that I read on my Sunday rest or during breaks on my weekdays.  

I recall that it was said during the movie “Four Weddings and a Funeral” by Hugh Grant.  We have our good times and bad times in five years and I have to write this so you know our story. 

We have known each other for two years online before he went to visit me in the Philippines. That time he posted along with his good looking picture a Bible and a big pot while he stirred whatever it was inside the pot. 

My thinking was that with the Bible I am sure we'll be sharing our time in church which I do love much and with the pot, he will make sure that my tummy would always be full thus my life would be secured. Indeed it was a good sign for me. A Bible and a pot. 

To me, it represents the spiritual and the earthly matters.  So far so good for me. I don’t know with him (lol).

But since we've spent five years together I have to tell you five things why I am still in love with my ex-boyfriend Ronnie Dennis. 

1. He's stingy. Now he stops giving me gifts on Mother’s Day. His reason “You are not my mother.” We discussed this since I was appalled. “Are you kidding me” He was philosophical about it and for all intents he is right.

You only give gifts to your mother on Mother’s Day. Of course he is wrong with his reasoning but I find this funny that I'm not annoyed at him for not giving me gifts on the most important day for women mothers or not. Despite this I love this man.

2. He is argumentative to be polite about it. He argues with me but he has learned his lesson well that he stops arguing with me anymore.  He never wins anyway. At first he is on the winning side but before the day is over he is losing that eventually and I would show that he lost the battle anyway.  I told him not to start a battle that he can't win.

But there are times that his arguments are valid that I let him win or I compromise. His worst enemy is his mouth either directed at me or to anyone else. 

This is actually related to # 2. Still I am learning how to tame his tongue. But he is improving, his tongue is becoming dry most of the time. Reason: I told him I would get a big needle and sew it. Despite this I love this man.

3. He is morbid as he loves his prepared obituary. Yes it is true he made his obituary already, he has his own crypt fully paid. And I don’t discuss with him especially if it is on Friday. He is excited about it. 

Yes it is ready and the only thing missing is his body. In fact he asked me to join him but I told him already if he dies ahead of me I am going home to the Philippines.  Despite his love for death I love this man. 

4. He is funny. When he talks to me I usually answer him- he claims that his brain is frozen but when I answered it is defrosted. 

It happens to us many times and it makes this marriage interesting. These are among the five reasons why I love the man I married.  

5.He is generous and his heart is made of soft tissues that even if he doesn't have it, when something is needed I trust that he would deliver. And these generosities include my family I left behind and even to our friends.

Our marriage is not that perfect, we have personal issues, or with the family. We have our share of struggles, health concerns and we have these illnesses but we have learned to compromise. We promised to  stay in love and we will have so many more years together.

As long as we have God and we dedicate to honor God all days in our life then we would be okay. Love you Ronnie Dennis and happy five.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who worked as a nanny and is now employed as a sub-teacher and a part-time teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.

Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.
You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

My mother's love of plants

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

My favorite memory of my mother (Nanay in Filipino) is her love for plants and flowers. Writing is to me as taking care of a plant is to her. And my story  tells how her love of plants made me cry and how she would poke fun whenever I do.

I am the eldest in a brood of seven children to working parents.  Back in the days in my country of birth (and I hope it still is the norm despite these changing times) much was expected of me. 
as the eldest you carry responsibilities and duties as second parents. 
Expectations in fact are an understatement concerning the obligation and duties that my parents entrusted to me while they were out. For now, I'll be talking about my being a little mother or nanay.

Being the little “nanay” in her absence, I would assume the duties every mother is bestowed with upon having a family. While I revert to being a child whenever they are around, like every dutiful daughter I would assume the “mother hen” role for the most part.

I may forget to mention that if I have to do it again I should have done better for my siblings. Anyway, according to them this is my story of my mother and her plants.  

My Nanay is Loreta Ejem-Espelarga Naelga, Lily for short and she loved plants among others aside from cleaning the house. I guess taking care of her plants is a stress reliever. 

I didn’t hear her sing to the plants but I did hear her saying” pamulak na (Bloom now).” In those days, mothers are just confined to their homes when not working. 

There was no aromatherapy or sports wasn't a fad at the time when she goes home after working at Philippine Packing Corp. (now Del Monte Philippines).

Recalling only groups in the church or at the Puericulture Center with Iya Ipoy (what’s her last name, Iya Ipoy?), my mother listens to the radio in the morning and her favorite programs feature stars like Diego Salvador or Melodina at Night Time while cultivating her flowers, pulling out the weeds around the pot or plot and talk to her plants. Sometimes she'd wipe away the dirt on the leaves.

She got all kinds of cacti in big and small pots, begonias, ferns, roses and wildflowers as well as bougainvilleas. The plants were arranged based on what plant she thought needed the most sunlight or water.

