INTERNET NEWSLETTER OF THE ALUMNI OF LANAO CHUNG HUA SCHOOL
Vol. II - No. 47, March 15, 1999, Iligan City, Philippines

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7-man reunion secretariat formed
By Johnny Chen  (Batch '83)

The Secretariat for the grand reunion 2000 is now fully organized and in motion. It is run by a seven-man committee composed of Johnny Chen, as chairman; with Rodolfo Yu, Teresita Racines, Glenda Sy-Cabilan, Vy Beng Hong, Wang Chiok Hian, and Charles O. Sy (representing the Spectrum), as members. The immediate concern of the Secretariat is information drive on the grand reunion. It is currently recruiting alumni to act as coordinators for their respective batches or in their respective areas of residence. Volunteers will be very much welcomed. The Secretariat can be reached on: Fax No. ++63-63-2215998 or ++63-63-2213883. E-mails: johnchen@iligan.com or charlesy@cnms.net. Postal address: Secretariat Committee, LCHS Alumni Association, P.O. Box 5721, Iligan City, LN 9200, Philippines; SMS ++63-917-922-2123.

Fire hits Villaverde
By Igdono Caracho (Batch '66)

A two-hour fire hit Barangay Villaverde in Iligan City last March 9, at around 7:00 in the evening. The flames brightened up the evening sky that was visible from as far as Kauswagan and left a swatch of destruction in the area populated largely by squatters. More than 70 families were left homeless by the fire.  Sources said that the fire was caused by an unattended gas stove, while other reports indicated that it was started by some kids playing with matches. The site is located somewhere in the interior section along Roxas Avenue, near the public cemetery and the proposed road leading to Rabago. Barangay Villaverde was also hit by a fire on Aug. 8, 1997.

Dy brothers give aid to fire victims

The fire that hit Barangay Villaverde last Mar. 9 once more underscored the strength of the human spirit rising to the occasion in moment of calamity. Aside from the Iligan City's fire department and the Lanao Filipino Chinese Volunteer Fire Brigade, firemen showed up on the scene from the National Steel Corp., the National Power Corp., the neighboring towns of Kolambogan, Maigo, Mantico, as well as Beer Na Beer of Cagayan de Oro. To them go our congratulations! The following day, Councilor Henry C. Dy, along with brother Peter Dy and Tita Dy visited the site and distributed to the fire victims various used clothings from Chicago, U.S.A., courtesy of Dr. Greg Dy and Dr. Johnson Dy.  Henry Dy himself also personally contributed packs of noodles to augment the food supply of the displaced families.

It's Alfeche, not Quijano
Tue, 9 Mar 1999 22:19:18 +0800

The mayor who was present at the recent relief operation and donation for flood victims in Linamon, sponsored by Nestle Philippines, was Linamon municipal mayor Alejandro Alfeche, and not Iligan city mayor Franklin Quijano, as reported in the Mar. 8, 1999 issue of the Spectrum.

Peter C. Dy (Batch '66), Iligan, Philippines
apollo@iligan.com

By Ernesto L. Yu, M.D., Batch '65

Christopher, our final genetic contamination to New York’s mounting ethnic population growth, unleashed a distressing sibling envy-statement in my electronic mailbox last Sunday after being intimidated by the "A Flight Of Musical Dream" article: How about a serial on my arduous attempts at fiddling and caressing the seductive violin during my drooling age? There must be a slew of nauseating queasiness and clammy perspiration fermented out of those for-one-night-only gala recitals, like Dominic's.

Son, it was not my primary goal to perk up the wonders of your older brother's curriculum vitae on the Internet and dwarf your own childhood shimmering glories. Nevertheless, with a huge material investment paralyzed in utmost rigidity in our house, I can't help jabbing some passing remarks of our piano's historical and emotional worth; the very logic that zaps my recurrent sinful thought of blasting off this costly rocket ship from our orbit, especially every achy moment I snatch a glimpse at the wasted dollar sign dangling on its limb. Furthermore, your Suzuki's "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" variation never really exhausted, disoriented my sensory receptors; or precipitated a weeklong bout of constipation and nagging hives, even up to this very second when your jarring notes compelled your dad's Woodstock-era brain to flip the mummified pages of your rookie days.

At any rate, promise to extract some tension-soothing musical mileage out of your preadolescent stringed toy when you come home this spring break - for starter, Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" wouuld be great - and I'll sweeten the pie with an extensive, appetizing narrative of the glowing phases of your own flights (minus the hilarious dives and disastrous tailspins, of course) towards celebrity status in our family circle. Here's the major rub: you must exhibit tender ears and an applauding nod whenever I amplify my Luciano Pavarotti-molded vocal cords along the adagios and vibratos of your celebrated repertoire. However, if it freezes you to death to swallow such paternal proposition, I have warned you during your formative years not too long ago that the business of patting shoulders is a give-and-take endeavor.

