Internet Newsletter of the Alumni of Lanao Chung Hua School Iligan, Philippines, Year 5, Issue No.17, Nov. 19, 2001 RECORD HIGH Spectrum draws more web viewers The Spectrum Home Page visitors counter shot up from 479 hits in September to a record high of 1,176 hits in October. The new record dislodges June as the month with the highest recorded hits.  June used to hold the highest number of visitors with 498 log-ins since the time the Spectrum web site moved to GeoCities, U.S.A. in February this year. The new record of 1,176 hits last October indicates that more and more Internet surfers are browsing the Spectrum on the World Wide Web.  The unprecedented rise in its number of visitors could be attributable in part to an added feature on the Spectrum Home Page.  The new feature, labelled "What's New," publishes burning issues about Iligan City and late-breaking news related to LCHS not included in the regular issues of the Spectrum newsletter.  Controversial issues of interest to LCHS alumni are also featured thereat from time to time. The web site, administered by Charles O. Sy, allows viewers worldwide to ventilate their ideas concerning the issues by posting their comments on-line.  Spectrum readers are invited to chip in a word or two of their own on this web site: www.geocities.com/lchsspectrum.

EDITORIAL STAFF Henry L. Yu, Editor  Correspondents: Roger Suminguit, Teresita Racines, Vinson Ngo & Johnny Chen (Iligan); Igdono Caracho (Cebu);  Marie Janiefer Lee (Manila); Peter Dy (Canada); Leonardo Tan (Australia); Ernesto Yu & Aurora Tansiokhian (U.S.A.); and Charles O. Sy, Editorial Consultant Founded Aug. 1, 1968. Published fortnightly since its revival on April 15, 1997. Distributed free on the Internet to LCHS alumni & supporters worldwide. Postal address: LCHS Alumni Association, Lanao Chung Hua School, Pala-o, Iligan City, Philippines. Web site: www.geocities.com/lchsspectrum Spectrum welcomes articles, news reports & comments from LCHS alumni, students and readers. For contribution or subscription, contact: Roger Suminguit, tel. 221-2422; Teresita Racines, tel. 221-3253, or Henry Yu, Suite 101, Visayas Community Medical Center, Osmeña Blvd., Cebu City 6000, Philippines; E-mail: hvty@skyinet.net

Henry C. Dy (Batch '64) led members and volunteers of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), Iligan chapter, in distributing relief goods last Nov. 12 to victims of the recent calamity in Camiguin, Misamis Oriental. Included among the relief goods were blankets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, noodles, and various foodstuffs. Tropical storm "Nanang" left a swath of destruction on Nov. 7, 2001 in the popular resort island of Camiguin. Over 100 fatalities were reported and scores missing in the aftermath of the flashfloods brought by the storm. Henry Dy is the chairman of Iligan Red Cross and a member of the PNRC Board of Governors.

Siok An is recipient of teachers award

Victoria "Siok An" Kho-Chua (Batch '64) has been adjudged a recipient of the "4th Annual Outstanding Chinese Teachers Award" in Metro Cebu.  The award, courtesy of the Mario Osmeña (Lao Hai Diong) Educational Foundation, is given in honor of teachers for their exemplary service in the promotion of Chinese language & education.  Siok An, one of this year's five honorees representing different schools in Cebu, will receive a cash prize of P50,000 and a trophy.  Awarding ceremony will be held at the Cebu Grand Convention Center on Nov. 22.  Siok An is a faculty member of the Chinese high school department of the Cebu Eastern College.  Her elder sister, Kho Siok We (Batch '57), was also a recipient of the award last year.

Raffle tickets available by e-mail
By Roger Suminguit (Batch '73)

Alumni residing outside Iligan who wish to support the LCHS Alumni Scholarship Program may buy our Christmas raffle tickets through e-mail.  To book your order, simply indicate your desired number of booklets by e-mail to Terry Racines at: csm-tur@sulat.msuiit.edu.ph, and remit the corresponding payment to First E-Bank, Iligan Branch, Iligan City, account No. 607-201-02121-3, under the account name of "James Booc & Vy Beng Hong."  Tickets are sold at P1,000 per booklet.  The LCHS-AA will keep your purchased booklets for you and mark your ticket stubs with your name accordingly for inclusion in the raffle draw.  Proceeds of tickets sales will all go the Scholarship Fund.

