G. Felix Vince Cruz' uniqueness: His passion for Freemasonry
F. Balbino "Ben" Ramos' uniqueness: His pioneering spirit
E. Martina Carpio-Vergara's uniqueness: Her unsinkability
D. Fil E. Olegario: More than "Passion for compassion"
C. Febe Valdez-Armstrong's uniqueness: Her indestructibility
B. Fil E. Olegario's uniqueness: His passion for compassion
A. Jose E. Gonzales' uniqueness: His unforgiving work ethics
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G. Felix Vince Cruz' uniqueness: His passion for Freemasonry
by Roger M
Seattle , WA
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G. Felix Vince Cruz' uniqueness: His passion for Freemasonry
by Roger M
When a high school classmate and friend whom you haven't seen for 42 years since graduation calls and tells you he's excited to see you, won't you be equally excited to see him also? Naturally you are, but this is not always the case for all people. Some may be inclined to decline the meeting for valid reasons resulting in the devastation of the rejected person. He/she could be left hurting for the rest of his/her life. I personally know of two Class ’59 members who are.
The mutuality of excited feeling happened between me and Felix Vince Cruz (FVC, Foto #01) in January 2001. The occasion was a Military Retiree's Evening Ball which he and his retiree colleagues in his home city of  |
Foto #01: Felix Vince Cruz (FVC) in full Masonic regalia
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F. Balbino "Ben" Ramos' uniqueness: His pioneering spirit
by Roger M
by Roger M
by Roger M
Balbino “Ben” Ramos’s uniqueness: His pioneering spirit
When Felix
Vince Cruz sounded in 2001 the clarion call for North America-based 59ers to
take part in RINA 1, Ben Ramos was one of the first Class members to answer. Like
the few others like him, Ben's gesture established some kind of “covenant” core
group of MNHS Class '59 members. It started with just the right “chemical
reaction” --- the excitement hobnob again with high school co-alumni from time
long past --- for any kind of reunion to happen. Without that mutuality, any
attempt to organize a reunion is foredoomed to fail.
Writing about
Ben today across the chasm of 50 long years in addition to not being quite
close to him during our high school years, I have few memories of Ben Ramos. As
far as I can remember, he was the silent type of guy who, as Editor-in-Chief of
our school organ “The Mango”, wrote more words that he spoke.
Ben's
distinctiveness lies in his pioneering spirit which made him notch a number of
firsts. Having lived in Canada
for 42 summers, he holds the distinction of being the first Filipino accredited
accountant for the entire province of
Alberta Calgary .
From a mere 128,000 people which included 22 Filipinos of all ages when he
first arrived, Calgary’s population today has now risen to 1.3 million including
30,000 Filipinos.
Ben is
now an Accountant Manager retiree from the Gov't of Canada Dept. of Energy
where he worked for 35 years. He has two sons and three ‘apos’ by his first son
and makes home in two places --- Calgary and Shuswap Lake, B.C. ---
alternatively every six months. –o0o- |
| Ben Ramos (L) with the late Joe Gonzales (R) taken at Hoover Dam during RINA 1. |
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E. Martina Carpio-Vergara: Her unsinkabilityby Roger M
"For we are all, like swimmers in the sea,
Poised on the top of a huge wave of fate,
Which hangs uncertain to which side to fall.
And whether it will heave us up to land,
Or whether it will roll us out to sea,
Back out to sea, to the deep waves of death,
We know not, and no search will make us know
Only the event will teach us in its hour."
Poised on the top of a huge wave of fate,
Which hangs uncertain to which side to fall.
And whether it will heave us up to land,
Or whether it will roll us out to sea,
Back out to sea, to the deep waves of death,
We know not, and no search will make us know
Only the event will teach us in its hour."
