INTERNET NEWSLETTER OF THE ALUMNI OF LANAO CHUNG HUA SCHOOL
Vol. II - No. 36, December 21, 1998, Iligan City, Philippines
SPECIAL CHRISTMAS ISSUE
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Teachers
recognition day at LCHS
By Teresita Racines (Batch '67) LCHS students paid tribute to their mentors in observance of Teachers Recognition Day last Dec. 11. A program was held during which the students honored their teachers. The LCHS Alumni Association, represented by past president Dy Sio Te, was also on hand to show its appreciation to the teachers. All 31 teachers were given a wall clock each as a token of appreciation from the alumni association. The Teachers Recognition Day is a yearly affair of the school, in which the alumni association also participates by handing out gifts to the teachers. An
appeal to LCHS alumni
The LCHS-AA Scholarship Committee announces that starting School Year 1999-2000, there will be 5 slots available for scholarship grants. As announced in the Nov. 23, 1998 issue of the Spectrum, the committee will accept application forms on or before the 3rd Monday of April. The number of scholarship grants for every school year will be increased if more funds can be solicited. Therefore, we in the scholarship committee would like to appeal to all kind-hearted alumni to contribute any amount to the scholarship program of the Association. |
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Mae Angela Talingting-Congmon, a high school senior at LCHS, bagged the 1st runner-up title in the Miss Teen Iligan '98 pageant held last December 12 at the MSU-IIT gym. Mae Angela likewise won as the Best in National Costume, Ms. Body Beautiful, and Ms. Barbie Doll '98. In the interview portion, the 16-year-old stunner was asked: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?". To which she quipped, "It's me, of course, I wouldn't have joined this contest if I don't have the inner and outer beauty as well."
Sixteen lovely candidates representing different schools and colleges participated in the pageant, including a candidate from Maigo High School and another one from Seattle, Washington, USA. Mary Ann Labunog , a German mestiza from MSU-IIT, was crowned Miss Teen Iligan 1998. Among the judges were Janet Lee Tan, Franco Badelles, Cheryl Deleste, Marilou Serrate, Cathy Tan, and Mrs. Lhuillier. The annual contest, now on its fifth year, was organized and directed by Randy Salcedo. The event was for the benefit of the less fortunate and the street children of Iligan City.
Iligan public schools go Internet
Public schools in Iligan City are going hi-tech. The Iligan City National School and the Iligan City Central School are now equipped with Internet access. This was reported by city division superintendent Dr. Tamano Pandapatan in the recent celebration of "Education Week." He added that P175,000 more have been allotted for eight central schools in the city to improve science education, and for them to be provided with Internet access. "Global competitiveness is the aim of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports," the DECS official said.
Great
idea
Wed, 16 Dec 1998 22:56:04 +0900
Your Spectrum is a great idea. I can't think of a better idea than using the interconnectivity of the Internet to communicate with your former school mates. The concept of a newsletter by e-mail is remarkable. To produce a newsletter takes great effort. To publish it on a weekly basis is simply amazing. May your effort in this direction continue to prosper and bring more of your school mates together.
Hideo Tsuji, freelance journalist, Hamura, Japan
hideo999@pop.ca.so-net.jp
By Ernesto L. Yu, M.D., Batch
'65
Christmas treats: If you want to confirm your long-standing suspicion that your godparents are magical masters of the disappearing acts and seasonal sufferers of amnesia, check them out during the Christmas holiday. But can you blame your ninoys and ninays if they don't want their hands smeared by wet kisses with ransom notes? Financially speaking, this was the low point for most humans-turned-instant-illusionists who kicked a tad higher the refinement of the amateurish game of hide-and-seek. Just visualize the load of agonizing migraine when a fleet of drooling and incontinent juveniles aimed their luscious lips for a feel of wrinkled skin with red-hot wallets. This was how Del Shannon - a '60s dispenser of smooth rock hits - was crowned December golden boy for his timely recording of "Runaway". (Da run, run, run, runaway). Of course, during my childhood years, I accomplished my obligatory visits to my godparents' bunkers out of the solemnity of the event ... and learned new techniques in tracking and hunting for my spiritual guidance counselors who thought of gift-giving as a game of chance.
