Seasons Greetings

Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year

To One and All

!!!

Greeting card courtesy of Violy and Rolly Barrero

IN THE LAND OF PLENTY

A SOBERING AND HEARTBREAKING SURPRISE

Back in the late 60s, I left the Philippines with much apprehension, as I was embarking into the unknown, full of dreams but bereft of worldly knowledge. My parochial thinking limited me to my own Philippine experience and I was not cognizant of the big world that awaited me. Only then did I realize that Manila is not the glittering city as I thought it was!

During that time, the Ford Mustang was the "must have" car in the Philippines, affordable to only the super rich. Imagine my surprise when, in the late August afternoon, Dr. Ernie Villanueva, my cousin, Lydia Mercado Villanueva's husband, picked me up at Philadelphia International Airport in an almost new Mustang! I was salivating at such a prized possession. 

In a few days, I realized that that car I so looked at as the epitome of having arrived, turned out to be a pretty common car. And the longer I lived in the United States the more I found out that cars were quite commonplace. Some homes would have four people living in it, and they would have five or more cars in the household. This reinforced my thinking that indeed, America was the land of plenty.

As an immigrant, working hard and aspiring to do well is a common trait. In my late twenties, I decided to get married to my best friend, Nora Vergara and we have enjoyed more than forty years of wedded bliss. With the arrival of two children, we opted to live our life with her staying home and us surviving on a single income.  This was difficult, but we have no regrets as we would not have raised our children in any other way.

We were very involved in our church. We were Eucharistic Ministers, went to a Marriage Encounter weekend in July, 1980, became a team couple, giving weekends in several states. I served on the Pastoral Council and was a president of our Filipino American Association. We were also the first Filipino couple to receive the Pro Deo et Patria award given by St. Matthias Church in Somerset, NJ. 

One of the measures of income inequality is the Gini coefficient. This, on a scale of 1 to 100, determines how equal income is distributed among the different sectors of a nation's population. A coefficient of 1 means income equality is accomplished and a coefficient of 100 means total inequality. Sadly, in the United States, as in the Philippines, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The Gini coefficient has been increasing and is now at about 60. The middle class is slowly disappearing. 

Our involvement in the St. Vincent de Paul Society has opened up my eyes to a distressing reality. Founded by Frederic Ozanam, the society hopes to help the downtrodden by interviewing those who are in need and helping with material and financial resources. Being from a third world country, I am probably more used to poverty and would be more nonchalant in witnessing it in poorer countries. But never in my life did I expect that in the United States there are people who eke out an existence and barely could make ends meet. Other people tell me that the poverty I see is not as bad as the conditions in Appalachia and some other southern states like Mississippi and Alabama. Thus, the title to my article.

I will now cite some samples of the many incidents the society has helped during our involvement, as follows:

1. A widow in her late fifties, on disability benefits from Social Security was receiving a total of $800 a month. She lived in a house owned by her son, who resided in another house several miles away. The son charged the mother $500 a month rent and required her to pay for her own gas and electric, which amounted to almost $100 a month. The woman survived on $200 a month, had no car, no TV and a cellular phone.

2. An elderly couple, who, during times of prosperity, lived the good life and did not save enough for their retirement. Now retired, and in failing health, their house is being foreclosed by the bank, and they will be forced to go back to living in an apartment. The bad part is their Social Security benefits will be just enough for their living expenses, so they are forced to suffer the indignity of going to the food bank to get free groceries.

3. A single mother, left to fend for herself because the husband abandoned her for another woman. One of the children is autistic, and needs more care than other children, so she is struggling to make ends meet. The cost of child care for the autistic child is high so she gets welfare to augment her resources. She is behind on gas bill and electric bill, and the utility companies are issuing shutoff notices for non-payment.

4. A never married woman in her late 50s who worked for the same company for more than twenty years. She got paid a little more than the minimum wage, was laid off and is struggling to survive. She is too young to collect Social Security and may be too old to be hired somewhere else. With her medical coverage gone, the ability to survive may be in jeopardy and she could conceivably become homeless.

5. A sixty something man who is quite handy, and has worked under the table all his working life. Yes, there are places where this happens, but quite rare.  Now that he is older, he is faced with mounting medical bills. The most frightening aspect is that because he has no earnings record with Social Security, when he reaches retirement age of 66, he will not receive anything from Social Security. And with no 401K or other retirement account, his future is quite dire indeed.

I could go on and on in relating many, many more cases of fiscal irresponsibility and lack of financial resources. It is appalling to me that a son could charge his widowed mom rent that was more than half her income. The many opportunities for work in this country are, unfortunately, not taken advantage of by some people. So, sad to say, even in the most affluent countries in the world, homelessness, poverty and dependence on welfare and food stamps arise. 

