[Here is a group photo taken at BALAI TAAL in Tagaytay City before the wedding held at the ANGELFIELDS NATURE SANCTUARY in SILANG, CAVITE on May 6, 2017 of the birthday celebrant, SHAYNA, in the middle attired in her white wedding gown. From L-R: Tonton aka Walter Anthony, Cheska aka Maria Wincheska, myself, SHAYNA, my wife Dang aka Criselda and Alee aka Ma. Winnalee.]

You have indeed become an EXEMPLAR DAUGHTER,

You’ve also emerged as a PARAGON SISTER;

Your wedding at SILANG has set a model for the CLAN,

Ideal BRIDAL age indeed, is best at AGE THIRTY ONE….

As the eldest daughter, you’ve shown INDUSTRIOUSNESS—

You have swayed your sisters and brother to help in the BUSINESS¹;

‘Tis indeed a worthy venture helping teens to get ENRAPTURED,

In a culture of DANCE, a craze² that got teens seemingly CAPTURED…

You started out as a GYMNAST³; that I thought would   not LAST,

But the shift to HIPHOP has proven to be an impressive   BOMBAST;

You’ve been the IDOL of your sisters: CHESKA and ALEE…

Your future kid would SURELY be a hip-hop WANNABEE…

And as you’ve now relocated to BALI OASIS⁴,

Won’t be able to do our birthday eve GIMMICK⁵,

We’ll just perhaps send you redolent FLOWERS –

To wake you up in the morn, before going to the SHOWERS!

At U.P. Diliman you’ve honed your HIP-HOP dance SKILLS,

Pursuing a course in MASSCOM, a profession that’s filled with THRILLS;

Hoping that someday you’ll be a CONSUL,

Or perhaps as AMBASSADOR for PEACE  and  DANCE in SOKOR’S SEOUL!

As an expert make-up ARTIST⁶,

You have shared your virtuosity with EASE;

You’re truly a MULTI-FACETED PROFESSIONAL,

A trait that could see your lot in an ANNAL!

And your wondrous wedding with VIMI RIVERA,

Looked as though a fun-filled LOOLAPALOOZA;

It brought much happiness to ALL,

The rites, the food as well as the BALL!

Being a GEMINI person, you’re FRIENDLY and APPROACHABLE —

But all the more, VIMI finds you so ADORABLE;

And as a TIGER person, you’re so COMMITTED and ARTISTIC,

You’re stable too, I’ve never seen you go BALLISTIC!

On your natal day which is the THIRTY-FIRST of MAY,

You’ve been blessed with so much GRACES, as though reaping it on a HOLIDAY;

You’ve even been accorded with a VALIANT and VALOROUS VIMI…

Our LORD GOD ALMIGHTY has protected you and VIMI so TRULY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAYNA!

=============================================================================================

• 1-It’s the DANCE STUDIO business which is JOINTLY OWNED and MANAGED by the duo SHAYNA and CHESKA under the business name GROOVE CENTRAL DANCE STUDIO. ALEE is helping out  in the business as in fact ALEE is assistant coach in the BALLET class and is helping out also in the HIPHOP class for toddlers. TONTON helps in promoting the business as BUSINESS PROMOTIONS is TONTON’s forte. I and DANG provides help in various ways  and most especially by providing guidance and moral support thereto.

• 2-HIP-HOP has indeed become a CRAZE, as teens no matter they be residing in the enclaves at Forbes Park or in the hovels and slums of Tondo, are all hooked into the HIPHOP dance fascination.

• 3- SHAYNA started out as a GYMNASTICS enthusiast while in her GRADE SCHOOL and part of her HIGH SCHOOL. Eventually, she got fixated into the HIP-HOP dance craze while in COLLEGE.

• 4- SHAYNA, effective on May 8, 2017, relocated into and has become a registered resident at the BALI OASIS Condo, where VIMI, SHAYNA’s hubby has a unit.

• 5- It has been our practice that on the eve of the birthday of a member of our family; we all converge at the door to the celebrant’s room and would surprise him/her with a candle-lit birthday cake. Sometimes when the celebrant would be benighted until midnight, we’ll converge at the front door waiting for him/her as the clock strikes 12. As it became a regular practice, it was almost always not surprising anymore…he,he,he…

• 6 – Shayna was the first graduate of the MAKE-UP DESIGNORY, a make-up school which started out in New York, U.S.A. and which put up a branch at the BGC a couple of years ago.

[RONNIE, my brother-in-law, is shown in this photo lovingly embracing his middle child, ELLA aka ROWELLA, and his future BODYGUARD as ELLA is an expert martial arts practitioner of the MUAY THAI and BOXING category. RONNIE celebrates today (May 10, 2017) his 58th BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY RONNIE!]

 

 

He is the hubby of my older sister WILMA¹,

Am eldest in the brood of 8 brought to this world by Mommy NORMA²;

And RONNIE’s looks may have swept WILMA off her feet,

RONNIE truly looked like an actor when we first MET!

 

 

 

Truly, WILMA is a dyed-in-the-wool admirer of ACTORS,

‘Twas the reason she posed with JOAQUIN³, one among the best TROUPERS;

Upon a hurried look on this skilful thespian ARJO⁴,

ARJO’s youthful mien seems to mimic that of WILMA’s hubby and JO⁵!

 

[Shown in the photo above is JOAQUIN, at extreme left, aka ARJO ATAYDE posing with WILMA (3rd from L-R). Others in the photo are my sisters-in-law: Ralita Belisario-Young (2nd from L-R) and Amy Gillera-Young, at extreme right.] 