Kao Hoc bags gold in Mindanao games

Nikko Kao Hoc, son of Benny Kao Hoc (Batch '69), romped off with two gold medals for Iligan City in the swimming competition of the First Mindanao Friendship Games.  Nikko topped the 200-m butterfly and 400-m individual medley, to bring Iligan's haul of 6 gold, 3 silver, and 4 bronze medals in swimming.  The sportsfest is the biggest to be staged in the region since the Mindanao Meet in the 1960s.  It is held in Tubod, Lanao del Norte, about an hour and a half bus ride away from Iligan.

By Roger Suminguit, Batch '73

Fun and fellowship on LCHS Foundation Day

As in previous years,  LCHS alumni collectively joined the rest of the community in the celebration of the 63rd Foundation Day of the alma mater last Nov. 12.  One of the highlights of the festivities, the basketball tournament, saw the participation of the LCHS team, Lanao Filipino-Chinese Volunteer Fire Brigade team, LCHS Faculty team, and the LCHS Alumni team.  Comprising the Fire Brigade team were Kelly Dy, team captain; Agustin Cu, Eddie Lueong, Dominador Tan, Prudencio "Wahoy" Tan, Jackson Wong, Henry Lagrosas, Tony Lueong, Alberto Allere Jr., and Jerry Ling.  The LCHS Alumni team, on the other hand, was composed of Ronald Rae Samson (Batch '99), Danilo Zorilla (Batch 2000), Tony Lueong (Batch '79), Roberto Lagrosas (Batch '72), Michael Anthony Cerna (Batch 2000), and Jerome Lee (Batch 2000).   Game results: LCHS Team, champion; LCHS Faculty, 2nd; and Fire Brigade, 3rd.

After the playoffs, the Fire Brigade cagers gathered at their favorite hangout for some fun and fellowship.  Over a few rounds of beer, the boys took turns singing oldies-but-goldies hits of the Beatles, Bee Gees, Dave Clark Five, the Cascades, and the Platters.  They filled the evening air with songs like "Sentimental Friend," "Proud Mary," "Hey Jude," "Let It Be," and "Everybody Knows."  Not to be outdone, Kelly Dy joined the fray with his favorite Chinese song, "Mei Hua."  Needless to say, it was an evening of wholesome fun and fellowship -- just like our good old days at LCHS.  What about you, guys?   When was the last time you got together with your classmates or barkada?  When was the last time you revisited our alma mater?  How about getting your batch together for a Christmas reunion this December?  I will help arrange your activity for those coming home from outside Iligan.

Remedios Ling (Batch '72) and Johnny Ling (Batch '74) of King Sing Bazaar were in town to grace the 50th wedding anniversary of their parents.  The celebration was held at their Pala-o residence last Nov. 4.  Among the guests at the affair was Gloria Q. Tan (Batch '72).  She breezed into town in time for another happy gathering: A reunion of high school chums at Sunburst Restaurant. Among those present were Elaine Co-Bartolome (Batch '73), Leonila Kwan-Zorilla (Batch '72), Cecilia Bernardo-Tablason (Batch '72), Jackson Wong (Batch '72), Prudencio "Wahoy" Tan (Batch '72), Edilino Dagondon (Batch '74), and Roger Suminguit (Batch '73).  Celebrating their Golden Jubilee this year is Batch 1951, and Silver Jubilee, Batch 1976.  And please don't miss our Alumni Christmas Party on Dec. 30.  Let's all be there.  More fun and fellowship await everyone!

What's the name of Hao Tiu Niew?