There was no Google that time, the only way she cared for her plants was through common sense and she had a lot of it.

Her plants were given or bought and later she swapped plants with others. Yes, some plants  were bought but most of the time it was exchanged with friends who also have their own plants.  

Every payday on the 5th and 20th of the month, she would have new plants. At first it was nothing to me.  

Here is the thing- if she had first shift and that would be 6 am to 3  p.m., unless there is overtime I would see her coming home either from the corner of Iyo Glen Gamber's house or at Iya Pamie Valdehuesa's home and I would see her hands are full and even from afar I know she's holding plants or pots. 

Even at a young age I know what barter was all about. She usually did this, bartering plants with Iya Oling Santander, Iyo Gorio Cabunoc and Tiay Gingging Dagus or with the Mama of Myrna and Allan Cagaanan. 

This is how it works: If Nanay had this cactus which Iya Oling doesn't have then my mother would give her cactus in exchange for one plant she doesn't have. 

Then there was the onset of her love for orchids. Gosh, it wasn't not only water and pots (plastic pots weren't discovered yet and if it was, it was made in China and it did not reach us yet) that were the problems, but the coconut husk.

We have to shred a lot of coconut strips to get the husk that would be used for the orchids. The orchids would be placed on the coconut husk. Her love of plants was her therapy for life's struggles. She would be so engrossed with her plants especially when my father is too busy with his gang of “ Alsa Baso” or doing carpentry works at home. 

If she is still around this time I would buy all the plants she would like to have, including the pots, soil and vegetables.

That was among the memories I had of living with her and if I had the chance to live another life with her, I would gladly water all her plants again even if her garden circles the world. I miss you Nanay.

What about you, what is your favorite memory of your mother? Add yours in the comments below. Thanks for reading and Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers and mothers-to-be out there.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who worked as a nanny and is now employed  teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.

Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.
You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

On learning Spanish

Taken from Spanishclassesinmumbai.in

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

Como esta? (how are you?) como se llama (what is your name)? Dondi vives tu (where do you live).? 

These are just a few of the Spanish phrases that I knew by heart. Not only am I proud of having a grasp of a foreign language but my little knowledge of Spanish (Espanol) proved to be useful to me in my work. 

I took Spanish 1 to 4 in college way back in time. It was easy to memorize and remember then. Now this knowledge that laid dormant in my brain all these years waited for the time when it would be recovered again. Why?  

Working as an assistant teacher in one of the schools systems in the Carolinas I have noticed there are groups of students that converse in Spanish. I know that for sure. They talk among themselves in my class or in the hallways. 

I was surprised that I can understand what they're saying among themselves. I can add one word or phrase to another to make a complete sentence and even some complex sentences. Sort of a “little of this and a little of that.”

I have no idea where it came from. These conversations among young students reminded me of my Spanish classes at Liceo de Cagayan under Mr. dela Torre, I forgot his first name.

Anyway he must be a good teacher because I retained most of his teachings in my brain. Have you heard that lessons learned when a person is young stays with him/her?

Also for five years I attended a weekly Spanish class offered by St. Mark Catholic church here at Huntersville and it was at that time that I recalled that my Spanish was not bad at all and that given a chance I can speak the language.

During that class I can connect one word to another word to express a complete thought. “Makadangul sad (trying hard).” Es verdad no me molesta (it is true it doesn't bother me).

Going back to my teaching work here in the Carolinas, there are some Spanish speaking students that are loud so what I did was to talk to them in Spanish and since then I have not encountered any issues in class.

When I heard these groups of students conversing in Spanish I joined them by asking or striking a dialogue. First they were surprised and after a while I was made part of their conversation. 

They  thought at first I am from Columbia or Venezuela. I told them honestly I am the Philippines and to some Filipinos Spanish is a second language or if at all a known language.  “Poquito habla espaniol (speaks little Spanish).” 

My approach works and because I speak in Spanish to these kids, they sit and pay attention. “Entarse y silencio (sit and silence).” I think these kids embrace me. 

I could only surmise that they consider me as their own. Since then I have not encountered any behavior issues. 

Filipinos are fortunate because of the influence of foreign languages like Spanish and English in our society. We have words in Tagalog or Bisaya that are actually Spanish words.

We use this daily. Examples are plato (plate), kutsara (spoon), tinidor (fork), mantel (jacket), calle (alley), maestro (teacher) and so on. It's part of our heritage from Spain.

Among my siblings it was my late brother Ramon whom most of the time used the Spanish language during conversations. “Entonsis, por favor, despues (please later).”

Others like to add Spanish during their talks out of curiosity, habit or to feel intellectual. Whatever is the reason, it's good for us to try learning Spanish or another language starting today.

Recent medical studies showed the positive effects of learning a foreign language on the human brain. 