By Leonardo
"Eddie" Tan, Batch '66
By noon time of September 1, we did not only bid good-bye to our kind hosts and very jolly guides Josie and Tessie, but we also parted ways with my sis-in-law and her family who were heading for Los Angeles, while the 3 of us (my wife and her mom) were heading for Edmonton, Alberta. Our Air Canada flight was on time and it took off from Toronto airport at 1:15 p.m. The flight was full as there were talks that the airline would soon be on strike. This time I was really happy with the lunch they served: Casserole beef with huge chunks. Four hours later, our Airbus landed at Edmonton International Airport. It was 3:15 p.m. We had to turn back our time by 2 hours. Mrs. Tita Dy (Peter's wife) with Hesing and Mike Lee were there to give us a warm welcome. Peter unfortunately was in Iligan at this time. We stayed with Hesing and his wife Melania prepared a welcome feast for us. We were later joined by the 3 grown-up children of Peter plus Tita's mom. Late that evening, CNN reported that Air Canada would be on strike starting midnight. We were lucky for our flight today. But our next 2 legs to Vancouver and Los Angeles were now in disarray.
The following morning, Mike took us to the Canadian Rockies. It was a long drive of about 5 hours. We talked a lot along the way. The last time I saw Mike was about 15 years ago. There were times that I felt so sleepy being just a passenger but Mike kept on elbowing me just to catch his attention. Our first stop was Lake Louise. It was just a spectacular sight. Steep mountains full of pine trees with some glacier on the top. Then the tranquil lake with greens and flowers on its banks with a magnificent but quaint hotel on one side. With the sun shinning yet the climate was cool. Another hour and we reached the picturesque village of Banff. Were we in Switzerland? This was another fantastic place as if we were right in the heart of the Alps. My wife and mom tried the 8-minute gondola or cable car ride up the very steep mountain top. As I feared heights, I just stayed with Mike at the coffee shop and continued our reminiscence of the good old days. We dined at the Chinatown of Calgary. We were back in Edmonton at almost midnight. Hesing was still up watching the news on CNN. Swissair Flight 111 just crashed near Nova Scotia with more than 200 passengers on board. It rekindled my aerophobia.
Hesing spent the day trying to get a booking for our next flight out. Our flight to Vancouver would now be delayed for another day. We were now endorsed to airBC, a subsidiary of Air Canada servicing the region of British Columbia.
On the 3rd day, we first visited Peter Dy's place. Then we just toured and shopped around the huge West Edmonton Mall. An indoor shopping complex with some theme parks in it. A bit of Sea World, a bit Coney Island and a bit of Water Works with surf every 15 minutes and many more. One section of the shops was of old European motif while another section depicted the jazz capital of New Orleans. It is reputed to be the world's biggest indoor shopping mall and they are still expanding. Imagine a severe winter weather in this part of the world and you have this place with a controlled summer weather in the middle of Edmonton. That evening a great dinner was hosted by Mrs. Tita Dy at a nearby Chinese restaurant and that was where we bade our good-byes to Peter's family.
By Henry L. Yu, M.D.,
Batch '69
It's Christmas Time in the City
"Silver bells, silver bells, it's Christmas time in the city. Ring a ling, hear them ring, soon it will be Christmas Day."
There goes that old familiar Christmas song which has, after all these many years, been a part of our life each time the Yuletide season comes around. We know it's Christmas time when we start hearing Christmas songs as early as SeptemBER, or when the calendar month comes with a BER. It is only in the Philippines where we celebrate the longest Christmas. And this is one tradition we have never outgrown no matter how old we have become. Indeed, Christmas brings a lot of flashbacks of the memories we built from way back when.
Charles Sy and I have been neighbors here in our Villa Salud II subdivision, Cebu City, since November 13, 1994, when my family and I transferred to our newly finished house. But it was only the other night when I came to realize how much of the memories were piled in Charles' room with his vast collection of cassette tapes, many dating back to as far as the 1960s when he himself was as young as I was. I really never knew about this, of how much he has treasured all the memories of our younger days.
The cassette tapes are vertically arranged on the shelves. There are the songs of Eddie Peregrina of the "Together Again" and "Two Lovely Flowers" fame; Victor Wood's version of "Teenage Señorita"; Frank Sinatra's "My Way"; Timi Yuro's "Crazy"; the hits of Andy Williams, the Four Aces; the Platters; the Cascades; the Lettermen; Bing Cosby; Mario Lanza; Teddy Randazzo; Cliff Richard; Buddy Holly, and many many more. Some are familiar, while others are half-forgotten, and still others totally unheard of. Must be because I was not yet born at the time those were hit songs.
