Introducing Donkoy Emano

Then Tagoloan mayor Vicente Emano (center) Photo by Jong Cass

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

The first part of the series concerning Tagoloan town that was published a few days ago ended with me mentioning about former Tagoloan mayor and future Misamis Oriental governor and Cagayan de Oro City mayor Vicente “Donkoy” Emano.

Tagoloanons were proud of Donkoy Emano and how he went quite far in his political career. In Tagoloan town alone when he was governor I think anyone in the opposition was considered an outcast.

He was considered a demi-god and what he says was correct. His counsel and advice were sought after, even those that involve family affairs. People crowd him- there is no doubt he is charismatic that time.

When he was Tagoloan mayor those accused of rape or domestic violence were presented to him first before the court. The police would bring the accused before his office and there was was talk among the people there that he has this “whip.”

I don’t know if it was true as it came from conversations of the people working above and below or in the second floor of his office at the municipal hall down to the first floor and out of the old municipal building.

The victim's family would be given aid like rice and noodles or cash and would be smiling when they went out from the office. Justice was equated with talking to Donkoy- what was promised I don’t know.

But as soon as the accused would appear in court for arraignment, many would plea guilty. Maybe the accused were already told about what plea to enter in court at the mayor's office.
This “whipping” was the talk of the town but many would attest to the truthfulness of the reports because they would hear cries emanating from the mayor's office in the afternoon.

There were also stories that after their courtesy call, those accused of crimes would leave the mayor's office with their faces colored pink and purple.

They said these people have been given the taste of the “little donkoy”, a whip that's supposedly used to hit horses and cattle in farms. At least that's how I remember the story from a surviving “bakero (cowboy)” who lived to talk the tales of the rich and landed Emano clain in Tagoloan town.

It was during this time that crime in Tagoloan town and even those under the Phividec area declined. Criminals would either disappear would just disappear or migrate to other towns and cities very far from Tagoloan.

Parents especially mothers would report the bad behavior of their sons and daughters to the mayor's office. Now I would think that the children were more afraid of mayor Emano than their parents. But it brought good results.

I was in Mississauga, Canada last year and I visited a distant relative and neighbor named Tirso Dagus. Tirso is the son of Benjamin Dagus and Gingging Valdehuesa who admitted to me that his life before was one of “alsa baso (lift glass).”

He recounted that his group was high on drinks that day at the plaza when mayor Donkoy was there and the mayor saw him and asked his name. To cut the story short, Donkoy advised him to be good and start a new life rather than haul him to his office for a whipping since he knew Tirso's father personally.

Tirso is now based in Canada and is making good in his choices in life. But there were also those who were unhappy with how mayor Emano deals with situations and would insist that their son was not guilty or innocent of the crime charged.

But very few would complain and if they do they would be the lone voice in the wilderness. For the aggrieved and the offenders it was a case of “who can report first to the mayor's office.”

I told you already that mayor Donkoy was surrounded with bodyguards. I can remember the Manto brothers, the Marianos also, Pastor Abejuela, Norris Babiera (who later became vice-governor of Misamis Oriental and became his own man after he severed his ties with the Emanos.)

Just a detour—former vice-governor Babiera is also in this story. The media people who's always in Emano's entourage would report on the goings on at the second floor of the town hall to anyone who cared to listen.

I was still working with the 6th Municipal Court at the time but I had a glance of media people who I would join years later. I forgot to mention the names of the late Gomer Bagondol and Rudy Ladao.

Mayor Emano organized a walking group among municipal employees and the national government employees once every week that would start at 4 am from the Municipal Hall to barangay Sta.Ana.

Me and the other court staff would join them. That was my first up-close encounter with the mayor and he would crack jokes with us especially with Aaron Valmores who was a court interpreter from Balingasag town.

Emano is playful when in the mood and if one is lucky to be one of his favorites, he would usually threw anything at you--money, cigarettes or just anything so one is advised to always be on guard.

