Internet Newsletter of the Alumni of Lanao Chung Hua School Vol. 3, No. 28, April 3, 2000, Iligan City, Philippines Henry Dy awarded as top city official Councilor Henry C. Dy (Batch '64) was awarded as "City Official of the Decade" by the Lanao Press & Radio-TV Club.  The award was given during the club's induction of officers and presentation of community leadership awards for 1999 at the Lai-Lai Restaurant, Iligan City, last Mar. 26. The 1999 Community Leadership Awards were given in recognition of achievements made from way back till December 1999.  The award cited Henry Dy for being a serious legislator, a civic leader, a respected city councilor serving his 3rd term; and for his donation of numerous school buildings to different barangays in the city. LCHS holds graduation rites By Igdono Caracho (Batch '66) A new batch of students marched triumphantly to their graduation at the LCHS commencement exercises last Mar. 29.  Jennifer Gait, elementary salutatorian, gave the welcome address, followed by a short talk by Sy Chu An, President of the LCHS Board of Trustees. Candidates for graduation were presented by Principal William Payonan, and diplomas were distributed by School Director Henry Siao. Guest speaker Faith O. Miguel, Ph.D., was introduced by Mae Kimberly Siao, high school 1st honorable mention. After Dr. Miguel's speech, selected students received their academic, loyalty and special awards. Iligan congressman Alipio Badelles was also on hand to deliver a short message to the new graduates. His talk was followed by the speeches of class valedictorians Kristina So, Jian Leih Racines, Sharon Sy, and salutatorian Jerumae Lee, as highlights of the ceremonies.

EDITORIAL STAFF Charles O. Sy, Editor Henry L. Yu, Associate Editor Correspondents: Iligan - Johnny Chen, Teresita Racines, Vinson Ngo, & Roger Suminguit. Cebu - Igdono Caracho. Metro Manila - Marie Janiefer Lee. Canada - Peter Dy & Mike Lee. Australia- Leonardo Tan. U.S.A. - Ernesto Yu, Alex Rodriguez, Aurora Tansiokhian, & Alfred Lai II. Founded Aug. 1, 1968. Published fortnightly since its revival on April 15, 1997. Distributed free on the Internet to LCHS alumni and supporters worldwide. Postal address: LCHS Alumni Association, Lanao Chung Hua School, Pala-o, Iligan City, Philippines. Website: http://www.iligan.com/~lchs/alumni/ For subscription, contact: Johnny Chen, Tel. No. (063) 221-3883. Email: johnchen@iligan.com For submission of manuscripts, Email: charlesy@cnms.net 17 WEEKS to Grand Homecoming

Leading this year's batch of LCHS graduates as class valedictorians are Sharon Sy (high school, English & Chinese curricula); Jian Leih Racines (elementary, Chinese); and Kristina Carmela So (elementary, English).  Sharon is the daughter of Bing Gui & Gloria Sy; Jian Leih is the daughter of Julius & Evelyn Racines; and Kristina is the daughter of Steven & Jackie So.  The high school graduates are Arnie Angkee, Romeo Joji Babatido, Michol Anthony Cerna, Prince Dane Chan, Ryan Cliftonne Chio, Rene June Dagoc, Mackinnley Lim, Ryan Lua, Earl Migrino, Leo Michael Uy, Danilo Zorilla, Jonalyn Dy, Jerumae Lee, Ramona Racheal Lee, Jody Ling, Lonielyn Loa, Kristine Maglasang, Mae Kimberly Siao, Rosalyn Sy, and Sharon Sy.

LCHS summer classes start April 10

Enrollment for summer classes at LCHS is set on April 6 & 7.  Classes will run from April 10 to May 19, 2000.  Students with failing grades in English or Chinese subjects are advised to take summer classes. All Third Year and Grade V students are required to attend enrichment classes for NEAT and NSAT. For details and reservation, contact William Payonan, School Principal, or Leonor Tajoda and Avelia Eta, Tel. 221-3706 or 221-3782.