That is the reason why, in the United States, I find it incredible that some people could live the way they do.

By Nestor R. Mercado

The Pope Will Visit Us On January 15-19

While in elementary school, I remember being told that our Lord, Jesus Christ, said to Peter: Thou art Peter, the Rock, and upon this Rock I will build my Church. The teacher went on and said that this meant that He was establishing His Church and Peter was It's leader, the very first Pope of His Church!

The very first pope that I was aware of was Pope Pius XII but in those days it wasn't easy to travel so the pope was almost always in the Vatican. Pope Paul the VI (1963–1978) was the first Pope that I ever saw. When he came to the Philippines in the 70s, I parked my car with my wife Agnes and our family of three along EDSA where the Papal Entourage would pass, and we were amply rewarded with a few seconds of unobstructed view of the Pope amiably waving from an uncovered car!

It was an ordinary scene  in a very ordinary place that I've passed a few hundred times, but in my mind "that Papal scene" was ethereal, with the Pope suffused in an aura worthy of Hollywood! Believe me, he was!

(Come down to earth, Jun!)

Today we look forward to Pope Francis'  five day visit to the Pilippines come January 15, 2015.

 

And I am tuned in to http://papalvisit.ph/  for news on Pope Francis!

 

How Old Do You Look Like?

From today's Yahoo News Philippines:

This technology can estimate your age from your face and how long you have to live. All you need to do is upload a decent size photo according to the requirements (face forward, no smiles, well lit and hair pulled back), answer a few simple questions and voila! It will give you an estimate of your age and how long you have left to live.

FaceMyAge.com analyzes your face based on the uploaded picture and takes into account the answers on your lifestyle choices (smoking habits, drug habits, sun exposure, and marital status) to estimate your age and predict your lifespan. The program looks for sagging muscles and fat paddings on your face as well as skin discolorations and wrinkles by your eyes to estimate your current age (hence the ‘no smiles’ requirement).

(>>Read the full article here.<<)

 

Thirteen Years After High School

Some 13 years after our graduation from high school, this melody (please click the "play triangle" above left) was "on top of the charts," if only because it was forced on the Filipinos!.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times - yeah, I know, somebody wrote that before I did! Also:

Brutus:
There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.
Julius Caesar Act 4, scene 3, 218–224

And Lee Kuan Yew put Singapore on the map!

And the Philippines???

Saint Pio's Feast Day

 

 

Yahoo News  

Padre Pio:‘Pray, hope, don’t worry’

Manila Bulletin

 Devotion to Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, popularly called Padre Pio, whose feast day is celebrated every September 23, is widespread in many Catholic nations, including the Philippines. He was a 20th century Italian mystic monk of the Order of Capuchin Friars who, for 50 years from 1918 to 1968, was said to have had the stigmata – the wounds of Jesus Christ – on his hands, feet and side of his body. Many miracles and answered prayers have been attributed to Padre Pio. He is the patron saint of civil defense volunteers.

 

The St. Louis of Solano NV 2015 Homecoming

Wow, there was a big jump in our readership today! Class 59 has invited friends and relatives to view this blog, maybe that explains why!

So, I am wondering, shouldn't our blog title be St. Louis of Solano, NV?

Class 59 is organizing for a large presence at the December 27, 2015 Homecoming of St. Louis School and in the process have announced this to all and sundry- Why don't we all go and renew our ties at the homecoming?

________________________

  

Here is part of the article:

In photos: Miss World Philippines 2014 press presentation

>>For the whole article, please click this<<

By Kai Magsanoc for Yahoo Southeast Asia

Miss World Philippines held the press presentation of their official candidates for 2014 on September 17 at Eclipse Bar in Solaire Resort and Casino.

Twenty-one ladies were announced as candidates right after the September 9 and 10 screenings at Raven Manila in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. As of September 17, the official number of candidates was 26. Some who were in the first 21 were no longer in the list of final, official candidates, including Roxanne Cabanero.

"This year's batch of candidates all contain or have the same attributes that we're always looking for: smart, charming, pretty," said Cory Quirino, the pageant's national director. "But I think this year, we have an extra adjective to add: sexy!" (laughs)

"There's a more 'woman' appeal this year," she added. "Whereas before we had a girly, sweet presence in the pageant, this year we have a lot more of womanly grace and beauty."