We all called her Hao Tiu Niew, a form of official address for the wife of the school principal.  She came to LCHS with her husband, school principal Tan Dian Hun in 1953 and stayed on well into the 70s.  During her stint at LCHS, she taught kindergarten all throughout.  And  practically every student of LCHS between the 50s and 70s came under her tutelage.  Everyone addressed her simply as Hao Tiu Niew.  But do you know her real name?  For the answer, see our "Flashback" feature on the last page of this issue.
 

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

51.)  In bringing the coffin down the house, the head should be the first so that the dead will have an easy journey to his destiny.
52.)  If two sisters or two brothers get married within the same year, one will have a prosperous married life, while the other will have a sorrowful life.
53.)  A couple receiving a urinal as a wedding gift will have good luck, prosperity and riches.
54.)  If a pregnant woman looks beautiful and kind, she will have a baby girl; if she looks ugly and cruel, she will have a baby boy.
55.)  Combing one’s hair at night will cause the death of one’s parents.
56.)  If one puts his used plates over those of others while some are still eating, the last one to leave the table will have many problems.
57.)  If one gives a wallet or bag as a gift, he must put some money in it for good luck.
58.)  One must settle his debts before January 1st of the New Year or else he will always be in debt the whole year.
59.)  One must wear dotted clothes on New Year’s Day for financial prosperity.
60.)  On Good Friday, one must not do hard work, take a bath, eat meat, or make any noise because “God is dead.”
61.)  On Easter Sunday, all children must jump high upon hearing the sound of the church Easter bells so that they will grow taller.
62.)  When a person receives as a gift a statue of Buddha with children around him, the receiver will be lucky with his children.
63.)  If one receives a jade stone or his own birth stone as a gift, he will be lucky in life.
64.)  Putting a statue of Santo Niño in one’s store or business place brings good luck.
65.)  One must make the sign of the cross before he leaves his house or before taking a long journey so that he will arrive safely at his destination.
66.)  Upon transferring to a new house, the occupants must bring rice, sugar, salt, and cooking oil so that they will have a prosperous and happy life in that house.
67.)  Eating peanuts makes a person intelligent.
68.)  If red ants are abundant in a certain part of the house, good fortune will come to the occupants of the house.
69.)  A baby born with a mole on his forehead (intelligent); on his foot (will travel a lot); on the upper lip (talkative); near his eyes (will be widowed); on his shoulder (will have lots of hardships and sorrows).
70.)  A man with natural curly hair is temperamental and moody.
71.)  A man with a deep nape is stingy.
72.)  A child with two cowlicks on his head is a hard-headed child.
73.)  There should be noodles or pancit during birthday celebrations so that the celebrant will have a long life.
74.)  A person with a wide forehead (intelligent); with narrow forehead (dull);  wide shoulder (lazy).
75.)  Coins are tossed during house blessings so that prosperity and good luck will come to the dwellers.
76.)  Cutting the baby’s eyelashes within the first three months will cause her to have long and curly ones.
77.)  Changing the name of the baby who is critically ill may save his life.
78.)  Don’t sweep the floor when there is a wake for the dead in that house as this will cause the death of someone else in the family.
79.)  Giving a handkerchief as a gift will cause grief to either the giver or receiver.
80.)  A pregnant woman should not act as a baptismal sponsor because her baby might die.
81.)  If tears are shed on the coffin of the dead, the soul of the dead person will never have peace.
82.)  If the wishes of a pregnant woman are not satisfied, this will lead to her having a miscarriage or abortion.
83.)  Amulets or anting-antings protect the wearer from illnesses and help counteract witchery. They also promote good health.
84.)  Diarrhea and fever normally accompanies the teething of babies.
85.)  Eating too much fish causes intestinal worms.
86.)  Peeping causes stye or buwinggit.
87.) A person delivered  breech or buttocks or feet first has the special power to remove fish spines in the throat of others either by simply applying his hands or handkerchief on the neck or by rubbing his saliva over it.
88.) Friday, the 13th, is an unlucky day – doubly unlucky – for anyone who does any business, work, or operation.
89.)  Meeting a funeral procession is a bad omen.
90.)  When a gust of wind passes by and a child looks at objects above his forehead, he will develop a squint.
91.)  The main door of the house should face the rising sun so that good luck and abundance will come inside the house.
92.)  If sweethearts give each other gifts like shoes or slippers, their relationship will not last long.
93.)  When a cat sitting by the door cleans its paws or rub its face, a visitor is coming.
94.)  A baby born with a big birthmark anywhere on his body will be lucky.
95.)  Don’t  take an unbaptized baby out of the house for he will meet an accident.
96.)  A family that lives in a house in which the stairs face the sun will have bad luck.
97.)  If a sick person on his way to the hospital meets a black cat, he will die.
98.)  One should not decorate a dress with pearls because it means she will shed tears.
99.)  When it rains during one’s wedding it means the couple will have many children.
100.) If it rains during the burial of a dead person, it means that he doesn’t want to die yet.