Studies by York University of Alzheimer's patients “demonstrated that those who were bilingual had a significant delay in the onset of the disease compared to their monolingual counterparts.” 

Other studies concerning the health of monolingual and bilingual patients' brains showed that the effects of dementia were less advanced in bilingual patients even though their brains showed more brain damage as a result of the disease.

It is not yet late. Try to learn one foreign language a day and you’ll never know when it can be used. It's better to be prepared than to be caught flat footed. Entonses senor?

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who worked as a nanny and is now employed as a sub-teacher and a part-time teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.

Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.
You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

Growing old with white hair

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

I WAS looking through all the blogs at Blog Her/Life Well Said the other day and I came upon a blog entitled “How to tell if you’re getting old.” 

It inspired me to write my answer to that question. I can say I'm getting old because of the white or gray hair.

Much has been written about this topic and in fact there is another site that discusses how to fight against graying hair. Here, I will tell you my personal experience on how to deal with aging, specifically graying hair. 

First it is safe to assume that human beings want to maintain their youth. There are a select few who face creeping old age with calm and zero fear. 

As a woman I am one of those who's always conscious of their looks. It is human nature. Naturally, we would like to preserve our beauty or whatever beauty is there to preserve. 

In fact some signs of old age are scary to many others. It can cause distress and fighting it off would cost a fortune. 

Let me share then to you my own battle with graying hair. It was 10 years ago when I came across a few strands of gray hair in my hair brush. I was in denial about it but the more I brushed, the more gray hairs kept falling off my head.

When I started having white hair in high school, I didn't mind it because it was too few and far between. Back then, there's a “twissor” or tweezer that I used to pull out the white hair. It was a form of therapy for me especially during weekends.

When I was with my daughters and nieces, I bonded with them by letting them pull out my white hair. Problem is they pulled one strand too many and the white hair was enough to fill a small bowl.

When I was on TV, my hair's glossy look is maintained by the ever lovely Carla Salvana alias “Kilay 2000.” Carla, a native of Jasaan town in Misamis Oriental, northern Mindanao, Philippines remains my favorite hairdresser. 

I asked him one day where the strands of my white hair were and Carla would reply “it is all over madam. It was bullseye.”  Since then, I've been dyeing my hair every six months. 

To one used to having glossy black hair, blonde hair, strawberry red hair, brunette hair or whatever hair color, the presence of white or gray hair may at first be disconcerting and unbelievable. From six months, it became three months and so on. 

When I arrived in the US, I noticed that I had more gray hair. There's no Carla in the US and the cost of dyeing my hair may cost a fortune.

I've been reading on this subject and I came across an article entitled “The Science of Graying Hair.” In it, the writer said the human hair produces a strong hormone called catalyses that functions as an oxidative catalyst. Catalyses decomposes hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen.

In aging, the person's catalyses level lowers and the hydrogen peroxoide doesn’t break down and so can’t protect or build up hair follicle.”

Genes has something to do with the lowered catalyses level also. I did notice my mother’s hair turning white early on. So I think that's the reason why I had white hair early. 

Other studies would point to malnutrition and anemia as the culprits. My hemoglobin level is low so I guess that also led to my hair going white early.

I presented that problem to Carla Salvana six years ago and his answer was funny that even until now I recall it. “Madam- the problem with you is you look for white hair- don’t look for white hair so no worries.” It makes sense.

Still the question haunts me today. Will I still dye and hide my whitening/graying hair, deny its existence or just flaunt it? 

The many nights I've thought about it, the more I recalled Carla's answer. And come on guys, it's not only the hair on our head that grows white, it's also in our private parts.

Nobody told me about it, at least my mother never told me about it. So having lived quite a life, I embraced my growing old and I don't have any worries about it.

White hair is a sign of wisdom after all. Again, only the brave ones face this stage of life with calm and zero fears. For others, it's still a question of whether to dye or not dye one's hair. What about you, Gerva Celeredad?

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who worked as a nanny and is now employed as a sub-teacher and a part-time teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.

Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.
You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

Memories of the Tagoloan town fiesta

Tagoloan faithful paying homage to the town's patroness Señora Candelaria

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

I may be far from Tagoloan town, Misamis Oriental in northern Mindanao, Philippines but I always remember February 1 and 2 of every year.

It is fiesta time in Tagoloan, that time of year, aside from Christmas and New Year, to be merry, eat homemade food and bond with friends and family and to attend Mass at the Sta.Maria Candelaria Church.

I've been writing about the Tagoloan fiesta every year and I never get tired doing it as it evokes pleasant memories of my birthplace. I recall the civic-military parade, dances at the plaza, the beauty queens, the band that would wake you up on fiesta day, the Mass with the many priests and of course the food.