.....Matthew Arnold in "Sohrab and Rustum" (High school assignment book)
Martina Carpio-Vergara (MCV) is one swimmer in the sea of life who, despite his age and many “baggages” (emotional and otherwise) attached to her body, manages to remain afloat to this far. (To be amplified)
D. Fil E. Olegario: More than "Passion for compassion"Martina Carpio-Vergara (MCV) is one swimmer in the sea of life who, despite his age and many “baggages” (emotional and otherwise) attached to her body, manages to remain afloat to this far. (To be amplified)
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| MCV as she looks today. |
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by Roger M
To the poor residents of Mangatarem, the conduct of Class '59 Eye Medical Mission (C59 EMM) in their barangay is like the coming of rain, manna from heaven. It may seem striking that C59 EMM and raindrops are formed in exactly the same way. Carried in the air that we breathe are water particles the amount of which is dependent on the temperature of the day. When the air gets saturated, the particles don't just cling to each other to form raindrops; instead, they coalesce around a nucleus that is dissimilar to them.
Analogously, Fil Olegario is the dissimilar 'nucleus' in the C59 EMM “raindrop” which class-members with missionary spirit and other charitable groups cling to.
By spearheading C59 EMM, Fil is not only a Good Samaritan by heart; by practice, he’s also a good eyesight saver; banterer. complimenter. champion golfer, marriage saver and a messenger, not of God, but of ordinary mortals or groups who seek self-validation for “philanthropic work” on one hand and redemption from economic deprivation on the other.
Fil's glory on earth (Foto #1) is seated behind his slit lamp peering at the impaired eye of an indigent patient. In 2007, he retired from 25 years of private practice in South Dakota and had his slit lamp shipped to Mangatarem for use with local residents. (See http://www.agiftofsight.blogspot.com/). Since 2008 when C59 EMM has started keeping records, Fil and his group have ministered to no less than 6,000 poor barangay residents of Mangatarem either by: doling out reading glasses and/or eye drops; operating, in partnership with Dr. Monique Posadas, on those with glaucoma and giving expert advice to people who are in the dark on how to keep a healthy eye. His is the case of a doctor going to the impoverished barangay residents of Mangatarem and not the poor patients going to the doctor in town.
Fil’s compassionate ministry is not only confined to caring for the eyesight of indigent residents. He also caters to the poor’s un-met basic needs by distributing to them donated used clothes, canned goods, books, school materials, etc. In time for the next C59 EMM, a number of philanthropic groups in the U.S. and Canada used to send balikbayan boxes full of goodies to his address in Mangatarem for distribution to the DDU (deprived, depressed, underserved) people of the town. They include his and his wife’s lady friends from their locality (Henderson, NV), Catholic Women’s League of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada (led by Oscar and Teresa Olegario) and Mangatarem Association of Illinois (MAI, led by their President Lydia Arellano-Sumner). This year’s C59 EMM (2013), Fil and his wife Josie have distributed the contents of no less than 10 balikbayan boxes to Mangataremians living in abject poverty.
During the 1986 reunion's mango seedling planting activity, somebody shouted that water was needed to wet down the seedlings before burying them in the soil. Fil bantered in Ilocano dialect “Sinno iti makais-isbo kanyayo?” (“Who feels like urinating among you?”) (Foto #2 and Movie #1)
When class-members were having their group picture during the Jan. 24, 2009 Golden Reunion at Dan Dan's Resort in Mangatarem, Fil shouted to the cameraman before he was able to click the camera: “Your pant's zipper is open!” Naturally, the cameraman has to momentarily stop what he was about to do to look at the fly of his pants before clicking the shutter. This resulted in a photo with everybody in it grinning from ear to ear. Perhaps, this is more refined than asking those being photographed to say “Sex.”
After lunch during the Bocacliw, Aguilar medical mission on Feb. 6, 2009, Fil complimented the cooks in Ilocano “Naimas iti luto yo.” (“Your recipe tastes good.”) He knows too well that such complement is necessary not only inside the house for domestic peace but outside it as well to create goodwill. In addition, giving complement is an art that is indicative of the giver’s good bearing and etiquette. Regretfully, not too many persons realize this.