Straight from the Heart By Marie Janiefer Q. Lee Batch '87

One day inside the women’s locker room, I overheard two women talking seriously.  I couldn’t help but hear most of what they were talking about because they were just outside the dressing booth I was using.  Their conversation started when lady A asked lady B what’s the reason for her long absence from the gym.  Lady B said that her father just died and she got so depressed that she didn’t even want to come out of the house.  It took her months to slowly try to pick up the pieces of her life.

Lady B is already in her forties, and my guess is that she also has a family of her own by now.   I just didn’t expect her to be that affected being a matured person or somebody a lot older than I was when I lost my father. I just thought that as we get older, losing someone we love would be easier to handle.  I thought that through the years we’d learn a few tricks on how to handle such instances. It just never occurred to me that no matter what age we are, losing a parent is always a traumatic experience.  Something we can never be emotionally prepared for.

Lady B decided to come out and start working on her health, too, because she didn’t want her kids to be without a mother any time soon.  Which really hit me, because I’ve also adapted that same principle.  I feel that the best wealth we could leave our children is our presence. To be there when our kids have their own kids. To be able to chase our grandkids around.

I also see this principle at work whenever I see my mother.  She’s always an advocate of physical fitness.  She may not be the aerobic buff that the new generation has come up with but she’d rather walk around Iligan rather than take a ride.  For her it’s not only saving her money but it’s also a great exercise. I think her regular walking is what’s giving her this seemingly healthy life.  How I wish that when I reach her age I’d also be able to run with a granddaughter or play hide and seek with some grandsons.

For me, knowing that she’s there gives me that certain feeling of security.  I know this type of security would have been doubled if my father were still here.  How I wish my father were still here. This is a kind of “security” that could never be bought even if you have all the wealth in the world.  And up until now I think that the only man that could and would love a girl unconditionally is her father.  I lost that man at 15.

I may start to sound like a broken record by pleading once again to each and everyone to please try to lead a healthy life, to be responsible for your own health.  Some people may think that their life doesn’t measure up to something at this time but someday your children will thank you for just being there. Just like how blessed I feel to have my mother around.

Just this morning the yaya of my son Justin told me that the mother of one of Justin’s classmates died a few days ago.  I feel so sorry for the child she left behind. At such a young age how would this child be able to cope without a mother?  Materially he’d be fine but he’ll be forever scarred from the loss of his mother.

No amount of money can ever bring her back. No amount of money can ever replaced a mother’s love.
 