I live to cherish those memories as it brings out the best in me. It has changed over time though- when I was little I love fiestas for personal reasons. Days before the relatives from different towns and provinces would come to the family home and I would get a break from household chores.

If I'm lucky enough the relatives would stay for a month to do the chores while I would be free to roam around the plaza, looking at familiar people or strangers and how they act.

This year in addition to my personal account I asked some long time Tagoloanon friends to share their memorable moments on February 1 and 2. The piece I wrote about the Tagoloan fiesta here in Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro drew comments from around the world.

Circus days

Gerva Celeredad, formerly Gerva Tagapolot, was a year ahead of me in elementary and high school and was in the top 10 in the class. For her, the Tagoloan town fiesta is a three-day affair and she remembered the fair and the big top circus headlined by the high wire act of Elvira Reyes.

The circus usually arrived months before the fiesta and some of them became friends with the Tagoloanons. The ancestral home of Gerva and her brother Yoyong is located at the back of the old public market where the civic military parade would pass by.

Image of the town's patroness Señora Candelaria

Another Tagoloanon, Nelcita Inday Lao, who's now based in California also remembered the circus. “And i love to go there almost every night, I love watching the circus people performing their trapeze and their games,” she said.

Nelcita Inday Lao who goes by the name Nelly Lao Montayre is the daughter of Vicente Lao”Iyo Titing” and Iya Eling. Nelly and Gerva are classmates. In those days teenagers head to the plaza to see their crushes.

In those old days, Tagoloanons prepare for the fiesta one year in advance because it is their way of thanking the Senora Candelaria, the patroness of Tagoloan.

We don’t buy meat we “grow” meat and according to Gerva, “every family would prepare food which usually comes from the pig grown in the backyard.”

To some families who don't have their own pig to slaughter there is the common practice of "ambit" which involves raising the pig of another family and on fiesta day they share the meat 50-50.

Introduction to journalism

Though the sound of pigs being slaughtered may be nothing and even enjoyable to fiesta revelers it makes my heart sad. Gerva said two pigs are butchered, one on the eve of the fiesta or known as besperas or ante- ante.

The meat from the first pig will be marinated and seasoned for the barbecue to serve as “pulutan” or finger food for the drinkers. The second pig will be roasted on the day of the fiesta itself.

Tagoloanons raise the pigs in their backyard and I would feed one of these pigs. I would be attached to the pig over time and I would cover my ears when it is slaughtered.

On to more pleasant times; another staple in the fiesta table is the “torta” or short cake. I wrote about “Iya Oling” Santander who made the torta in our family table in last year's piece.

Nelly recalled that she loved her parents' cooking. “I also love the cooking and baking of my Mama Eling, Papa Titing and my relatives,” she said.

Another part of the celebration which made it grand is the search for Miss Tagoloan. I think it's the week before the fiesta when the canvassing of votes for the candidates and most of the time I was present when they finished in the wee hours of the morning.

Actually the event introduced me to journalism work because I would be announcing the winners to the people.

On their best

“During our time, all the girls of Iyo Lino Nabong were Miss Tagoloan. Also the girls of Iya Marina Nabong from Baluarte,” Gerva said.

“During coronation night people would be treated to a fireworks display courtesy of the queen's family,” Gerva added. I thought it was the local government that would pay for it, not the winner's family.

During the coronation night only those invited would be allowed seats inside the fenced covered court. All the invited guests are dressed in their best finery. I remember Iyo Penito Casino dancing the cha-cha or tango with Iya Linda Lee.

I can also see the face of Elmer Casino of Sta. Ana and Manolo Torres. Then came the civil military parade of the queen and her court together with students of Tagoloan Central Elementary School and St. Mary's High School and the line was long with the floats of Miss Tagoloan and her court.

Students are on their best with clean, crisply ironed uniforms. During those times there were those who would be hopping from house to house for the BH or “bring house” meals that they can take home to eat.

Usually “mommies” would bring their own cellophane or plastic wrap for the BH. This amused Gerva no end because it explained why households in Tagoloan prepare an inordinate amount of food on fiesta day.

I asked Mavie Adis Collins, who lived in Sta. Ana Tagoloan town and is now based in New York to share her memories of the Tagoloan fiesta and she recalled attending Mass with her family.

“Si mama magdala kandila tapos malipay na mi watching parade ayha mamista (My mother would bring candles and we would be happy watching the parade and visiting the homes of friends to eat),” she said.

Mavie recalled that they visited the home of the late Vencie Dagus and the Paduganans. There are still a lot of stories to share and I promise to tell more next time. For now, let me and my family in the US greet every Tagoloanon a happy fiesta. Viva Senora Candelaria!

Parades always bring out the crowd.Photo by Jong Casino.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who worked as a nanny and is now employed as a teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis. You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)