Tears and Cheers
Tue, 23 Jun 1998 06:54:09 +0800

I'd like to express my condolence to Susan Ngo-Lo. We'll remember her mother through our prayers.   And please also add my congratulations to Dr. Henry Yu on his election as President of the Cebu Medical Society.

David Y. Dy, M.D., (Batch '73), Manila, Philippines
surgeon@mozcom.com

Our Sense of Independence
Tue, 23 Jun 1998 17:40:04 -0700

It's very nice to know something about the Philippine centennial celebration (LCHS Spectrum, June 15, 1998 issue).  It's always invigorating to know how deeply people value their nation's freedom and independence.  Like the Philippines, Mexico, too, was under Spanish rule for a long time.  Unfortunately I can't feel the precious sense of independence because, in my opinion, Mexico is still under foreign domination, that is the U.S.A., in the economic sense.  Many years ago, an ex-president of Mexico said,  "Poor Mexico, so far away from God, yet so close to the U.S.A.!" Vaya con Dios!

Yolanda Salgado, System Administrator, Departamento de Supercomputo, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico
yoli@kahlua.super.unam.mx

Death of a Classmate
Fri, 26 Jun 1998 23:48:27 -0400

The untimely and violent death of my friend and former classmate Honorata "YaoYao" Tan deeply saddened me.  She was a member of Batch '58,  the first graduates of LCHS in English.  We went to St. Michael's College the first two years then transferred to LCHS where we graduated. We lost touch after graduation.  I remember the five of us females on the swing during breaks.  Memories are coming back.  May her soul rest in peace.  My deepest condolence to her family.

With a grieving heart,
Aurora Tansiokhian, M.D., (Batch '58), Bunn Hill, New York, U.S.A
atanust65@pol.net
 

Dateline Buffalo

By Ernesto L. Yu, M.D., Batch 1965 Ernstyu49@aol.com

The fundamental issue is fairness, devoid of any minute tinge of bias or partiality. The core topic of debate is why can't Internet servers supervise the stream of rampant, nonchalant adoptions of Hollywood names as e-mail addresses?  OK, America is a mighty planet renowned for extending to her inhabitants a cafeteria-style assortment of rights and freedoms: Right to read Readers' Digest in the bathroom and evolve educated with two pages missing; freedom of acquired hearing loss to spousal speeches and swinging messages.  But come on, Alex Rodriguez's (alpacino_8@hotmail.com) gallant identity makeover, utilizing a famed actor's screen name, is an act of reckless trespass (even buddy Al will attest to that!).  How can Dr. Do Little bestow to himself the throne of the Oscar-nominee in "The Scent of A Woman" without the preliminary, obligatory voice mails?  Granted that the Spectrum's part-time medical advisor has distinguished himself with packed liters of the opposite gender's musk, his ceremonial name-grabbing should have been executed after feeding us an ample duration to petition an instant replay to his stunt.  Essentially, I was wrestled down by potent Fernando Poe (Alex's other established code) without the slim chance to battle for that privilege.  And because of the acuteness of his reverse maneuver, I'm crippled by just two other choiced celebrities' (my look alike) tags as possible e-mail titles: Me_KRooney@hotmail.com or Ponga_Dong@aol.com.

Do you think piano-ace Liberace - if elected as an e-mail headliner - is French and class enough to trade fingeernails-scratches (not punches, Inday) with Al Pacino's “The Godfather's Hustlers” from Miami, Florida?

Be as it may, toss out the voodoo diamond and black magic.  Now.  Our printers sorely miss your weekly sermons and cathartic caresses.
 

Sentimental Journey

By Henry L. Yu, M.D., Batch 1969

"Raindrops keep falling on my head, and just like the guy whose feet are too big for his head, nothing seems to fit, those raindrops keep falling on my head, they keep falling..."  A very familiar song indeed!

Remember how we hummed this particular piece while we walked leisurely along the campus of LCHS, circa 1960s?  We were then high schoolers when radio stations DXIC, DXRI, or DXMI would play this song either as a dedicated piece for the radio listeners or as plain top tune of the decade.  It was one of the most popular hits, so much so that we can still memorize the lyrics despite the thirty something years that have passed.

So, what's so significant about the rain?  I remember 1965, it was raining when I wrote my first poem.  It was also raining on the very first day of classes on June 6, 1966 at LCHS.  Our Junior-Senior Prom on March 23, 1968 started late because of the rain.  And what about the many birthday celebrations in my life and other special occasions when it rained?