moody BLUES, 14221 By Ernesto L. Yu, M.D. Batch '65

Sleep At A Discount?:   I remember being startled by an anxious patient when I introduced myself as her anesthesiologist. "I know your kind," she blurted out without a hint of a grin, "you gave me the most expensive sleep in my life." I could have exploited the shock value of the potent sedatives in my hand to numb her bluntness and mellow down her nerves. Instead, I elected to counter her unsolicited harassing remark with an equally awakening uppercut, "Actually, ma'am, the charge was not for putting you to sleep. It was for waking you up." Such incident easily qualifies as a painful illustration of a layman's devaluation of the vital role anesthesiologists portrays in their surgical quest for healing. As specialists educated and trained in the art of inducing unconsciousness, we are the very last medical personnels in the team whom patients will ever try to remember. For one thing, we are the very ones who caused them to "forget" us. Until, of course, they get knocked off their shoes when our bill rings their doorbells. Again, a relatively cute charge if one considers the many variables we have to deal with to save them from total recall of the painful episodes associated with the dissection rock'n'roll of ailing organs. The conduct of anesthesia actually entails, among other things, the mastery of drugs and gases which can depress and be lethal to the major cylinders that make life chug along. Although the chance of getting into a car accident is statistically higher than dying from an anesthetic mishap (1:250,000), the complication could be as fatal as death or be in a vegetative state. As such, our field of expertise borders on an all-out vigilance, using clinical eyes and sophisticated monitors, and keen awareness of any changes that need immediate corrective maneuvers before such insults tip the balance toward the disaster scale. There is no slice of truth to those rumors about anesthesiologists snoring in synch with patients' hypnotized heartbeats, reading Golf Digest on the job, slurping the thrill of crossword puzzles. How about flipping the preview pages of Spectrum?

Your guess is as sound as my snore.

All That Jazz:   Brod Henry's latest backpack of "Superstitious Beliefs" has really cheered my funny bones. His enumeration of take-it-or-leave-it pack of "scare tactics", borne out of our homeland's avid fascination in folklores and anything incredibly and ridiculously eerie was all I need to amuse myself, to buffer all these nightmarish headlines about an exotic bug named Anthrax. This form of brainwashing by tradition has never worked on my kids. Being fortunate not to be contaminated with these old wives' tales, there's no way my boys will mumble "Tabi apo" to appease tree spirits when they are consumed by the urge to spray freely their excretory juices on bark. Likewise, they will probably laugh to death if I impose my brand of Martial Law during Good Fridays (Strap yourselves at home!) because a minor bruise could progress into a lifetime bundle of aches and miseries; or abort any plans of visiting the hilltop with their dates, supposedly to hear how crickets hum differently at the peak (Yeah right!), whenever a black cat crosses their path en route to the evening musical of sweet surrender. Guess this is a like father, like son acquired attitude pattern because I myself is not a subscriber to this nonsense. Opps, I stand corrected: I discovered late in college life that my habit of unmindful squatting on textbooks was the primary cause of my mental lapses during exams (heard this excuse before?). The superstition that "drying woman's underwear at night causes pregnancy" is something taken from a chapter in "Believe It Or Not".

Gosh, that would be a bomb to fertility clinics!

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Ever since arriving in Manila, I have heard many stories about the food at the UP (University of the Philippines), especially its cheapness.  They say that in UP you can buy twice the amount of food with the same amount of money.  So, with a budget of P150 (which is actually very little, if you plan to go on a food trip in Manila), I took a jeepney to UP with my friend Jenny, and thus began my first food trip.

It was already 10 o'clock in the morning when we reached UP and we decided to have a late breakfast.  We went to the Casaa Food Center, which was highly recommended to me by my friends.  When we entered the place, I was welcomed by the tingling aroma of different food in the different stalls.  We decided to look around before we actually decided what to eat.  Our eyes were greeted by the different kinds of pasta, steak, soup, salad, sandwiches and other delicacies but what I'm really interested is to find if the food tastes as good as it looks.  I ordered spaghetti (my favorite) and a very large fresh lumpia.  The spaghetti cost P25 and the lumpia (which was so big I didn't finish it) cost only P26, and mind you, it tasted much more than I paid for.  Both had a lot of flavor in them and were different from the food I usually eat in fast food restaurants in Manila.  The food that I ate made me remember the food in Iligan: cheap and really worth your money.