Rejoinder to "Live for the Moment"
Sat, 25 Mar 2000 09:00:13 -0500

First of all, please accept my unqualified commendation to you and your staff for doing such a great job on your Spectrum newsletter. Although with cybertechnology such job is made easier, it still needs time, thought and effort to put things together which you and your staff have done in such a professional way. As an outsider, I can only watch with a touch of envy.

"Live for the Moment," by Dr. Ernesto Yu, is a very interesting article (Spectrum, Mar. 20, 2000) that at first glance, many of us would probably ignore until something clicks deep within us later on (perhaps from an unpleasant event like an illness that is about to devour or diminish our way of life or the life of our loved ones), that the message of the article would begin to sink deeply into our mind. But do we have to wait for that click? Do we have to wait until tomorrow to live for the moment, to lead a life we always wanted and make each moment precious? A restaurant in North Carolina has this big sign on one of its front windows: "Free Beer Tomorrow."

Living for the moment, however, is not really as easy as it sounds. In fact, it's hard for most of us. One reason I believe is that, we grew up in a society in which our mind has been constantly taught and led to believe that life belongs to the future, that success means having more, and that happiness means getting what we wish for. Thus too many of us spend our entire lives deferring our dreams and postponing our enjoyment of each moment, all the while thinking that tomorrow will be more fulfilling and less stressful. We fantasize about the day that we finally enjoy everything we've worked so hard to gain. We focus more upon material things than the wonders of what we already possess. We rarely, if ever, stop and take time to think that perhaps there is more to life than just accumulating possessions. In fact, there is so much that we have that we take for granted. Dale Carnegie wrote: "One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon - instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our window today."

I really wish I had read Dr Yu's article, "Live for the Moment," or something similar to it when I was a kid. For sure, I would have planned to lead my life a lot more differently. I would have been a lot more appreciative of the beauty that surrounds us and the beauty of life itself, a lot more loving and understanding to my family, friends and others who are dear to us, a lot more compassionate of other people's pain and sorrow, more tolerant of their mistakes, less prejudice of their opinions, and most of all, a lot more grateful for God's little favors. In any event, the article is written as though Dr. Yu has had an unpleasant experience of having a close encounter of the ugly kind. Dr. Yu must have learned his lessons in life the hard way. Fortunately, for many of us, we don't have to, for we can learn from Dr. Yu.

Cle S. Estrera, Jr., M.D. (CIM '72), clems3ra@rcn.com

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

Have you ever been trapped in a mental traffic jam where you recruit all your refined reflexes in order to paste sounds to the words in your mouth but your brain circuits stubbornly refuse to coordinate the relay? Have you been pinned in the corner with sets of sentences dangling on your tongue where you can't shake off the nouns and verbs to rumba their way on the hearing floor because you are soaked in excitement?

What terrifying choking episodes to be in? Not really. When your fright-and-fight hormones (adrenaline) fire away in all cylinders and reign your soul, your heart rate and blood pressure race each other hysterically to the finish line of ultimate high; your trusted muscle groups march in frozen, silenced steps; face flashing the extremes of the color chart ranging from tomato red to deathly pallor; palms dripping with cold sweats; brain wires rusting and numb. What a pathetic state to be submerged into. In layman's vocabulary, to be "tongue tied."

This particular scenario played a trick on me a few days ago (down to Cloud 7 now!). I was startled by a very unexpected call from a dear friend whose voice, before this landmark ringing hello, was just a processed product of my robust imagination (friendship was bred in electronic communication). The fabricated audio in my mind, nonetheless, has been a regular theme humming in my daydreams. (I'm a Walter Mitty incarnate, you know). Gosh, I have never felt my spine vibrate in such tingly fashion. My head almost proved Newton's Law of Gravity. Reminds me of Julia Roberts' Pretty Woman movie punch line: I almost pee in my pants, which Richard Gere translated to the stunned opera patron, "She likes the Pirate of Penzance."