Oh, just how we enjoyed ourselves running around our backyard, just simply playing in the rain! And what about the typical smell of the vaporizing heat emanating from the asphalted streets of Iligan after a downpour?  The black umbrella we used to shield ourselves from the rain. The black-outs that we experienced because of the heavy rain.  The taste of steamingly hot chicken noodle soup at home on a rainy afternoon.  These and many more always bring forth to our memories the unforgettable adventures of our youth, whether in school, at home, or wherever we may be.

In the Philippines, rainy season usually occurs during school days.  After the summer's scorching heat comes the rain which makes our greeneries happy, if only they can talk.  Decades may have passed, but the sound, feel, and sight of raindrops that keep falling on our heads are practically the same as when we were teenagers.  The sight of those dewdrops on the petals of red roses are still that marvelous to behold!

The coming of the rainy days is one aspect in our life where we are all equal.  When it rains, all of us get wet.  It is that time of the year when raincoats, jackets, umbrellas, or even newspapers (to cover our heads) are infinite necessities.  The rain may bring inconveniences to majority of us, but to some, they welcome it with gusto.  I remember how Alex Handumon used to sing "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain..." or how Gloricita Racines and Virginia Ngo would feel disappointed when they could not practise for their volleyball game when it rained, or how we loved staying home and slept like a log when it rained at night.

I remember June 25, 1997 (Wednesday) in Iligan, it was raining when we sent off my best friend Jimmy Ling to eternal rest.  Today, after one year, I still miss him being one of the best friends I had in a lifetime. The memories of Jimmy (Takiong) will always linger on, along with our happy years of youthful innocence spent in our beloved hometown that is Iligan.

The same rainy days that occurred in our era are happening to our kids' time now.  For always, whenever it rains, the memories of bygone days somehow keep coming back like a sweet refrain of a melody.  After the rain comes the sun or the starry night.  Just like in life, another promising day of brightness comes after the problems, predicaments, or dilemmas. It does not rain forever, does it?
 

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd finger-paint more, and point the fingers less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd teach less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love.

Among the nooks and crannies of the old LCHS Roosevelt campus, one of the least visited was perhaps the school library.  Yet, to me, it remained one of the more memorable of them all.

Why it deterred most of the students was perhaps because the library was located way up on the upper floor of the building annex the auditorium, rendering it less accessible.  Which runs true to the adage that reading books is like scaling new heights.  Or perhaps it was because the library was haunted.  Tales of apparitions and ghosts lurking in the library chamber were a dime a dozen. Yet I had never seen any such ghosts in the lib.  Perhaps they were more scared of me than I of them.

The library building was the tallest structure on campus.  Adjacent to the lib were the quarters of the school principal Tan Lian Hun and his wife whom we all addressed as Hao Tiu Niew.   Occasionally, Mr. Tan would be seen scanning the campus grounds from high up on the balcony of the building, from which perch one could have a vantage view of the surroundings.  As a child, I remember often seeing Mr. Tan on the balcony and assuming him to be some sort of sentinel on tower duty pretty much like a lifeguard on baywatch.

Through the years, the principal's quarters had also been home to a number of visiting dignitaries. One of the more notable of such visitors was the Taiwanese movie star, Tsihn Suat Hong.  During her concert tour in Iligan in 1960, she was billeted at the principal's quarters.  Day in and day out, her presence on campus drove students and fans to queue up to the library building for her autograph.  I was among those forming the queue.  Unfortunately, as soon as I reached the front of the line, I was promptly sent out on an errand by Hao Tiu Niew to fetch some soft drinks from the school canteen.  Well, I never got the superstar's autograph.  But for days I bragged to my classmates that I was the one who quenched her thirst.

Despite its seeming lack of patronage, the library stored an abundant collection of books, reference materials, encyclopedia, and the biggest tome of Webster's dictionary I'd ever seen.  The two-volume dictionary occupied center stage. That was the dictionary in which I picked up my first lesson in word meanings.  All the class assignments I performed thereafter were copied from my classmates.

Other than that, I don't remember ever climbing up the long steps to the library to browse the books stored in its shelves.  Much of the occasions in which I was drawn to the library was to satisfy my thirst for a rather less scholarly pursuit.  The lofty balcony had a good view of its backyard where at certain hours in the morning several neighborhood maidens would bathe in the open at the public artesian well. (Continued next issue)

Staff Photos:  Pictures of all Spectrum staff members are now in.  They are on display on this web site: http://www.iligan.com/~lchs/alumni/staff.html