The Municipio or Municipal Hall would be crowded when the mayor is around. People would line up to see him for personal, business or other reasons. It is “mingaw” or deserted when he is in Manila or elsewhere since his staff would also be out someplace.

How his folksy attitude would manifest in his political career in the province and in Cagayan de Oro City I would discuss in the next article.

(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 email susanap.dennis@yahoo.com as well as her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

Tagoloan's politicos come into their own

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

(Note: This is hopefully the start of a series of articles that I will write on local politics. Photos by Jong Casino Photography)

IN the course of my media work that started in late 1993 I met most of the politicians in Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental. 

For purposes of this personal treatise I would like to confine myself to the officials from my hometown of Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.  It's interesting that a number of these “politicos” in Cagayan de Oro City--the capital of Misamis Oriental--came from Tagoloan town.

In the course of this writing you will be surprised that there are politicos who were known to me in the course of other works in my past life or their names are familiar because I knew them in school or they were told to me by my parents or other relatives. 

I asked a town mate named Exequiel Casin who also happens to be the brother of my classmate Emmanuel  to help me in writing about these politicos who either brought honor or shame to Tagoloan. 

But it depends on the reader or those familiar with these political figures to decide if they were good or bad. I did not bother Gerva Tagapulot-Celeredad as we have other projects to do in the future that involves Tagoloan.

So without further ado, here are the politicians in my hometown of Tagoloan: 

1) Arturo Casino. When I was maybe six years old I heard my grandpa Engge Quilang Naelga and my father talking to a person whose features I could not ascertain. 

They were talking big and the only word I can remember was “para sa kabag-ohan” (for change) and the word “mayor.”

When that visitor was gone, my mother (Nanay) and Lola (Grandma) Doring and me tagging along out of curiousity joined the men and they talked about the visitor.  I heard Grandpa said it was Arturo Casino. 

When I was already at Central School I would have a chance meeting with Casino who later  became mayor of our town and he would always be present during commencement exercises.

Since I am an honor student I got a chance to shake his hands every year. Casino was tall with dark hair and spoke clearly. He was not tired shaking hands with the graduates and honor pupils. 

Later when I was already working with the provincial development staff (PDS) of the province during the time of Governor Concordio Diel and until the time of Vice Governor Rosauro Dongallo (because I think Diel was appointed to a national position) I had the chance to meet with Mayor Arturo Casino as he was introduced to me by Engr. Modesto Babaylan (Provincial Development Coordinator) who told Casino that I was from Tagoloan town. 

He asked me who my parents were and I introduced my parents as well as my Grandpa. His memory was good as he at that time remembered my Lolo (Grandpa) Ingge. 

We always bumped into each other during meetings of municipal mayors in the province.  Arturo Casino was a lawyer. He was to me a good speaker and would always stand out among the giants of the province that time. 

Since I was the information officer I would see to it that I would do news about Tagoloan and Mayor Casino. I was proud of him. 

I was still at the PDS when he passed away and I mourned his untimely death. If death did not claim him early I'm sure he could have been one of the best leaders we have in the province.  

If he did not die he could have been the governor of the province since he was well liked by other mayors. 

2. Arteo Arting Valdehueza. I did not meet Valdehueza in the course of his political career.  I met him after he lost the elections to then mayor Vicente Emano in the early part of the 80s as I was already employed at the 6th Municipal Circuit of Tagoloan-Villanueva, Misamis Oriental under the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

I knew Atty. Valdehuesa because I knew him to be the classmate of my late Tita (Aunt) Julia Naelga-Laluna who was their class valedictorian in elementary school. 

Tita Julie Lalu as we called her is the eldest among my father's sisters and brothers.  I have no idea what kind of mayor Valdehueza was since I was not yet back to Tagoloan that time. 

Mayor Arting was the vice-mayor  and assumed as mayor after Mayor Casino's death. 