My vocal cords must have displaced a screw or two because I stuttered in slurred English. And I was not even facing a firing squad that morning! I had to blanket my chest with all the might of my arms (nothing to write home about). Otherwise, my heart would have vaulted out of its cage, trade punches with my shocked eyeballs, mop the ceiling and walls in rapid-fire speed, reinserts itself back to its reserved spot and still has enough crazy juice to repeat the amazing circus without a minute of rest. Visualize that.

With this as a backdrop, I can pretty imagine the rounds of speechless hugs, chapters of hyperventilation and scenes of Jesusmariajoseph! when one dinosaur bumps into another extinct species or when citizens of the Pepsi generation hi-five each other during our New Millennium Convention in Iligan. Aren't the thrills and ecstasy of swimming in your pool of adrenaline reason enough to dive into the bandwagon of our grand reunion? Don't crack your head hard. Just live for the moment.

To the firefly who transmits glow to Buffalo: What unimaginable number would I do if you let me catch you again? I'll trim your wings short enough to discourage your flight to freedom, and let you linger by my side to weave a fairy tale until I master the Zen-like calmness of monks when tickled by a whopping surprise.

By Leonardo "Eddie" Tan, Batch '66

A recent e-mail message from Vinson Ngo about Iligan missing out to Cotabato City as the favorite shopping destination of our traditional Maranaw customers from Marawi City reminded me of a plan conceived almost 4 decades ago. The plan remains a dream until today. This is a tale of three cities.

It was in the early 60's when Mindanao State University was established on the hillside of picturesque Marawi City. It instantly became the brand new center for learning for the land of promise. Iligan was just a very young chartered city but it already started to wear the crown as the "Industrial City of the South." And Cagayan de Oro, the National Government Regional Center, was the undisputed commercial center of northern Mindanao. With the proximity of each city from one another, plus a very unique characteristic of each one, a master plan was conceived.

A new highway was to be built as a direct link between Cagayan de Oro and Marawi via the boundary of Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur. It should cut the traveling time to around 45 minutes with first class, concrete road. This link would complete the triangle of roadways between the three cities.

Marawi City would become not only the educational center but also a cultural hub showcasing the unique Maranao and Islamic cultures, such as brass wares, mat making and Muslim artifacts and architectures. It would also become a tourist destination with the panoramic view of Lake Lanao and its year-round cool climate. Baguio City would pale in comparison. With only about 40 to 45 minutes from both cities of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro, it was envisioned that Marawi would emerge as the actual residence of the businessmen and industrialists who would commute daily, or at least have a place to stay for a pleasant and restful weekend.

Iligan City would concentrate on its development as a highly industrialized area with its proximity to the hydro-electric generating plants from the waters of Lake Lanao coming down through Agus River and majestically cascading down Maria Cristina Falls. Plus its deep harbor along the numerous plant sites where shipments of manufactured goods would be transported conveniently domestically or overseas. Iligan would just keep on growing with its crown as the "Industrial City of the South" safely on its head and reaping huge revenues, in return, unrivaled anywhere in Mindanao.

Cagayan de Oro would remain the government's regional center and heart of its commercial activities, plus the gateway to northern Mindanao with its well developed seaport within a very ideal natural cove which makes shipping activities both comfortable to passengers and convenient to shippers of goods. And a very decent airport servicing several points of the country. What makes Cagayan de Oro the center for commerce for northern Mindanao is its central location which gives the city of golden friendship a huge slice of the market. So it was already envisioned ages ago that people from the cities of Iligan and Marawi will do their shopping needs in Cagayan de Oro.

Sadly today, Marawi City is still struggling due to peace and order problem. Iligan City is slowly being destroyed by globalization. It is only Cagayan de Oro that is fulfilling its part of the master plan for the three cities.