In Fil Olegario, the hands that are good in saving sights are also good for sinking balls in golf holes. During the last quarter of 2010, Fil joined "Fil-Am Cup 2010 Club Championship Tournament" in their locality (Henderson, NV). He bested the field of 34 competitors scoring a record high of 11. Second placers were shared by three others who trailed far behind at an identical score of 5. For his feat, Fil was awarded a trophy (Foto #3) and $150 cash which he pledged to donate to C59 EMM. A month ago, he did it again in a grander scale (Foto #4). He was declared a champion in his group for sinking the most number in a San Diego, CA golf course. At the rate he's doing it on the different golf courses in the country, it's just a question of time before he would say "Move over Tiger Woods."
This year’s EMM (2013), Fil added a new feather to his cap: marriage saver. While at home, a Mangataremian wife with her husband in tow approached Fil. The wife bitterly complained to Fil about her husband’s stubbornness in taking eye medication to arrest his deteriorating glaucoma. She told Fil in a tone that suggested her marriage was on the rocks: “Nagtangken Manong iti ulo na!” (“He’s so hard headed, Manong! [In the Ilocano dialect, “Manong” is a title of respect for an elderly male person]) Applying his Good Samaritan charisma, Fil patiently and expertly explained to the husband how the medication works to combat the growth of his eye disease. A few days before enplaning back to the States, Fil saw the couple again; the wife telling him happily that her husband was now taking his eye medication regularly. Needless to say, the couple’s marriage had veered towards a happier direction because of Fil.
Fil’s role as messenger was exemplified by acting as a vehicle for meeting the needs of two Class ’57 members: Cleofe Madarang-Freeman (CMF) and Estanislao dela Cruz (EDC). See “A tale of two Class ’57 members” in “C57 Events” page.
To the poor barangay people of Mangatarem whose dimming vision has been improved, corrected or arrested, the coming of C59 EMM group to their place led by Fil Olegario was like the falling of rain. –o0o-
FOTOS and MOVIE
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| Foto #1: Fil's favorite pose in life |
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| Foto #2: Fil's banter during the 1986 reunion |
Movie: Fil's banter during the 1986 reunion
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| Foto #3: Fil Olegario receiving his trophy as champion. Beaming with pride at his back is his wife Josie. |
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| Foto #4: Tournament score card |
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C. Febe Valdez-Armstrong's uniqueness: Her indestructibilityby Roger M
In his book “American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964”, William Manchester writes “Whom the gods want to destroy, they first make him angry”. By Manchester's claim and from my own dealings with her, class-member Febe Valdez-Armstrong is one ‘indestructible’ person. Because she never gets angry, the gods have no sway on her. (Her armor? When she emceed the C59's "Golden Reunion" in 2009, she brought with her a book of jokes, mostly green ones!)
The latest account of her 'indestructibility' happened during the Golden Reunion on Jan 24, 2009 at Dan Dan's Garden and Farm Resort in Mangatarem. While co-emceeing with her she asked me, after distributing the 'certificate of appreciation' awards to the coordinators of the 1986 reunion: “Why is there none for me?” (She, together with the late Oscar Martinez, bore the brunt of coordination work needed to make the occasion possible). I told her I ran out of blank certificate forms; hence, I decided to sacrifice her and had hoped she won’t mind. She just replied mechanically: “That's okay.” On arriving California a month after the reunion, I called her NY state number. I heard her voice as cool as cucumber as ever without any trace of hurt whatsoever.
Febe likes to brag of being the best cook of “buro” in the U.S. East Coast. Buro is a Filipino recipe that other nationalities say it smells of “rotten” fish. A few years ago, she sent a jar of buro to class-member Felix Vince Cruz who lives in the West Coast (Seattle, WA). Felix just threw the buro to the garbage bin and forewarned Febe not to send perishable goods again in the mail.
On another occasion, Febe ordered online two photo albums, one for her and another for Felix, only to be advised by the store sometime later that the album was returned by Felix.
Because of the buro and album episodes, Febe and Felix must be bitter enemies by now. Right? Wrong! In fact, they're the best of friends.