I can only tell how good he was as a judge from the way he handles the court and the people involved in the court proceedings everyday. Since he knew the parties involved (or the parents of the parties unless any of the party are new to Tagoloan (dayo/visitors) then he would buy peace by exploring the possibilities of amicable settlement. 

It was all like a political exercise. If my memory serves me right, after he lost to Vicente” Dongkoy” Emano in the early 80s, Emano helped Judge “Arting” get the position as Municipal Circuit Judge after it was vacated when Judge Antonio A Orcullo was appointed to City Court. 

Helping Judge Arting get the judgeship of Tagoloan Villnueva was a good strategy to prevent Arteo from running again and solidifying support from the clans and families in my town. 

I kept on thinking about that recently and I think it was the first action that would make Dongkoy a great politician in the province. The move also looked good among the old guards and families in Tagoloan. 

The appointment of Judge Valdehuesa solidified Tagoloan. It was meant to silence the minority which was assumed to be represented by Valdehuesa. 

Judge Arteo embraced his judgeship and never entertained again the idea of running and stayed with the judiciary until his retirement. 

I noticed that he was still interested in Tagoloan town affairs and would give his opinion every now and then with staff after hearing cases in court. 

This is true when his younger brother, the late Nong Pablito, would tell him about the latest developments in the town and discussed the moves undertaken by Dongkoy. 

It was at this time while working at the court located on a separate building from the Municipal Court that I noticed how busy the municipal hall was at the time. 

Mayor Dongkoy would arrive late in the morning or early afternoon except Monday morning when it was the flag raising ceremony. 

Emano was surrounded with bodyguards and supporters including media that time. I recognized Radio Mindanao Network's Bill Henson, Ernie Coloma and the late Bingo Alcordo. There were others too but I could not place them in my memory card already.  
  
3. Vicente “Dongkoy”Emano. Of course before  he became mayor of Cagayan de Oro, he was the governor of Misamis Oriental.

Tagoloanons were proud of Dongkoy Emano and he was considered a demi-god. Even I was proud of him- he was the first governor from Tagoloan. 

But the umbilical cord of Dongkoy's political career was in Tagoloan when he became the town’s mayor.   Mayor Emano then was known to me as Mayor Dongkoy while I worked with Judge Arteo in the 6th Municipal Circuit Court of Tagoloan-Viilanueva, Misamis Oriental. 

The court was under the Supreme Court but Mayor Emano would always expand his jurisdiction over the national employees.
   
(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 email susanap.dennis@yahoo.com as well as her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

Ronnie's road to recovery

Me and Ronnie at the Huntersville Health and Rehab Center

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

The Huntersville Health and Rehabilitation Center must have taken good care of my husband Ronnie that he didn't want to come home anymore.

At least that's the impression I got on my husband days before he was scheduled for discharge after 20 days of confinement at the center located at 13835 Boren Street, Huntersville in North Carolina, 28078.

At least it was good to know he was in better condition than before his admission, when he was quite emotional that he would shed a tear for the past three days presumably out of the physical pain he felt. 

Ronnie was admitted to the center's emergency ward after being discharged at the Novant Hospital. I called 911 when I could not get him up after he fell from the bed. 

Ronnie with Hannah at the facility's entrance

Actually he has this condition called neuropathy that is progressing since the onset. 

What used to be an annual condition is now happening every month and he has this feeling of weakness in which he couldn't move or swing his legs no matter how anyone helps him. 

The night before on July 26 he had high fever--the thermometer wasn't working but I was sure he had a fever because the wet wash cloth I placed atop his forehead would dry up minutes after I placed it on him.

Anyway I rushed him to the Novant Health Hospital where he was confined due to acute neuropathy resulting to general weakness. Doctors there also discovered that he had a sepsis infection or blood poisoning which by itself is fatal. 

After being discharged there, he was admitted to the Huntersville Health and Rehabilitation Center that was just a walking distance from most commercial establishments such as McDonalds, Starbucks, CVS and the Novant Hospital. 