I came across this plan in one of our chapter meetings of the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) sometime in the 70s. At that time I already could imagine how wonderful life could have been back home if things had gone according to the master plan. I could be calling Rene Tio in Cagayan de Oro to have a dinner tonight at the floating restaurant along Lake Lanao. We will be living on the hilly suburb of old Dansalan with a very pleasant weather without need for air-conditioning, but with a fire place instead, and return to Iligan the following day well refreshed. Greeted by some beautiful coeds jogging around the blocks with the smell of fresh flowers and lush trees all over, and the smiling sun reflected upon the clean lake. Oh! What a wonderful tale of three cities!

By Aurora H. Tansiokhian, M.D., Batch '58

Life can be a pain, but also joyful.  At times, it may seem that the very moment is the end of the world.  But things can change quickly so just hang in there and keep the faith.  Tomorrow is another day.

The robins are back, tulips and daffodils are out.  Spring has sprung on Bunn Hill.

Yesterday, I found a bag of dried herbs that Chiga Kimseng Bernardo had given me about ten years ago "to stop wound bleeding and to prevent infection."  I remember him driving us to the cemetery to visit Konga's (his father's) tomb.  I also remember that he liked the Ethan Allen catalog I gave him from whence he got some ideas for his furniture business.  I will miss him.

My thoughts and prayers are with two former classmates and their families on the loss of their loved ones.  Rufino Dy Booc and his sister Felisa lost their mother.  Carlos (Bonnie) Dy  just lost his wife.  "Like a bird out of our hand, / Like a light out of our heart, / You are gone." (H.D.. Collected Poems 1925).

Israel (the Holy Land) fascinated me.  This sliver of a Middle Eastern state, hard to find on the map, exceeded my expectations.  It lies on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean bordered by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.  It has mountains, coastal plains, desert and several climate zones and lots of sunshine.   Persimmons, my favorite fruit, were plentiful in Tel Aviv and served with breakfast.

Israel is holy ground for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Jerusalem, from which Mohammed is believed to have ascended into heaven, is Islam's most important shrine after Mecca and Medina.  I walked where Jesus walked!  I worshipped in Nazareth, Bethlehem and other biblical sites.  I visited Jericho (under Palestinian Authority) on the West Bank.  It is one of the world's earliest settlements and the lowest lying (850 ft. below sea level) city in the world.

I fell in love with Jerusalem, the city on the hills.  The British, who governed Jerusalem from 1917 to 1947, decreed that all buildings had to be faced with Jerusalem stone, a local form of limestone with an exceptionally warm golden hue.  With this stone, the city is almost magical in the glow of dawn and dusk.

Whose Jerusalem is it?  At present it is Israel’s capital.  The Palestinians also want it to be their capital.  Will there ever be peace and justice in the Holy Land?   An uneasy peace may be easier to achieve than justice.

I salute Pope John Paul II for openly calling for a Palestinian homeland and for reaching out to the Jewish people.

"If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning." (Psalm 137:5).   Amen.

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

l952. l964. l976. l988. These were the Dragon Years of my life. The year 2000 is another Dragon Year, a celebration of life, my first for the new millennium.

April 3, l952 (Thursday) was the day I came into this world, delivered at home by a midwife. I came after three older siblings aged 7, 5, and 3 years old at that time, respectively. I came at a time when Elpidio Quirino was the Philippine president, when Carmen Rosales-Rogelio de la Rosa, Pancho-Tita Magalona were the most popular love teams in Philippine cinema, when "Dyesebel" (Edna Luna), "Roberta" (Tessie Agana), "Darna" (Rosa del Rosario), Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Frank Sinatra, Connie Francis, petticoats, Dixie Peach pomade, Fanbo were the favorites of our uncles and aunties; with Fox Trot, Tango, and Waltz as the most popular dance crazes. Our store cum residence was at #63 Washington St., Iligan City. I had two of our immediate neighbors for my ninong and ninang. I was 5 years old when I started kindergarten at LCHS. I remember the death of my maternal grandma on November 5, l956, the plane crash that caused the death of President Ramon Magsaysay on March l7, l957, and the big fire that hit Iligan on May 23, l957.