While strolling downtown Las Vegas during RINA 1 in 2002, Felix teased Febe how Sam, Febe's husband, almost jumped off one building because she has been out of his sight for some time.
During the Golden Reunion's Evening Cocktail at Joe Gonzales’ residence in Mangatarem, I, Felix and other “macho” class-members were seated around a rectangular table close to the wall. From where we were, we couldn't see who were arriving from the front gate until their faces get in line with the wall. When Febe's face popped up beside the wall’s edge, Felix almost jumped from his seat exclaiming in Ilocano dialect: “Kurang iti arakup!” (English translation: “She lacks embrace”.)
Around the time of the 1986 reunion shortly after Febe was recently widowed by her first husband, we (I, Febe, the late Romy Lalas and Erning Gonzales) were seated around a dinner table at a Quezon City steakhouse. (We used to have this class-members’ micro-reunion whenever possible.) At one point, I told Febe I still nurture my high school ambition to become a writer someday and may write soon my first book which was about her biography. “What's the title?” she asked. I quickly replied: “How to Outlive Your Life's Partner!”
Because of her “indestructibility”, Febe's presence adds liveliness and laughter to any Class '59 gathering. -o0o-
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| Febe Valdez-Armstrong emceeing during C59's "Golden Reunion" on Jan. 24, 2009 at Dan Dan's Resort Pavillion, Mangatarem. |
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Note: This space is allotted for the article of the above title which has already been written and posted in his own blogspot. Visitors interested in reading it are hereby directed to click or copy and paste:
http://www.agiftofsight.blogspot.com/
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A. Jose E. Gonzales’ uniqueness: His unforgiving work ethics
by Roger M
Writing is like squaring. Now, if that’s a bit hard to swallow, let me explain. In the realm of mathematics (the exact science), there are such things as ‘imaginary numbers’ (numbers that exist only in the mind) and ‘real numbers’ (e.g., a facility with which we use to keep track of our bank account). An imaginary number is written as "a negative one inside the square root radical sign" and pronounced as “the square root of negative one”. To make their life less miserable, mathematicians has assigned it the symbol "i". This number doesn’t exist in the real world, hence, imaginary. However, when we “square” it or multiply it by itself, e.g., "square root of negative one times square root of negative one", the product becomes "negative one", or "-1", a real number.
What the heck happens here!, one may sputter and asks: “What power is there in the arithmetic process of ‘squaring’ that makes an imaginary number become real?” Nobody knows to this day. Even John Napier (the mathematician who discovered ‘natural logarithm’) nor Albert Einstein (the “greatest thinker the earth ever produced”) chose to keep mum on the subject so why should I (a mere ant compared to the above two) waste my time trying to crack the mystery.
“No Mercy” Surgeon
Instead, let me devote my time doing a more down-to-earth thing like ‘squaring’, este, writing Class '59 members' uniqueness.
The late Joe Gonzales’ character as a person may be summed up by two words (“No Mercy”) which were inscribed on a plaque attached to a pedestal bearing his ashes in his home garden in Mangatarem (Foto #1).
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ThFoto #01: The "No Mercy" inscription (bottom line) on a plaque attached to the side of a pedestal bearing his ashes in his home garden in Mangatarem allows one a peek into the soul of the late Emmanuel Jose E. Gonzales (full baptismal name).
In actuality, the words were a contraction of the statement “God…..it! No mercy, just do your work!” which he was known to utter to whining employees at the Virginia Beach, VA hospital where he worked as a kidney surgeon for more than 20 years.
Joe was one person who applied to himself what he wanted to apply to others. One time he was scheduled to be operated on for the removal of a gall bladder stone which schedule coincided with his operation of one of his urological patients. He had not postponed his patient’s operation in order to be attended to first, nor moved his operation to another date in order to attend to his patient’s operation first. What he did was to arrange with a partner, a certain Dr. Rolls, to operate on his patient while he himself was under another surgeon's knife.
Soon after he was able to walk, he stood up and held with one hand the dextrose bottle still connected to his body and went to check on his newly operated patient. He proved that he showed “no mercy” even to himself.
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