The center just opened this summer and I can smell the paint. Ronnie was confined at room 106, the first room to the left going to the exit.  Room 106 was across the rows of new condos which make the skyline when you look it up lying on your bed. 

Room 106 at the center was his room for 20 days right after he was discharged from the Novant Health Hospital where he was confined for a week due to acute neuropathy resulting to general weakness. 

Ronnie with Janet Hixson

The first afternoon he was at Huntersville Health and Rehabilitation Center (HMRC) was a Saturday on July 30. 

I think the staff at Novant Hospital didn't make a good impression on Ronnie since the staff there were busy with their schedules.

Knowing Ronnie to be an extra social person, I think he expected the staff to be more welcoming but I can only guess that the center's staff are still adjusting to working there. 

Room 106 was spacious and fresh from the looks and smell. Paint was on my nose. The TV mounted on the wall was excellent. Furniture suited the patient's need. The center looked like a hotel for the disabled.

The bathroom which was also large was accessible to people with disabilities (PWDs) and had handle bars and knobs that can be easily used by the patients.

It is a family friendly center, spacious enough to accommodate family and friends. I stayed at the center with Ronnie most of the time and slept there though there was no extra bed.

We were able to provide our own which really makes it conducive to holistic healing as the patients were not separated from family members.  

Ronnie started his physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) which consists of exercises for the upper and lower extremities at the center's Mobility Garden on Monday, Aug. 1.

Ronnie told me that he was tired after the first time he did it. The Mobility Garden is said to be one of the latest advances in rehabilitation therapy.

The center's website explained and I quote it directly “by simulating the everyday situations you'll encounter when you're back at home (such as sand, grass, inclines, and uneven surfaces) our Mobility Garden insures that you'll be 100 percent ready to resume your everyday activities safely and independently. There are even plant beds, putting greens, and more to make sure you're ready for your favorite activities, too. It's the only one of its kind in the area.”

Ronnie likes this kind of exercise since he can stop at any time so long as he did it for an hour. 

Ronnie with his therapist

His army buddy Jim Duhon kept him company through the phone and he told me that the therapist should understand that Ronnie was slowly engaging in physical exercise because he hasn't been moving much for the last 20 years.

At first it was hard for Ronnie, but he later enjoyed it and it helped that he had beautiful therapists to keep him company. 

There is a media center with books, magazines and did I mention that his room is spacious enough to accommodate a large number of visitors.
  
The reception center is flowing with coffee and cold lemonade. During his confinement, Ronnie's day starts with breakfast at the cafeteria at 7:30 am and it helps that he can socialize with other patients too. 

After eating, the nurse would give them their medicines and most of them would check on their emails, read magazines or mostly stay at the reception room and play online games. 

By the way the nurses would check on the patient's vitals including their weight before breakfast. Before breakfast at least Ronnie starts the day with his bath and fresh towels are provided. 

Then at 9:30 am, Ronnie would start with his physical therapy. If his condition allowed it he can do PT for two hours. That's 40 hours of exercise for 20 days at the center and that's perhaps the longest time he got exercise in his life.

After this the patients would return to their rooms and either take a nap or watch TV or call friends. 

In Ronnie's case he would take a nap and call family members and friends like Jim Duhon, Viktor Diopala and JS Reid who would also call him back.  

The menu is made available to the patients who can choose their meals for the next day. “The food was excellent, ” Ronnie said. 

Ronnie with his dietician

An example of a patient's dinner is the “herbed pork loin, honey glazed meatballs, paprika rice, buttered corn and turnips green, dinner roll or melon in season. 

They can also be served hot roast beef sandwich, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, garlic herb gnocchi, green peas, seasoned squash or for dessert assorted cookies or the fruit of the day. 