On second thought, stamp a smashing NO to this deal of the month and I'll ship you to a budget-prized Buffalo community college, instead of the high-maintenance, finance-bleeder Syracuse University. And every morning at 5:30, be psychologically traumatized and mentally overhauled by the decibels of my alto rhapsody in the shower, and later in the evening, be constricted by your mom's consuming passion for curfew hours and dreadful distaste for junk snacks.

Checkmate, Chris. Your move.

By Leonardo "Eddie" Tan, Batch '66

At long last, we have the committee set up for the year 2000 grand reunion. After almost a year of silence, I thought this greatest event of LCHS has been forgotten if not dead and buried. Glad that I was proven wrong and it is so alive. And my batch mate and compare, and my fellow traveller and above all, a member of an exclusive club of only 5-members, REWMS, is the CZAR or Chairman of the Reunion - Suniel Lim or Pare Boy is the best choice. He is a good manager with wide experience in chairing large conventions. Our reunion is in good hands. But he needs all our support and cooperation to ensure the success of this proposed mother of all gatherings of all LCHSians. A once in a century affair!

First and foremost, the dates should be fixed as soon as possible. Either late July or early August of 2000, we must have a definite idea by now. This is to give alumni from faraway places ample time to plan ahead. Because in some countries, leave from work and travel plans are made a year in advance.

Once we have the dates, the invitations and the information drive should be in high gear. This is to set the minds of the LCHSians that they should be in Iligan by such dates. Brainwashing them to cancel all other commitments and persuade them to coincide their own family affairs such as big birthdays or weddings close to the reunion dates. We should utilize family units based in Iligan for the invitations. Example: Robert Co in Iligan will be responsible to invite all his siblings from around the world and give them the detailed information. We should have a printed information, a page will do, about itineraries and activities so that they could be easily inserted in the mail. Maybe Charles Sy of this Spectrum could provide a special link on an exclusive page of REUNION on the web site for the Internet users. The role of area coordinators, in areas like Cebu, Manila and Cagayan de Oro where many of our members now reside, is a very crucial one. They should possess the ability of a good salesman, zeal and dedication selling the idea of balik-Iligan 2000. They will be the loyal ambassadors of the LCHS Alumni Association. We should remember that without the out of towners, this affair might as well be just the annual reunion which we have every year in late December. Aside from booking the venues, the invitation and information drive will be the initial priorities for the committee to focus in the next 12 months! Other things can wait and only on standby mode. That is how important this task is. The out of towners hold the key to the success of this so called GRAND reunion. Otherwise, it won't be that GRAND.

The invitation should be an RSVP of some sort. So that 3 months before the big day, we could already estimate the number of those attending. And from that number, the planning could proceed smoothly on such matters as kits, caterings, seating arrangements and other details.

The activities should be fun, fun and more fun. We don't need long speeches. I just wonder why we need a plenary session? Let's make it an informal carnival or fiesta affair.  Maybe more songs and dances! And let's import a real toastmaster from Cebu City! The life of the party will very much depend on him.

We are now in the middle of March. In a day or two, the Irish will be parading for the St. Patrick's Day! Was it only a month ago that we celebrated Chinese New Year? I thought it was only a few weeks ago when we welcomed 1999 with a new year resolution. Time now travels also in the information superhighway. In a click and it is gone. July or August 2000 will arrive in a flash! Watch out.

By Henry L. Yu, M.D., Batch '69

“When you’re down and troubled
And you need a helping hand
To lighten up even your darkness night...”

Back in our younger days, we made friends out of the many classmates we have in LCHS. They were our constant comrades anywhere we went, they acted as our crying shoulders, partners in crime, and confidantes. Then all of a sudden, transferring to another school has made us friends no more.

Time and distance allowed us to make new friends, starting all over again, knowing, collecting, and selecting from among the many who our friends would be. Our high school graduation separated us from our friends with parting simulating a little death. Remember how we cried a river when we said goodbye to friends who we would not be with as we took college away from where he took his? The first few months were spent in letter-writing. But sooner, time and distance have taken their toll. We made new sets of friends and eventually we were no longer in touch with the old friends of our youth. In college, we were again in the company of new friends. Then on to graduation and the professional life when we started working. Where have all those friends gone?  “Some Good Things Never Last” so the song goes.

We make fast forward with time and suddenly we find ourselves surrounded by our officemates whom we are in constant company day in and day out. They eventually became our friends. But for how long? Until when will this friendship last?  We make a rewind with time and suddenly the memories of old-time friends come into view again. Then we ask ourselves: What could have happened to him? Where is he now?

