Clan Pride
Wed, 1 Jul 1998 00:21:55 -0400

I would like to compliment editor Charles O. Sy for continuing the tradition of scholarship of the Sys of  Chusan (Sa-Ya-Tao),  Kinmen.  His grandfather's historical autobiography is an example of a committed intellect unique for its time.  I am proud to have a maternal grandfather and mother that belonged to the clan.  It was in that heritage that my parents supported me in my pursuit of higher learning in spite of being very nearsighted and FEMALE.  I remember visiting Charley's parents' home in Iligan as a child with my mother.  I perceived gentility in that home. Well done, Paisan. Please keep plugging and continue to carry the torch.

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 '65  Ernstyu49@aol.com

Seemingly, to entertain the catchword "Reckless Abandonment" you need to really splash your mouth with sinful loads of saturated fats till your blood corpuscles sluggishly float on foams of sludgy cholesterol sewage.  Nonetheless, as is usual in human life cycle, gratifying cheesy and creamy delights are always packaged with adverse ill-effects. The more you heightened the doomsday preachings, the more you cultivate the drive to topple down the scare-tactics of the mainstream philosophy.
And so goes the story line of my bloating and plumpish transformation in a culture and cuisine called American.

Or am I the basket case?
 

Mixed Bag from Bunn Hill By Aurora H. Tansiokhian, M.D., Batch'58 atanust65@pol.net

I have just returned from Cambridge, Massachusetts where I attended  a comprehensive review and update in internal medicine.  Sponsored by the Harvard Medical School, the program was held at a hotel overlooking the Charles River.

Charles River divides Boston from Cambridge. Along the Charles are numerous docks with moored boats ranging from expensive yachts to simple rowboats. Cambridge is the home of Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There are several bridges that cross the river.  My favorite is Longfellow Bridge named in honor of the poet who moved to Cambridge when he became a professor at Harvard.  Joggers cross the bridge from Boston to Cambridge and continue on the wide path along the Charles enjoying the spectacular view of the Boston skyline. Jogging along the Charles, I was content.

Whenever I go for CME (continuing medical education), I come home and again realize that despite all the changes and advances in medicine, there are some basic things we can do  to take care of ourselves.  Here’s what I’ve learned both as a physician and a patient.

Take responsibility for your health (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual). 1) Eat a low fat diet, watch your caloric intake and weight.  2) Exercise regularly.  Brisk walking is easy and beneficial.  3) Waistline.  Slender is better. Fat that collects around the waist is a serious health threat. Weight that sits on the thighs or hips carries a lesser risk of developing serious heart problems.  4) If you must drink alcohol, do so in extreme moderation. 5) No tobacco -- even cigars!  6)  Each day, choose to embrace a good attitude. I believe life is mostly how we react to it. 7) Practice monogamy and safe sex.  8) Read, read, read about health.  Information is power.  Read inspirational materials.  9) If you are religious, you are way ahead -- the data do support this. 10) Be kind! 11) Smile a lot. The above you can do on your own.  What you’ll need to accomplish these are self discipline and determination.  No doctors needed!

About selecting a physician:  See an internist (my bias) for a  general check up. Not all doctors are alike.  Some are very capable, some border on being incompetent.  Make sure he or she is qualified and has kept up with the changes in medicine.  Do not be impressed with a big office, an expensive suit or outfit, diplomas on the wall, or a very confident attitude.

When in doubt, get another opinion. Ask questions. Physicians are human beings.  We make mistakes.  Do not let us harm you with the wrong diagnosis or treatment. The most expensive treatment is the wrong treatment. As a joke goes, if it is not your time yet, even a doctor can not kill you.

Take an assertive person with you to the doctor for moral support.  Ask for written instructions. Women, trust your intuition.

If you are diagnosed with cancer or any other serious illness, get another opinion. The diagnosis may be wrong. Do not rush into anything. Talk with friends and family.  Go to church and pray for guidance and talk with a trusted priest or minister. Take a few days off for meditation. With breast and prostate cancer, among others, there are treatment options. Do not forget alternative or complimentary medicine such as acupuncture which may help some chronic pain. You will increase your probability of survival if you are able to make an intelligent decision and have a measure of control.

Take responsibility and be in charge.  It is your only life.

Till next time.
 

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

Reading through the last issue of the Spectrum (June 29, 1998) brought forth certain memories of my school days at LCHS in the '60s.  Those school programs that they are having now are practically the same things we had during our time, namely: oratorical contest, spelling, math, drawing, declamation, dance contest, song solo, etc.  In short, literary contest.

As one of the contestants in the oratorical and declamation contests, I would spend extra time practising for my piece by staying in class after dismissal time, or faced the mirror at home while I delivered my piece.  I had Miss Chona Serrato as my mentor in the oratorical, while Miss Teresita Maulas for the science quiz bowl, and Miss Catalina Daan for my Tagalog declamation entitled "Sa Lingo Ang Pola" which I delivered at DXMI on August 19, 1966 for the Linggo ng Wika, commemorating the special day of President Manuel Quezon.