Each meal ticket would have the corresponding carbohydrate/protein/mineral intake like 0-25 percent, 26-50 percent, 51-75 percent, 76-100 percent- whatever that means, what I do know is that the dietician did job well. 

And what I knew it is a meal portion is in accordance with the standard of weight loss depending on a patient's body weight and health issues.    

What I did observe is that the center's team was professional and dedicated to each patient's needs. Their goal I think is to give the highest quality care and service to the patient.

We went home at 7 am on August 18, with Ronnie attaining his recovery goal of improved balance, increased strength and increased physical independence.

I could not blame Ronnie if he didn't want to come home. At the rehab center he was exercising, eating the right food without preparing it and best of all, he socialized with a community of patients and the beautiful medical staff and nurses—beautiful people inside and out can also be panacea for the physically ill and the emotionally ailing--who cared for him. 

The Hunstersville Health and Rehabilitation Center is a place close to home. Ronnie and I had a good experience with them and on his behalf, I thank them for taking good care of my husband. 

(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 email susanap.dennis@yahoo.com as well as her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

My daughter GG finds Filipino friends in England

My daughter GG (center, long haired) with Maita Cabunoc Mann during a Christmas party in Telford

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

Charlotte, North Carolina--I told my daughter Maria Regina who now lives in Newport,Shropshire,Uk to seek out Filipinos in her area so she can maintain her mother tongue and build new friendships.

I gave that advice to her last year when she was still unpacking her bags and boxes and settling into her home. 

Every time we chat at Skype, Facetime or at Facebook I would ask how many Pinoys she made friends with and she would tell me none so far. Yet she saw or noticed some Pinoys or what she thought were Filipinos in the mall, parks or even in the church. 

I was worried because I remembered six years ago when I was new here in North Carolina and I sought out Filipinos or Pinoys who live within my neighborhood. I felt isolated then, but not lonely of course because my husband Ronnie and his family provided me company.

But being Filipino born, you long to seek out fellow Filipinos and I finally found them at St. Mark Catholic Church and the rest is history. It was only a few months later that I found out there are many Filipinos in the Charlotte area. 

I don’t want my youngest daughter feeling that isolation. I know Simon and his family are providing GG the best company to alleviate whatever pangs of loneliness she must have felt.

There is just something in meeting these Pinoys and when you do find them that feeling of familiarity sets in and you sense a kinship that was missing when you first set off in a foreign country. 

GG told me she was okay and it doesn't matter if she still hasn't found some Filipinos then. By the way she is strong and can stand up for herself but she was on a mission that I sent her out to do and that is to find a Filipino community in her area.

She kept looking and one day she sent me a message asking if I knew of the Cabunoc family in Tagoloan town, Misamis Oriental. Having grown in Tagoloan, I replied yes. 

Then she messaged me again, telling me that she met Maita Cabunoc Mann. She said she met Maita at the supermarket while she was with her husband Simon Boddison, who pointed out a Filipino looking woman to her. 

GG then smiled at Maita and she smiled back, then they greeted each other and pretty soon, they engaged in casual conversation. When Maita mentioned that she was from Tagoloan, GG was pleasantly surprised and they shook hands, starting a friendship right there and then.

I talked to Maita at Facebook and I learned that she is the granddaughter of Nang Kiki Emata Cabunoc.  Maita grew up and lived in Butuan City, Caraga Region but her maternal grandparents are from my hometown of Tagoloan and I knew them all.

In fact I think they are distant relatives on my father's side, the Ematas, with her grandmother “Nang Kiki” and my mother side being the Cabunocs.

I could not trace my mother's roots anymore she being in heaven, God bless her soul. But I knew Maita's grandparents and her mother Aida Cabunoc who is two years older than me. 