After eating at Casaa, I felt like I already had not only breakfast but also lunch and dinner in one meal.  I was so full that I decided we should walk to our next destination, which was the UP Shopping Center.  Upon our arrival, we immediately went to the consumer's cooperative, which is like the main and the biggest cafeteria in the center.  There was already a very long line of hungry customers waiting to be served when I took a look (and the tables were almost full).  Then I went to check out the other places in the center where food is being served.  There were a number of cafes inside the Center and most of them were full of students having their lunch.  I also saw a bakeshop in the center where not only bread is being sold but also other Filipino kakanins such as puto, bibingka, biko, and others.

Surrounding the center were a number of stands that offer fish balls, squid balls, bananacue, sago at gulaman and others.  But the thing that caught my attention was a white pastry made out of buko called buding.  I have seen a lot of pastries but this was the first time I laid my eyes on a buding.  The next thing I saw was the sorbetero and without hesitation I bought sorbetes (Filipino ice cream) to quench the heat and my only comment is: It was like heaven!

After eating my sorbetes, we took another jeepney around UP to look for other places to eat.  We were passing by the famous sunken garden when the air started to smell of barbecue.  As I disembarked from the jeepney, my nose directed me to the end of the garden where the smell was coming from a bungalow.  The Beach House Canteen (as they call it) in my opinion is the UP's version of the Ateneo de Manila University's Manangs, with its barbecues, inihaws, and lutong bahay food.  I tried their barbecue and compared it with Manang's inihaw.  Both are cheap and delicious but one comment though, at Manang's they serve a larger order of rice.

After eating in the Beach House, we started walking again.  We walked until we reached the Oblation and it was where I saw an ale selling karioka (another Filipino pastry made out of cassava, deep fried with brown sugar).  I bought one and it was sweet and sticky.

All the things I ate, saw, smelled that day made me so full that I don't think I could eat another thing.  So I decided to call it a day but before I went home I computed how much I spent.  I had saved more than what I anticipated!  So with a full stomach and money still in my pocket, I started home.  From now on, if I ever feel like pigging out, I already know where to go.  Eh, di saan pa?  Eh, di sa UP!

The Bad
In the course of our lives, we’ve made mistakes. Not just bad mistakes. Worst mistakes. Perhaps many of them. We said something that hurt someone's feelings even if we didn't mean to, someone we didn't wish to severe our relationship with. By the time we realize it, it is too late and as a consequence, we suffer regret that would slice, dice, and saw right through our heart and then cut through the surrounding tissues like a scalpel, just to expose and irritate a sensitive nerve.  Indeed there are certain relationships in our life which, when severed, can rattle us not just to the core of our emotion, but also to the core of our being. They can even shatter our life, and wreck dreams that should be left as dreams.

But mistakes are the price we pay for living. We all have the power to hurt someone and many of us sometimes wield that power without regard of its consequences. "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely." If we don't learn to relinquish such power by an apology every now ad then, we'll continue to disregard and hurt someone else's feelings and we’ll become callous of other people’s sensitivity. Such power is meant to be a tool for human understanding, not a means for us to be hurting each other. For once we understand how really hard it is to apologize, we'll also understand how releasing and relieving it is to be forgiven. Remember what Emily Dickenson said: "If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain."

The Good
Helen Prejean said, "People are more than the worst mistakes they have made in their lives." Now think about these: What if we, humans, are a process designed to learn and grow from our mistakes? What if the worst things we have done can be the greatest opportunities for learning and growing? What if we really can grow and change, and the worst mistake that we have made is the most important because it offers the opportunity not just for ourselves but for others as well to learn and practice the process of forgiveness?

Thanksgiving is traditionally considered as the day of reuniting and reconnecting with families, friends and loved ones. Thanksgiving reminds us that joy is not something we look for and find; it's something we make and share with the people that matter to us.  It is also the day to put aside differences, forgive past transgression and forget past grudges so the rift between two or more people has a chance to at least close and hopefully heal completely.

The Ugly
Charles E. Jinks observed, "The main difference between optimism and pessimism resides in the notion of memory. The pessimist aptly recalls the hurts and failures of yesterday, but simply cannot remember the plentiful possibilities of a new tomorrow. The optimist has a hopeful future already memorized."

