STATE OF HEALTH OF SOME OLD ILOKANO WRITERS

     "He is in bad shape," said Dr. Aurelio Solver Agcaoili of the University of Hawaii and Manoa.

     Dr. Agca, as he is known by friends and acquaintances, was referring to Terry Gabriel Tugade who has been living in San Francisco, CA for the past 30 years or more.

    In his blog, Dr. Agca made mention of Terry's open heart surgery last year  I talked to Terry (via messenger) and he was telling me of her eyes failing him--what he usually saw, he said, was all white. He did not sound distressed;  he was saying it matter-of-factly.

     I tried unsuccessfully to contact Terry via the FB account of his daughter Ruby.

     On August 28, at 11 in the morning, Terry died in San Francisco, according to Dr. Agca who had been in contact with Ruby, one of two daughters of Terry. Terry left behind his wife Teresita, from Laoag City; twin daughters Ruby and Michelle, sons Edward and Gerald. He will be buried on September 5, at the Holy Cross Cemetery, 1500 Mission Road, Colma, CA.

The following month, sometime in September, Manuel Saguiped Diaz, died in his village in Nagsaag, San Manuel, Pangasinan. This was relayed to us by another writer Prescy Bermudez. Manny was a tri-lingual writer.

Lovi Poe, Philippine Actress

There is more than the acting skill of Lovi Poe--her haunting loveliness. May the scriptwriter of Mulawin Vs. Ravena give her more speaking parts.

Writing Drought

Trying to end the writing drought by composing a poem inspired by Adrienne Rich, one of America's top poets. But no poem came out of a sky of utmost blue. The brain has lost its luster in the world of dreams.

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How well did I practice my art today? Was it worth it? At this age, does it matter if I did it well or good? The question is I did not write anything. Just let the time goes by.

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Kenny Rogers was wearing a blue shirt with long sleeves. He has grown old--now 82 years- and he told his audience, he would be sitting while he belts his country music in the 60s. And the audience at the 1200 seat theater of the Pechanga Casino resort in Temecula joined in the singing. It was almost a full house. It was 7 PM when the concert began.


Memory

Remembering the snows we tread at the Medi-Park near a lake in Amarillo and the rare rains falling at the rooftop of the building-apartment of the Philipine nurses. We stayed in the Texas town for several months.

The "Confession" of Fidel Valdez Ramos and the Martial Law of Ferdinand Marcos.

"My atonement was leading the military and the police during the EDSA People Power Revolution. From the 22nd to 25th of February 1986 and I stand by that record. It's there in history books."--Fidel Valdez Ramos, former Philippine president, in response to Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos's comment on the role of FVR as one of the enforcers of martial law during the reign of Ferdinand Marcos.

Christian atonement is reconciliation with God as a result of the death of Christ. In Judaism, it is reconciliation with God by means of repentance and confession of one's transgressions. It boils down to the meaning "amends or reparation for an injury or wrong."

An individual gives an apology for a wrong or injury inflicted on another person or society.

Fidel Valdez Ramos, at the mercy of Convalescence and the Almighty God, was head of the Philippine Constabulary, fore-runner of the Philippine National Police, that executed by Martial Law during the reign of Ferdinand Marcos. It was FVR who gave the arrest orders against the perceived enemies of the state at that time.

FVR has never apologized in public for whatever excesses the apparatus of Martial Law allegedly made to save the state from falling into the hands of the communists and allies in the Christian churches including politicians like Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr.

Historical antecedents show that the victors take the spoils of war and rewrite history for their own glory and edification. That's precisely what happened when the new centurions took over the power to run the country.

And so we have the new oligarchs that replaced those that FM wanted to disappear from Philippine society.

 

No July 4th Celebration

It's Wednesday, July 4th, but no celebration that I know here in Menifee. A hot windless day, the burns the struggling leaves of at least two potted avocado plants.
 The evening rests in the mountains and may wait in pain for the messengers of memories.

On Poetry and Writing

Feel it.
If you hear a crack in the skull, describe it as best you can.
Don't tell all. Hide what you want to say. Let the reader find out what you want to say.
A poem is a different genre. It is not a  news article or essay or other journalistic writings.
The reader of a poem experiences a feeling beyond words. Needless to say, the reader is not experiencing what the poet experienced; it may be the result of what he reads in the poem.

"If you cannot write clearly, that's because either your head is muddled or you are too afraid to reveal your true feelings and thoughts. To me, clarity is a great virtue of the intellect."--a character in "A Map of Betrayal," a first-person novel by Ha Jin

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"If tomatoes wanted to be melons,
they would look completely ridiculous.
I am always amazed
that so many people are concerned
with wanting to be what they are not;
what's the point of making yourself ridiculous?"--Mitsuo Aida, Japanese poet, and calligrapher

A writer or journalist has to tell the truth

For him or her to be credible as a journalist, he or she must tell the truth. And the truth is a simple compendium of facts obtained by using the tools of the trade. The tools are the 5 Ws--what, who, why, when, where; and H, how. And we also speak here of accurate information, like the correct name of a person, even the spelling of the name. The responsible journalist checks and rechecks his facts or data.

Facts on the ground show that the country's major media outlets, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and ABS-CBN TV Network, have not been telling the whole truth with respect to the acts and projects of Mr. Rodrigo Roa Duterte. He has started exposing their dirt in public; of course, his own version of truth.

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We are still a God-forsaken wilderness of hate, anger, recriminations--a fractured culture where criminals, womanizers, robber barons and other shady characters reign supreme like Roman centurions.