I was first year at St. Mary’s High School and I knew Aida was in third year.  Aida Cabunoc was a classmate of Cherie Pacheco Nairn who is now based in the US,

Don Sergio Yap, the father of Atty. Yoyoc Yap who's running for mayor of Tagoloan town, lawyer Oscar Musni who is running for a City Council seat in Cagayan de Oro City, Lourdes Ramayan-Casino, Boy Casino, Yolando “Bobot” Casino, Aaron Neri, the barangay chairman of Macasanding, Cagayan de Oro  City and many others I can mention.

Maita’s mother Aida sported shoulder length hair and is a morena or brown-skinned. Her school uniform was wrinkle-free, like the uniforms worn by soldiers. 

Yes, I remember those days at Tagoloan Elementary School and St. Mary's High so clearly as if they only happened yesterday. I remember Aida's siblings and it was indeed a rare feat for GG to find a town mate from Tagoloan in England. 

I remember Nang Kiki, Maita's grandmother who is famous for her rice cake or “puto” that she peddles in school. The “puto” she sold was so white and fragrant, covered in fresh banana leaves. 

I can picture Nang Kiki with her little basket filled with puto covered with fresh banana leaves in order to protect them from the dust. The banana leaves made the puto so fragrant. 

Our snacks or merienda in those days consisted of puto, maruya (fried banana fritters), banana cue (sweet fried banana) and siakoy (donut fritter).  Maita also told me that she and her family visited Tagoloan during fiesta time and All Souls Day on Nov. 2. 

Maita is a nurse by profession and was working in Saudi Arabia. “I love cooking, love roaming around Telford with my bike, see the beauty of nature here which some people don’t notice,” Maita said. She loves listening to the songs of Adele.

GG (extreme right) with Filipino friends in Telford

She traveled a lot in Saudi Arabia and noticed that Filipinos there are very friendly. 

While she talked and as I wrote this piece, I was reminded about this ancient Chinese belief that every person is connected to everyone they will ever meet and to anyone that will ever be important to them, by invisible threads. 

This belief states that the threads may stretch or tangle, but they will never break. I was instantly captivated, not only by the paradox but the sheer truth of that Chinese saying. It could be true. 

I do believe that every person we meet in our life and the people whose lives bump into ours, get entangled with the threads of our lives and somehow become part of our own existence. 

As we age, with each passing year, the threads grow tighter, bringing us closer to the people whose lives are destined to intertwine with ours in some way.

Now I am contented that GG has a friend there in Telford who came from a place where our grandmothers and grandfathers are related and are friends to a new  generation. 

The third generation met in a far place away from Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, away from the Philippines. Strange yet wonderful indeed how the people we met early in our life could somehow find a way to connect to us again.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines and is now employed as 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 email susanap.dennis@yahoo.com as well as her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

Thanksgiving and the Filipino culture

David and Malou Lowery with their boys

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina--A week ago we celebrated Thanksgiving here in the US. Thanksgiving is a harvest festival and an important public holiday that is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.

I likened Thanksgiving to the fiestas in the Philippines which revolve around the patron saint of a city or a barangay (village) where there is a lot of merriment. 

On Thanksgiving schools are closed for about three or four days. It is that time of the year where a lot of food are cooked and prepared, when turkeys have no place to hide since all American homes will serve turkey as part of the celebration.

The event calls on everyone celebrating the occasion to gather round the table and partake of the food and blessings received for the year. 

Family togetherness is deemed absent in most US households because of work demands. But those who still uphold the celebration will ensure that there is enough bonding time with family members and friends.

This year my husband Ronnie and I were invited to the home of Ranulfa Deloso and her husband Tony Cammarano. Ranulfa or Ranni is from barangay Macabalan,Cagayan de Oro City while Tony is of Italian heritage.
Ronnie and I were invited because Ranni’s sister Malou and her family were in town visiting having just come from California.

Malou is married to David Lowry, who’s originally from North Dakota and they brought their two boys with them for the occasion. 

Malou is a graduate of Capitol University in Cagayan de Oro who chatted with David  in school as part of their subject in college.

David told us that he continued conversing with Malou even after school because he was so smitten with her and their conversation went to religion and family.