25 years after high school graduation, we come together for our Silver Jubilee Class Reunion. Oh, just how much all of us have grown up physically, emotionally, spiritually, and economically. That shy girl in our class has become the CEO of her company; the “black sheep” in our class is now the president of a multinational company; our class valedictorian is in the brink of annulment; our class president is fighting life with the big C of the lungs. Indeed, time and distance have made us the other persons quite different from the ones we’ve been way back in our high school days. But a true friend remains the same amiable person. Then we start rebuilding the once forgotten friendship only to find out that we could not exactly bring back the hands of time, of the beautiful memories and camaraderie, of being together most of the time.  For now, each of us already has his own family aside from our works and preoccupations.   No matter how much we try to re-establish the friendship we once had, the fact remains that we could not be together always just like olden times. We just have to live with the assurance that albeit we may not be together most of the time, the friendship that we have created and nurtured thru the years will forever be there, beyond forgetting. For truly, true friendship knows no hindrance. Meeting times may not be as frequent as they used to be, but getting together should make the difference. Make use of what is there to enjoy - the time, the company, the camaraderie.

I've got a friend. You've got a friend. We are friends. For always. For life. And that's enough reason to be happy.

From the Internet: Names of some Philippine stores

Farmacia With Love  (Drugstore)
Petal Attraction  (Flower shop)
Scissors Palace  (Barber shop)
The Way We Wear  (Boutique)
Mercy Buko  (Fresh coconut roadside shop)
Holland Hopia  (Chinatown bakeshop owned by Mr. Ho)
Poland Hopia  (Chinatown bakeshop owned by Mr. Po)
Juice Co  (Sperm bank owned by Mr. Co)

Spring is coming.  It has to be.  The critters are starting to get on the move here in Methow Valley.  I saw a good covey of quails the other day. Must have been about 10 of them.  Good, fat, happy-looking quails  (may they stay that way, and off of someone's dinner table!). The other night, I had to stop the car because there were a half dozen deers on and around the road, nibbling the new shoots off the orchard trees.  It was quite a sight!  All these deers, and me leaning out the car window, giving them a lecture on traffic safety.  They stood politely and listened, then got off the road and out of the way.  And, last night, I took my pet dog for a walk, and a bobcat  (at least, I assume so by the track) ran across right behind us and up the hill through the snow.  There are times it is just worth all the hassle of living way out here in the sticks!  Oh, and I have now seen my first eagles of the season.  A big baldy and a smaller, immature one were winging it down the river the other day.

This morning found the skies rolling in slate grey, and snow mixed with rain drizzled steadily down on us throughout the day.  A drastic change from the bright, clear, beautiful days that we have become accustomed to of late.  Even now, far into the evening, the Cloud People are draped across the sky, hiding the stars from those of us bound to the Earth.  A fine cold mist is seeping through the night, and I suspect that morning will find everything coated in a glaze of ice.  The streets are deserted, the deer have gone to their beds, huddling under the trees for what shelter can be had, and even the river is silent.  The dog and I have just come in, and the warmth of the house is slowly chasing the chill from my fingertips. What a wonderful feeling!

(Editors' Notes:  Kate Ruef, a friend of the editor and a Spectrum reader, writes from Winthrop, Washington, U.S.A.  She studied Equine Science at the Shasta College in California.  She gives horse-riding lessons and guides trail rides. She's currently working at the Sun Mountain Lodge, Methow Valley, Winthrop, WA, U.S.A.)

Minus the students, the room of the fourth year looks like a big concrete crate with apertures. Yes, it is big and if you are there alone, you seem to feel that you are some kind of an endangered species waiting for the audience to lay their eyes on. But with the students, fifteen to be exact, the room will never be the same again.

Here, this bunch of students will give any teacher a Punch and Judy show. For sure, most of the discussions become hilarious except Siansi Mimi's classes in Physics and Calculus. (Oh boy! This lady is really dead serious asking her students what the speed of a truck is if it travels 2 hours from Iligan to Cagayan, and Cagayan is, let’s say, 85 kilometers away from Iligan. Then she asks her students to use meter/second square as unit of speed. Now, can you solve it? For her calculus, she never misses the x and y's and sometimes the z's). Like Children of the Corn (a movie filmed in Nebraska), they are intelligent, inquisitive, inventive and very cooperative.

Each is a character. To name a few, this batch has Jean Haydee Wang and Sally Vy, the geniuses in Math and Physics. It has Christian Woo Portugalisa, a very observant student who never let any minute of all sorts pass unnoticed. Then, there is one who seems to have already entered his second childishness. July Ng is also noteworthy. He is lanky like Ichabod, but his brain is foamy with knowledge. He is the I-know-this-but-you-don't-know-this type. Others, however, live a normal student life. Yet, as with all the rest, they will march to college soon to pursue what they dream of themselves to be.

To the fourth year students of 1999, Mabuhay!

(Editors’ Notes:  Normita Alivio is a faculty member of LCHS and is the adviser of the high school fourth year class. She teaches Pilipino and Values Education.)