2014 also sees the first time that a woman with hearing impairment, Christine Balaguer, is allowed in the pageant. "She's a member of the Dragonboat Team! So her spirit of competitiveness is very strong," Quirino said. "At the same time, you can see that her spirit is strong, and she has a winning smile."

The Miss World Philippines 2014 coronation night will be on October 12 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Yahoo Philippines is the official online partner of Miss World Philippines 2014.

Photos by Jory Rivera of OPMB Worldwide

(Konti lang po,  >>For the whole article, please click this<<)

Esta cliquer, por fabor!

Hasta mañana my friend!

Balitang USTe

From ANC Yahoo:

Live wire kills UST student, hotel employee in Manila

>>Click this<<

 

 

 

Sabado, umaga ng Setyembre a-20, 2014 dito sa Pinas

(Click on each picture to view the full image!)

A message from Nestor:

Since its inception, my siblings, Concepcion Mercado Balasya, ’61, Elena Mercado Malacas, ’69, Myrna Mercado, ’71 and Alex Mercado, ’79 attended the Grand Reunion of St. Louis, held every five years. Coming from these reunions, they related to me how momentous the occasions were, and how satisfying it was to meet up with classmates of yesteryears. 

They brought back pictures of the booths, beautifully attended and decorated with warmth and inundated with epicurean feasts beyond compare! Every batch tried to outdo each other, and the reunion exuded the pride of being a Louisian. The only disappointment I had was that the booth of Batch 59 was sparsely decorated, and sadder still, more sparsely populated. 

Because of selfish reasons, there was not much impetus on my part to attend the reunion. But a miracle happened, when before the Grand Reunion of 2010, our class, Batch 1959, celebrated our Golden Jubilee in December, 2009. During that reunion, it opened up my eyes to the truth in the saying, “Make new friends but keep the old. Those are silver, these are gold.” Indeed, there are no better times in your senior years but to shoot the breeze and relive the good deeds and the misdeeds of the past years in high school.

We had one of the best, if not the best attended Golden Jubilee in school history! From

 the Philippine Niners, as we began to call each other, the likes of Rey Miranda, Roy 

 

Tamani, Lawrence Aliac, Jimmy Magalued, Roger Tiongson, Fely Duro, Lina Tiongson

Purificacion, Olivia Soberano Padre, Carmen Pacis Pasamonte, Zeny Favila Paladin,

 

Rogelio Suratos, Lily Antonio Farinas, Lucio Galapon and Sister Theresine among 

others, hosted the “foreign” delegation consisting of Linda Garcia Espinosa, Leopoldo Aliac, George Mamuric, Lydia Mercado Villanueva, Percival Tiongson, Rolando 

Barrero, Amelia Manlapig Tan, Tony Mendoza, Fely Abungan and the writer to the reunion.

 

We missed Priscilla Manriquez Gaines, Domingo Gascon, Jean Parazo Padlan and Mely Urmaza Mamuric at this event. And since that time, we have sadly seen our friends Paulino Bulosan, Baldwin Diego and Remedios Aala depart from this earthly abode. And despite my efforts and the help of Rol Barrero, I have not been able to contact Amor Salvador.

I was lucky enough to make it to the Grand Reunion in 2010. With the help of the Niners in the U.S., and also of Rey Miranda, we donated the funds to help defray the expenses for our booth and the food at the reunion. Attached are some pictures of that memorable day! We had a great time, this time with excellent turnout at the booth and plenty of food to be consumed. We also had, as a class, gone up to the stage, to proudly proclaim that our Batch 59 had donated a nice sum of PhP350,000.00 towards the gymnasium fund.  

Unfortunately, the reunion being held on December 30 was a deterrent to better participation from the people residing in other places. Traveling back to their homes on New Year’s Eve made people hesitant to attend, so on my request, Monsignor Vic Tugadi, with the help of the Alumni Coordinators, scheduled the event for December 27, 2015. This is indeed, a great incentive for those outside of Solano to join us!

The next grand Reunion is 15 months away. I beg you, my classmates, especially Priscilla Manriquez, Domingo Gascon, Mely Urmaza Mamuric, Jean Parazo Padlan and the rest of the niners to make it to Solano on that date. Your enjoyment and exhilaration is guaranteed!

(End of Nestor's Message)
_____________________

Other pictures:

Tony Mercado's Green Brigade:

 

That's all for now, folks!

(The following was emailed by Nestor Mercado as we were organizing for the Golden Reunion of 2009.)

WELCOME TO ST. LOUIS HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1959 WEBSITE!

Any way you slice it, fifty years is a very long time!  The passing of the years, especially that many of them, makes memories somewhat nebulous and fuzzy. But 2009 is the year when we celebrate the 50^th year of our graduation from high school.  Because of this, I have wracked my mind thinking about the many things that transpired during our senior year.