I really had a great time browsing over those tapes, smiling with amusement each time I came across those that were sang by the popular singers or songstresses of our time. Indeed, with each song comes a memory or two which helped me with my reminiscences of the glorious past, songs which remind me of the beautiful memories we built from way back my Iligan days where I was born 46 moonlights hence, where I spent 17 years of my life as a permanent resident there, until such time when our family finally transferred and settled in Cebu in the early 70s. Since then, a lot of the original Iliganons too have migrated to Cebu. Now I am a Cebuano, but deep in me, I will always have a soft spot in my heart as far as Iligan is concerned. After all, it is my birthplace, it is where I had my formative years, it is where Lanao Chinese High School, our dear alma mater, is located. And I owe a lot to this school for what I have become today. For always, the memories of Iligan and our beloved LCHS will linger on as fresh as when we were there in our school uniform (short khaki pants and white polo shirt), the minor bruises and sprains experienced out f sheer nonchalance and hyperactivity as kids, climbing fences, playing games, running around where the brave dared not, the runny nose, the nosebleeding from high fever, the stage fright, the leadership and involvement in extra-curricular activities, the childish petty quarrels, the competitions, the honors, etc. All these are etched in those songs which will forever be remembered as time goes by.
Christmas is indeed a time for remembering friends and classmates, the things we did, the adventures of youth, the fun, the laughter, the tears, etc. It's Christmas time in the city and we thank all our friends, neighbors, former classmates, and teachers for being part of our childhood memories from way back when, from way back where, the 50s and the 60s, in a place called Iligan City.
It's Christmas time in the city and we just had the rare chance to get together last Tuesday night, December 15. No, not to celebrate Alex Handumon's 47th birthday but to enjoy an after-dinner reunion of 6 LCHS alumni representing 5 different batches: Dr. Ernesto Yu (who's in Cebu for a short balikbayan trip) and Alberto Bernardo, both belonging to class 1965; Igdono Caracho (class 1966) whom I have not seen for 28 years; Charles Sy (class 1967) who has always been my childhood friend, brother, and now neighbor; myself (of class 1969); and Roderick Ngo (class 1970) who, I learned, is now a very successful and much fulfilled person with so numerous achievements at 45.
Christmas this year will always be remembered fondly by me because of this rare opportunity to be with fellow alumni who, once upon a time, went to the same school as I did several decades past, and who are now well established in their respective fields of endeavor. And if only for that, it's one of the most wonderful Christmas times in the city that I ever had. Malipayong Pasko kaninyong tanan!
Jokes
from the Internet: Christmas shopping
It was Christmas and the judge was in a benevolent mood as he
questioned the prisoner. "What are you charged with?" asked the judge.
"Doing my Christmas shopping early," the prisoner replied.
"That's no offense. How early were you doing your shopping?"
"Before the store opened."
An Encounter in
December
When Old Buddies Get Together
By Charles O. Sy
Batch 1967
It was the kind of gathering that does not come by easily these days. Ernesto Yu, home from the USA for a 3-week respite, had wanted to meet a high school buddy whom he has not seen for 30 years after leaving the portals of LCHS.
And so on December 15, 1998 the Spectrum staffers in Cebu sought out Alberto "Kilyong" Bernardo and arranged an impromptu get-together. Several other buddies turned up at the appointed place - the Royal Concourse in Cebu City. And the gathering turned out to be reunion of six old-time buddies whose LCHS roots span five batch years. At the gathering were Ernie Yu (Batch '65), Alberto Bernardo (Batch '65), Igdono Caracho (Batch '66), Charles O. Sy (Batch '67), Henry Yu (Batch '69), and Roderick Ngo (Batch '70).
The meeting hit off with a merry and noisy exchange of exuberant banters just like old times. Everybody marveled at how Ernie managed to preserve both his signature boyish look and inimitable wit. Igdono still appears as youthful as the day he left LCHS even as he went on to regale the group with his knowledgeability on who's who in Iligan. Rod has doubled the expanse of his physique and tripled his reservoir of often outrageous yet dynamic ideas. Henry and I took pride in the fact that we can now be easily spotted even from afar with our expanding forehead. Kilyong still sports his characteristic charisma that once drove St. Michael's coeds crazy. He divulged his secret for maintaining a healthy crop of shiny hair: he's still using Three Flowers Pomade up to this very day!