April 3, l964 (Friday). I was a l2-year old grade four pupil under Miss Concepcion Yap as our teacher-in-charge. I was the third honor in our class (Alice Ngo was first, and Adelfa Tan was our second). "Sad Movies", "Crazy", "Tender is the Night" were the top tunes of the era, aired repeatedly over DXIC. Sexpots such as Divina Valencia and Stella Suarez caught the public's attention via their sexy movies shown then at King or Premier Theaters. We found pleasure watching our older brothers and sisters and their batch mates danced their way during jam sessions doing the Twist, Jerk, Elephant Walk, or Limbo Rock. There were only two political parties then (Nacionalista and Liberal). Diosdado Macapagal was the Philippine president with Emmanuel Pelaez as his vice-president.

April 3, l976 (Saturday).  I was the debonair 24-year old second year medical student clad in flare pants and clogs at the Cebu Institute of Medicine. I remember how, as a medical student, I burned midnight candles in order to hurdle a litany of exams, spending the weekends studying and doing overtime instead of pleasure hopping or going NC at After Six or Star Flame to the tune of John Travolta's "Saturday Night Fever", singing Barry Manilow's "I Write This Song", Rico Puno's "Namamasyal pa sa Luneta na walang pera ...", Sharon Cuneta's "Mr. D.J. puede bang mag-request ...". It was the era of Mother Lily's Regal Babies, and the Bagets group of Aga, Raymond, Herbert, et al. It was the llth year of the Marcos regime with Martial Law being on its 4th year in our country, DST, curfew, and all that.

April 3, l988 (Sunday). I celebrated my 36th birthday at Hadsan beach with friends and fellow doctors. I was a practising internist awaiting excitedly to be a father of Hazel Valerie who was born on June 23, l988 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I was there a week before she was born. Rick Ashley's "Together Forever" was such a sensation along with Gloria Estefan's "Rhythm is Gonna Get You", our very own Gary Valenciano, Pops and Martin; Archie Lacson's "Penthouse 7", Elvira Manahan and Nestor Torre's "Two for the Road", Jeanne Young's "Spin-A-Win", Ariel Ureta, among others, occupying center stage of our mid-30s lifestyle. Corazon Aquino was the country's first lady president at a time when EDSA Revolution was still practically in everybody's vocabulary.

April 3, 2000. The present time. The Y2K bug. The New Millennium. The 2lst Century. The Great Jubilee. Yo! it's another Dragon Year - a celebration of life, another beginning. 48 summers contained in all of four Dragon Years. How's that for the record?

Today, I am remembering all those past birthdays of my life when I was the youngest in a family of 4 (our youngest sister, Evelyn, came in l96l), my grade school and high school years at LCHS, my sixteen-going-on-seventeen days, my college life at Silliman University, my medical student days at CIM, the years of being a doctor, a family man, a servant of God, and a law-abiding citizen of our country. Today, as I make a toast to the 48 summers of my life to celebrate another milestone, I pause and ponder and ask myself: What have I achieved? What are the lessons I learned from life? What have become of me? What are my dreams and aspirations? Where is life heading? How many more years will I live? These and many more confront me as I project a one-on-one, an honest to goodness auto-session with myself. As the song goes, "Do you know where you're going to? Do you like the way that life is treating you? Where are you going to? Do you know?"

At 48, I still believe in birthdays, not so much with celebrating it in a grandiose way, but more as a new beginning, to thank God for giving me the chance to have reached this far without much bruises, able to surmount the obstacles, trials and tribulations, of having true friends who saw the best and the worst of me, who were there to lend a helping hand, standing by and for me, living each day as it comes along, and looking forward to more happy birthdays until the golden years and thereafter.