According to American Indian tradition, "enemies" such as failure and hurt are sacred because they can make you strong. The unfortunate things that have happened in our past can teach us how to become stronger in the present and how to succeed in the future. But if we can't forgive what's gone on in the past, then we're going to remain an angry, ugly, vengeful, negative, perpetually pessimistic person. And pessimism has a way of altering our sense of humanity, and with it, our way of life would just fade into the stardust of the universe. For no matter how angry and vengeful and pessimistic we are, the universe would never stop and change according to our pessimism, and life would go on. Robert Frost once said: "In three words, I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."

For A Few Dollars More
I hope you all will take this Thanksgiving Day as the time to seize the opportunity to at least try to make peace with some old hostilities or amend some past transgression. If you find yourself wishing you could reconnect with someone whom you may have hurt, or who may have hurt you, send him or her an E-mail message, a card, or just a note. And if you’re willing to pay for a few dollars more, then send a bouquet of flowers, a Butterball turkey, a ham, or simply make a long-distance call. That person may in fact be waiting for you to make the move. If instead you happen to be the recipient, please don’t forget to at least acknowledge, better convey your thanks and sincere appreciation  But if he or she is around, consider what Ivern Ball said, "A hug is a perfect gift -- one size fits all, and nobody minds if you exchange it."  So atone for the past and make a clean beginning.  Good luck. God bless. And Happy Thanksgiving Day.

Halloween … back in the Philippines Oct. 31 is no big deal for us, especially for the kids.  Instead, it is a day of travelling for those who have to go home for All Saints Day, a day of preparations for the following day.  Here in Canada and the U.S.A., October 31 is a day for the children, a day for trick or treating.

Newspapers and TV stations have been giving out tips on how to have a safe trick or treating. They advised parents to check the treats before letting the child eat them; to go only to houses of people that you know; to bring flashlights; to use the crosswalks, just to name a few. With this bio-terrorism scare around, there are even cities that issued an executive order disallowing kids to go trick or treating.  But the night is so inviting for trick or treating, the moon is full which, according to astrologers, happened 40 years ago and there won't be any full moon to coincide with Halloween for another twenty years.  So I decided to bundle up the kids with Alec on his monkey costume. Off we go around the block … to our first taste of Trick or Treat …  I then noticed how some pumpkins have been artistically done … and how creative are the trick or treaters.  There are scarecrows, skeletons, Frankenstein, witches. On the fourth house, as the owner was opening the door he cheerfully asked Alec, “How are you doing, buddy?”  But Alec didn’t say a word. Instead, he just opened his bag for the treats.  So the man smiled, looked at me and said, “Ah, no speak English.”  Feeling embarrassed, I just smiled and said, “Thank you and Happy Halloween.”

There are houses that were really spooky that Alec is scared to ring the bell.  Some have mechanical bats and spiders hanging by their doorsteps to give the kids a scare. The owners of some of the houses also wore scary costumes. As we reached the end of the block Alec complained that his feet are already sleepy and his bag is heavy, so we decided to call it a night. Upon arriving home he eagerly opened his bag and when he noticed the goodies inside he was so excited and wanted to go back. After an hour of fun we are back to the reality of endless reminders and coaxing Alec to brush his teeth, or to remind him to throw the wrappers in the wastebasket, and to eat candies only after dinner.  Whew … was it really fun? Well, we will see next Halloween if it was really fun.

Hao Tiu Niew
Who could ever forget Madame Huang Hun, wife of former LCHS school principal Tan Dian Hun?
We all called her Hao Tiu Niew. From her we learned to recite our Chinese ABCs and sing popular
nursery rhymes in our kindergarten years at LCHS. Photo above captures her charm during her
younger days at the inauguration of the LCHS Roosevelt campus in 1953.  She was last reported
to have returned home together with Tan Dian Hun toTaiwan to live with their children.