From that moment on there was no stopping the ensuing tete-a-tete. Not even the Christmas music of Tadao Hayashi performing in person with his harp at the Concourse could divert the group from its nonstop powwow. We briefed each other with updates on our personal lives. As in all gatherings of long-lost alumni buddies, our conversation inevitably shifted to reminiscences of the good old days. We spoke of the classmates we missed. Swapped tales of our LCHS love life. Over an endless flow of brewed coffee, Cali, Diet Sprite, San Mig beer and spicy shrimp gambas, the group traded unabridged confessions of the adventures and misadventures that transpired in each our passage from adolescence to adulthood. Funny how we somehow still interact, after all these years, in the same old familiar teenage demeanors whenever we find ourselves in the company of high school buddies.
The meeting could have lasted forever. But the evening had to end. We parted ways without bidding each other good-bye, assured that our bond of old kinship has been resealed with the undying memories of shared moments that punctuated our lives once upon a time in a campus called LCHS.
ERNIE YU WITH SPECTRUM EDITORS.
From left: Igdono
Caracho, Ernie Yu, Roderick
Ngo, Alberto Bernardo,
Henry Yu, and Charles Sy.
O
little town of Bethlehem. Tourists will flock again to this
tiny village at this time of the year, some on pilgrimage, some out of
curiosity. But what about the 'star of Bethlehem'? Scientists, astronomers,
and other sky-watchers have been focusing on this item which, the Bible
tells us, guided the Magi, the wise men: "Where is the one who has been
born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship
him." (Matthew 2:2)
In 1613, a European astronomer by the name of Johannes Kepler, was fascinated by the alignment of two planets - Saturn and Jupiter, in the constellation of Pisces. "Could it be," thought Kepler, "that the star which guided the wise men were really these two planets?" Kepler's brilliant mathematical deductions showed that a conjunction of the two planets did take place in the year 7 B.C. Then in 1925, scholars translated a Babylonian astronomical tablet that told of the rendezvous of Saturn and Jupiter in 7 B.C., which could have been the time of Christ's birth. Other scientists proposed another theory: that the star of Bethlehem was a giant thermonuclear space explosion that could reoccur any time. They base their theory on ancient Chinese and Korean records of men who were said to have seen the star. The Royal Astronomical Society of Britain published the learned article in its journal.
Men, including me, have always been fascinated with stars, moon, comets- ergo the movies 'Deep Impact' and 'Armageddon'. But have we thought and discerned its true purpose or significance? What caused the 'star in Bethlehem' is not nearly as important as what it did - to guide the wise men through a world of confusion to the foot of the infant Jesus.
A lot of people will miss Christmas again this year. They don't think of Jesus and His miraculous birth. Instead, they think of family gatherings, festive meals, decorations, and gifts. To them, Christmas brings nostalgia and memories of childhood. Now, all these celebrations aren't wrong. But if that's all Christmas means to us, we are missing its true significance, the true meaning of Christmas which was summed up in the words of the angel to the shepherds, in that little town of Bethlehem long time ago: "I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11). That's the big news of Christmas!
How long is the Great Wall of China? I really don't know. In 1995 twenty of us from Iligan City went to Beijing. The "Ten Thousand Kilometers Long Wall" or the "Great Wall of China" was one of the sights we visited. While on the top of the long wall, the tour guide told us that this Great Wall of China is the only man-made structure visible from outer space. It stretches from the Shanhaiguan Pass coast of Bohai Sea in the east to Gansu Province in the west. It is more than ten kilometers long. It wriggles on the mountain ridges. The wall rises and falls, narrow in some place and wide on another. It has 827 beacon towers and 71 passes. The beacon towers have different shapes and sizes. One tower for instance was built on a mountain peak that juts out skyward like a pillar. Some towers have only one storey, while others have two or three storeys. The ceilings of the towers are also quite varied. Some are flat, some are arched, some have six sides, some with eight sides. For the wall, there are one layered, two layered and ladder shaped, all built from bricks and stones.
This unique construction was said to have been completed by Qi Jiguang in the sixteenth century. It is one of the seven wonders of the world. We as Chinese should be proud of it. A magnificent form of architecture in our country which was built by our ancestors 2000 years ago.