The memories that come to mind are as follows:

        ●This was the first year Fr. Hubert Dupont became director of the school.

        ●The Columbian Squires first came into existence this year.

        ●The school newspaper was called The Clarion of Saint Louis.

        ●We had our usual high school plays, piano recitals and intramurals.

        ●The altar boys would aspire to serve Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

●Inside the church, at that Mass, the star would travel from the back to the manger scene in the front of the church.

●There were basketball games with teams of the other catholic schools in the nearby towns.  George Mamuric, Roger Tiongson, Paulino Bulosan and others would play the neighboring teams.  It was a big deal to go to the neighboring towns to watch these games.  It was ever more of a big deal to go to the big city, Manila!

●At the beginning of the school day, we all lined up from the shortest to the tallest.  Inevitably, Percy Tiongson would be in the front of the line, and I was always immediately behind him.

●The school day would begin with the singing of Bayang Magiliw, then the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, and finally, end with the Saint Louis School song.  In my travels through the countries of the world, I found out eventually that the melody of the Saint Louis School song is the same melody as the old South African National Anthem!  Somewhere down the line, someone took poetical license and adapted the melody of a country’s national anthem for the school hymn. I guess at that time, the world was still a humongous place, and who would ever realize that a country boy from Solano would figure out that someone had inadvertently used another’s tune for his own purpose.  Be that as it may, hearing the school song still sends chills down my spine to this day.

●At that time, we lived in an insulated, safe and unadulterated place.  Life was simple then.  On the way to school, or walking on the main drag, one would pass by such landmarks as Sanchez Studio, Avenue Theater, Hai King Panciteria, Mabuhay Bakery, VLT, and Norenco, and it was a common sight to see Eleuterio Tropa and His Lamplighter, World Peace crusaders, walking the streets of Solano.

●I first experienced the beginnings of urban street lighting when Tottoc Boulevard was festooned with hundreds of fluorescent lights, giving the street a very festive atmosphere.

●We were all herded to church on First Fridays, so that we can all hear confessions and attend mass.

●There were many nuns at the Sister’s convent, and they were usually assigned as teachers in the school.

●We enjoyed hanging out with Roy Tamani at the convent, making communion wafers and just chilling out..

●During the summer vacation, we would look in awe at the Varsitarians, as they came back to spend their vacations after grueling months of study in Manila.  Every once in a while, we would get that much coveted invitation to a party with them, and we would increase our desire to be like them.

●The jeepney fare to Bayombong was 10 centavos.

●Calesas reigned supreme, and the present day tricycle was just a figment of one’s imagination.

●Picnics were held at Bangan Hill, the Dike in Bayombong or the river in Sinafal.  The resorts as we know them today were nowhere to be found.

●We used to enjoy listening to the 45/78 RPM records at Rol Barrero’s house, and there were plenty of star apples and Indian mangoes to serve as snacks.  We also relied many times on Rol to help us with scrap book covers, etc.

Our first immigrant to leave Solano for the U. S. was Amor Salvador, who left for Hawaii after our high school graduation.  A few years back, I had asked Tony Gascon and Roly Suratos to help me find Amor’s relatives in Solano, so we can get his U. S. address, to no avail.

Since that graduation day, my trips to Solano would last no more than three days at the most.  But during those infrequent times when I came home, I have had the privilege of meeting with Jimmy Magalued, Rolly Llantada, Roger Tiongson, Lawrence Aliac, Lina Tiongson-Purificacion,   but never really saw Tony Mendoza, Paulino Bulosan, Ambong Diego, Roy Tamani and the many other people whose names I begin to forget. 

I did have the pleasure of seeing here in the U. S. the likes of Rey Miranda, Rol Barrero, Jimmy Magalued, Roger Tiongson, Mely Manlapig-Tan, Escil Manriquez-Gaines, Mely Urmaza Mamuric, Lydia Mercado-Villanueva, Linda Garcia-Espinosa and Percy Tiongson.

My hope is that this walk down the path of years gone by will evoke many more reminiscences than merely the things I talked about.  Nobody has a monopoly on the memories, and I am sure that you all have more things to contribute to allow all of us to relive the beautiful world of our youth.

Therefore, please receive my warmest welcome to this web site, and I invite you to submit your own take on things, items that you may want to mention, pictures you may want to share.  Together, let us build up on the increasing excitement of meeting all of you in December, as we look forward to celebrating the Golden Jubilee of our high school graduation.

God bless you and keep you in His care, and Happy New Year to all.