He caught my attention and in fact David was not eating as he continued talking about what he learned about Malou’s family and how Malou told him about her 11 siblings.

Touched by stories that it was Ranni who worked in Singapore to send Malou and her siblings to college, David showed to me that he knows the history and the people of the Philippines.  

I understood that David came from a small size family and that he was orphaned at an early age. Ranni and Malou’s story reinforces the reality of how Filipinos value their clan. 

There is no doubt that Filipinos are family-oriented. As in the case of Ranni, Malou and her siblings, Filipinos are willing to make sacrifices and work abroad so their loved ones back home can have a taste of the good life.

Parents who became overseas workers so their children can study in better schools have become the norm and they have helped prop the Philippine economy amid the highs and lows of the global economic situation.

It is their willingness to sacrifice and give to their loved ones that have touched Americans like David Lowrey, who wants his own children to imbibe those same Filipino values.

The Thanksgiving night was long and I did not mind staying late to listen to David who is so enamored with the ways of the descendants of Dagohoy.

Again, happy Thanksgiving to all and for all your comments/emails, send them to my email address at susanap.dennis@yahoo.com. Also see my other online accounts below.

My husband with his back to the camera and me waving as we join the Lowerys for a Thanksgiving meal 

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines  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)

My memories of Paris

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

Like those from across the world, I was glued to the TV watching updates on the tragedy that is the Paris attacks over the weekend.

Unimaginable really; so much destruction to humanity and to the lovely city of mind. My thoughts immediately went into autopilot as I recalled my trip to the City of Lights and passed by the places where the attacks occurred.

Looking at the map I sure did pass by the Bataclan music hall en route to Eiffel Tower by tourist bus.  I was close to this area and I recalled that time as I watched the images of death that were broadcast on TV. 

The sight of cops patrolling the city seems to border on sacrilege to me as I remembered the beauty of the place. I wanted to preserve those memories in my mind for as long as I can.

I loved Paris for it is the city that exceeded my expectations when I first visited it. It transforms and inspires me as I move through the rivers and the streets. It is magical. Paris is truly for travelers and tourists.

As a young girl who loves to read books, I was enamored with the beauty of Paris. I nurtured that love of the city where we can find the Eiffel Tower and landmarks that can only be found in books and magazines.

It took me a lifetime to fulfill my dreams to see Paris and its glory. On that trip I spent the time studying the interior and exterior of buildings. I marveled at the beauty that the architecture of years past had created for past generations and generations to come.

I always looked around absorbing its beauty that often times my travel companion was already vary far from me. Karen and I took time wandering the palace of Versailles formerly inhabited by the kings of France. 

The grandeur is beyond imagination. The cobblestones underneath our feet made foot travel pleasant and I saw the Seine River twice, one on foot and the other on a river cruise.

I passed through the Louvre to see the artifacts of the world and imagining it to be part of the Da Vinci Code. 

I prayed at the Notre Dame cathedral along with other believers. Even the church was a place of old relics that dates back to ancient times that it enriches one's faith.

As we passed by the Arc de Triomphe I remembered Napoleon Bonaparte in my history classes and how he commissioned the building of the arc in 1800. Along with its loveliness and rich history, the Parisians also make every visit enriching.

My friend here in Charlotte, NC Carllyn Francisco Ave described the Parisians as warm. “They’re very easy to talk with,” she said. Another friend Erna Gamones Maagad said the Parisians are warm and friendly.

I didn’t see the warmth that they talked about though store and restaurant attendants were friendly and attentive. I saw that they were busy people that were always in a hurry. 

Carilyn Francisco Ave with her kid

I could not tell though if they’re locals or people like me. Could this be the reason why Paris is an easy target to terrorists? That the Parisians were so occupied and they didn't know that there were people out there planning to kill them?