My birthday wishes as I blow the numerical candles today are for good health, good tidings, and more beautiful moments that I can always look back with fondness in the sunset years of my life.  Thank you, dear friends, for sharing 48 summers of my life, for all your prayers and intercessions. Thank you, Lord, for friends and good times together.

My 11-year-old daughter and I had never been to a cruise before. We both like to travel for vacation, so we decided to take a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise with Princess Cruiseline. We were very happy with the "Sea Princess."

The ship was huge, elegant, and super clean. The sailing was so smooth that the Dramamine I packed came back still sealed! And the gourmet dining from fresh seafood, including lobster tails, to the best caviar to the finest steak and wines, plus all the desserts -- oh la la! moy delicioso! There was also a 24-hour food court with tons and tons of choices! The pizzeria where they prepared fresh individual pizza was excellente! Our favorite part was FREE room service that we somehow got used to every morning for breakfast! The service was superb. A royal treatment indeed! Different entertainment nightly from Broadway to comedy to magical show with Gaetano, who plays in "Spellbound" in Las Vegas, to professional singer from Australia. Lots of activities on board from the pools day and night, to disco to casino to bingo to dancing lessons to aerobics to movies, etc. We met a lot of nice people aboard. We had a blast!

It could have been one of the greatest vacations of a lifetime, but what a bummer! Our return flight was a fiasco! We never flew with TWA before and Princess Cruiseline booked us with TWA for our return flight. And we deeply regretted it!

We arrived at Miami International Airport at 10 a.m. from the pier, but our flight was not scheduled to leave until 5:30 p.m. or a total of 7 1/2 hours laid over! We immediately went to the TWA ticket counter to check in our 2 big and heavy pieces of luggage. The TWA ticket counter agent told us it was too early to check in. "Just come back later," she said without a smile. I explained to her that our luggage was too heavy to roll around the airport and Princess Cruiseline told us we could actually check in our luggage as soon as we were in the airport. The lady didn't seem happy about it, but she took them anyway. I asked her what should we do in case the flight would be delayed. Before I could even finish my sentence, she interrupted me with a slightly raised voice: "That's not what we are here for. If you think like that, that's very negative. That's not how we do business here -- we don't think of the worst!"  What I actually wanted to know was flight availability and whether TWA would offer free accommodation in case it happened since it was our first time to fly with them and we didn't know how they ran their business.

Did I jinx myself or what? Our flight left Miami at 6:30 p.m., instead of 5:30 p.m., and landed at Lambert St. Louis International Airport at 8:08 p.m. The door didn't open until 8:23 p.m. Poor us! We were on the mid section of the plane, so by the time we got out it was 8:30 p.m. We ran to check the departure monitor screen, then to the gate for our connecting flight for San Antonio. And guess what happened? Our seats were cancelled! They were given to someone else because we were late, and that was the last flight for the day! What else could happen after that very long and boring laid over in Miami? I asked the service counter agent what to do, and his response was: "You could either sleep here in the airport in those chairs or check into a hotel or motel, but YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN."  TWA would NOT offer us free accommodation nor confirmed flight for the following day. We were listed as "stand by passengers." TWA would not release our luggage. We were on shorts and t-shirts on cold and chilly St. Louis! We wore the same clothes for 3 days while being stranded in St. Louis!

The following day, we were in the airport from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., waiting from one departure gate to another hoping for a flight for San Antonio. But there was nothing for us. We checked in at Hampton Inn for two nights at our own expense. I missed a day at work and my daughter missed a day in school. We were very exhausted, desperate and frustrated that we ended up flying Southwest Airlines at our own expense after the second day!

After this experience, I promised myself never again to book an "All-inclusive" cruise package again. We could have been better off booking our own airlines separately. At least we could choose our own flight schedule and our choice of airline. Charge to experience?