When we were in grade school, we also participated in the dance contest as part of the Fiesta celebration of Iligan.  We represented our school in the inter-school dance contest held then at the Iligan City High School auditorium. Then there was that affair tagged as "Chinese Night" which meant that on that particular night, it was the turn of Lanao Chinese High school to present its numbers. The presentation was a mixture of Chinese dances, folk, and modern. The audience was composed mostly of students and parents of participants who were just proud to see their children in that part of the program.  We were the stars in our time.  The celebrities of decades past.  Miss Virginia Handumon was the dance mentor.  The costumes, the make-ups, the practice, the dress rehearsals, etc.  All these were part of our years in LCHS. And you cannot just throw away memories!

We also had contests in drawing, writing, etc.  And just how happy we were to see our entries being posted on the bulletin board, adjudged as winners.  Prizes came in the form of one pack of notebooks, pens, papers, and other school supplies.  To us, that was something. It was the honor of being winners that mattered more to us.  More so when family friends would congratulate our parents for our victories in these contests. I remember my parents giving me a vacation trip to Cebu as their reward for me. I also remember the times when I would get a 100% score in our periodical tests and my parents would give me cash as my prize. Oh, children really do have simple pleasures, don't they?

July 4 will always remain imprinted in our minds as "Fil-Am Day" (Philippine-American Friendship Day). This event was celebrated in our school with lots of funfares and contests. There was this speech contest where we delivered literary pieces of Shakespeare and other notable writers. We would sing "God Bless America" as part of the celebration.

Today, after almost four decades, we wake up to the reality that we are students no more. Gone are those days when we used to be the school's contestants.  For now, it is our kids who are taking the cue.  And that makes us their mentors, run-around alalays, supporters. In short, we have become stage-parents, a role which makes us feel happy, proud and nostalgic no end primarily because we remember our own time in LCHS.   We move one step ahead: our children become us, we become the parents, and our parents become the grandparents.  Very soon, we too will become lolos and lolas.  Only then will we realize the beauty of growing old gracefully.

Let me just share with you this beautiful piece about the ageing process:

"For those who have an ageing person at home, we thank God
for being Filipinos, because in general we still respect and
cherish our elderly. Ageing is a slow process of saying
goodbye. You say goodbye to friends who die ahead of you.
You say goodbye to familiar places you move from old neighborhood
to a village in the suburbs. You say goodbye to old traditions,
old ideas and old familiar church hymns, and love songs.
Everything seems to be leaving you when you grow old and gray.
Even your eyesight and your memory."

Conceived, in essence, as a center for student research, the old LCHS  library was, in practice, a multi-purpose center.  It doubled as a supply station where we purchased our text books, stationery, notepads, Chinese brushes and other school materials.  For some campus lovebirds, it was a convenient trysting place.  Its meager lighting provided just the exact ambience for the incurable romantic to exchange sweet nothings in some obscure corners.  It was their way of spending quality time in the lib, or so it seemed. For some reason, the scant lighting also added to the eerie aura, prompting students doing research or whatever clandestine activity, to race for the exit at the slightest echo of some mysterious footsteps, real or imagined.

The lower end of the library staircase also led to the backstage of the school auditorium.  On many occasions during school programs, the space underneath the staircase served as an extended dressing room for the performers.  No wonder not a few naughty boys often preferred to  hang around by the staircase during school programs.  Alas, the girls never understood us when we told them they looked better backstage than onstage.

Ironically, the lib was not the place where we read the newspapers.  Daily newspapers were available at the faculty office instead.  They were accessible to students and teachers alike.   Which was just as well for it allowed students and faculty to mingle at the office while sharing the papers.  The Manila Times was the leading newspaper and from it I was introduced to the writing styles of such notable columnists as Teodoro Valencia, Mariano Querol, Max Soliven, Joe Guevara, Alfredo Roces, Walter Lippman, and J.V. Cruz.

Through the years, the lib had seldom been a favorite hub of student activities.  It came alive only when the student council would gather there for council meetings.  Holding court at these gathering were the student leaders of our time, the likes of Wilson Lim, Sergio Siao, Teresita Siao, Vy Sio Tin, Leonardo Tan, Marcy Sy, Lucio Choa Tan, Stephen Sy, Helen Ngo, Vy Beng Hong, Felipe Lim, Richard Lim, Roderick Ngo, among others.  In this august hall were charted the course of events for such major school affairs like Confucius Day, October Ten Celebration, and the annual Intramurals. I attended a few such meetings as PRO of the student council for a year.  But I had never been absorbed in the discussion whatsoever.  Somehow in the middle of the deliberations, my mind almost always drifted somewhere else ... toward the balcony overlooking the backyard by the open artesian well.

If only for that, to me, the long, hard climb to the lib was well worth the effort.  Of such adolescent revelries are my memories of the old LCHS library forever enshrined.