But that's a long discussion. What I did notice however is that the women in Paris are quite beautiful and glamorous. Ave, who traveled to Paris with her husband JP and two children said they had a great time in Paris.

“I love the vibrancy of the city. It is amazing,” she said. Erna also recalled passing by the places where the attacks occurred and she said it was condemnable what happened.

The place, the food, the people, the culture and history of Paris makes it easily among the most memorable cities on earth. I have no doubt that it will rise from the tragedy and my memories of Paris only serve to strengthen my faith in them regardless of the violence spawned by those who wish to see it destroyed.

Erna Gamones Maagad posing in one of the stores in Paris

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines  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)

Remembering the dead on All Souls Day

My prayer list 

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

I HAVE a list of the dead so to speak. More specifically, I have the list of young and old people who are relatives, friends and acquaintances who went ahead to the Great Beyond.

I keep them in my prayers for the souls. I do this every day in keeping with my Catholic beliefs.  As we celebrate the All Saint’s Day and All Souls Day next week I have something to share to the believers. 

Are souls of the faithful departed manifest themselves to the living so they can be remembered? Maybe, maybe not. My list of the dead is getting longer that the original ¼ paper where the names are written is running out of space.

Whenever there is an addition it is either written atop, below or at the sides. Often without the use of my eyeglasses I could not read what name I wrote. 

I bring out the list as I pray daily either after the rosary or before I end the day.  The list is in my hand writing though and I could have printed it or have it reproduced by the printer. 

The list started with the name of my mother Lily Ejem Espellarga Naelga, brother Ramon Monching  and the father of my children Nestor; followed by grandparents on both sides, the uncles and aunts cousins.  

The advent of Facebook changed everything. When the obituary is now on Facebook I am not surprised to see read comments that would indicate that a friend’s journey to this life has ended.

I noticed also that day by day a name is added as I grow older too. Of course realized that friends,classmates and acquitances are added. That’s when I started praying for them in accordance with the tenets of my Catholic faith. 

That praying for them is helping their spirits enter the kingdom of the Lord the soonest. 
There are times that I don’t pray kneeling because I am either walking or jogging when I do that. As I pray the rosary, I also pray for the dead at the same time. 

Since the list is not with me I have to recall names. It is during this process that I already say the Our Father and as I was about to end a face of a friend that could have been not mentioned would appear in my mind. 

Then I would go back again at the beginning but another picture or image of a dead would pop up, then I would start again. The list isn’t complete that when I read the others are not there. Just out of the corners of my eyes are images of for instance of Imee Austria, a friend of mine.

But the problem is that when I am already at the middle of a solemn prayer images of the face of another friend Diana Javellana or the late Vice Mayor Vince Dagus Sanchez would pop up.

Then I would start again with the prayer and the same process would happen. I told my friend Beth Perez Kremer of this experience and though she is younger than me, she had this idea that the face of the dead you saw wants to be included in the prayer.

I think Beth is right about it. But still I ask do these images in my mind serve as a reminder that the dead want to be remembered?   

Fr.Joe Scott ,CSP, a campus minister and a Paulist priest wrote that the earliest Scriptural reference to prayers for the dead comes in the second book of Maccabees. 

He said the books of Maccabees were among the latest written books found in the Old Testament. It recounted the struggle of the Jewish people for freedom against the Seleucid Empire about 100-200 years before the birth of Christ. 

Fr. Scott said the second book of Maccabees tells how Judas Maccabee, the Jewish leader, led his troops into battle in 163 B.C. When the battle ended he directed that the bodies of those Jews who had died be buried. 

As the soldiers prepared their slain comrades for burial, they discovered that each wore an amulet taken as booty from a pagan Temple. 

This violated the law of Deuteronomy and so Judas and his soldiers prayed that God would forgive the sin these men had committed (II Maccabees 12:39-45).

I have to clean the list and write again the complete list of the dead for me to pray especially on All Souls Day. I think they the souls talk to us in whatever means of communication.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines  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)