RONNIE hails from the south in ZAMBOANGA⁶, in RP which is ARCHIPELAGIC,

And ZAMBOANGUEÑOS are deemed as though a proud people, a bit ARISTOCRATIC;

But RONNIE surprised us for he’s so HUMBLE and MEEK,

He’s a worthy addition to the clan; indeed he’s quite an EPIC!

 

 

 

For his gallant display of DILIGENT INDUSTRIOUSNESS,

RONNIE was picked to manage a family BUSINESS;

He’s a HANDS-ON manager who works with much FLAIR,

Still he has ample time for his family to CARE!

 

 

He’s a TAUREAN being born under the sign of TAURUS —

Per his horoscope, his endurance is truly quite ENORMOUS⁷;

Per his sign too, he works with DILIGENCE INDEED …

He develops intellectual virtues of HUMILITY, in speech and in DEED!

 

 

 

As a PIG person being born in 1959,

He is a devoted partner which WILMA cannot DECLINE⁸;

He’s a caring but overly strict FATHER,

Am sure ROMMEL⁹ can vouch for this as a DANCER¹⁰!

 

 

 

On your natal day, my BROD-IN-LAW RONNIE —

Am sure that you will forever be truly DANDY;

As an excellent HUBBY and good FATHER,

You’ll soon have a daughter DOCTOR¹¹ who’ll take care of you and my SISTER¹²!

 

 

 

And if in your old and failing AGE,

You’ll need a BODYGUARD as your constant PAGE;

There’s your daughter ELLA¹³ who’s a

martial arts FELLA,

Am sure he’ll protect you and my sister WILMA!

[Photo above shows the whole caboodle of the family of RONNIE and WILMA. From LEFT to RIGHT: Ronnie, Wiena, Rommel, Ella and my sister Wilma.] 

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BROD-IN-LAW RONNIE!

===========================================================================

[Legend: 1 – WILMA is my sister who is the 6th in the brood of 8 children. I am the eldest while Wilma is older than our other sister Wandra.

2 – NORMA is my late mother whose maiden name is NORMA RIVERA TOBIAS.

3 – JOAQUIN is the adopted name of ARJO ATAYDE (in the PROBINSYANO telenovela of ABS-CBN) who was one of the guests in Shayna’s wedding held at the ANGELFIELDS NATURE SANCTUARY in Silang, Cavite. My sister WILMA kept egging me to ask ARJO to pose for a photo with her as WILMA is ARJO’s aka JOAQUIN’s fan.

4 – ARJO is the screen first name of JUAN CARLO ATAYDE in real life.

5 – JO means SWEETHEART. Indeed, RONNIE is WILMA’s JO!

6 – ZAMBOANGA is a region in southern Mindanao. Actually, RONNIE is a native of Canelar, a district in Zamboanga City

7 – Per his HOROSCOPE seen at GOOGLE, RONNIE has the capability to carry on much work pressure as he possesses enormous physical and mental endurance.

8 – The word DECLINE was used instead of DENY just  achieve a RHYME with the word “NINE” (9).

9 – ROMMEL is the youngest child and son of the RONNIE-WILMA couple. Though ROMMEL is a hiphop dancer PAR EXCELLENCE, ROMMEL was cordially talked into by RONNIE to cease and desist from his terpsichorean preoccupation and to focus in his studies during ROMMEL’s senior years at the ATENEO.

10- ROMMEL is an excellent and skilled DANCER of the HIPHOP genre.

11- The couple’s eldest daughter ROWIENA aka WINNA will soon become a doctor as she is now in her 3^rd year in MEDICINE proper at the UERM.

12 – The term SISTER refers to WILMA.

13 – ELLA aka ROWELLA is the middle child of the RONNIE-WILMA couple. ELLA is a martial arts practitioner of the MUAY THAI and BOXING category.]

[My fraternity brother and BIRTHDAY BOY, the DEBONAIR and DASHING DICKSON P. HERMOSO is shown in this photo truly IRIDISCENT, so bright, colorful and gleaming. Brod DICKSON’s life is truly colorful as he has served our country as a BEMEDALLED military officer whose last assignment was as Commanding Officer of the 7th Infantry Battalion stationed in Pikit, Cotabato. Now following his retirement and as a true-blue civilian, he is with the OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ASSISTANT ON THE PEACE PROCESS (“OPAPP”) with the rank of ASSISTANT SECRETARY aspiring much, just like all of us peace-loving Filipinos, and working so diligently indeed to bring PEACE to the whole of the Philippine archipelago. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DEAR BROD DICKSON!!!!]

 

 

He was the FIRST PREXY of the PI OMICRON INTERNATIONAL ASSO.,

A fraternity brod of mine who seemed to hate TOBACCO;

That’s what I’ve heard though my informant is SO SO…

But my impression is that he’s a booster of clean living…’tis TRUE!

 

 

 

As a TAUREAN he has a STRONG-WILLED ATTITUDE,

Though he acknowledges his limitations; that’s with EXACTITUDE…

He loves so much those QUANTITATIVE FACTS,

I’ve often heard him uttered a litany of helpful STATS!

 

 

 

 

Being a TAUREAN too, he prefers clear paths and RULES…

That has guided him in good stead, as he abhors too those drug MULES;

He’s one of those worthy President DUTERTE’s kin…

The rage against DRUGS may have rubbed off unto his moral SKIN!

 

 

 

 

A genuine bemedalled military OFFICER,

Who ascended the ladder and rose to the rank of FULL COLONEL;

But he truly is a sure and real GENTLEMAN,

He loves his country and for the PEACE PROCESS… he’s the MAN!

 

 

 

 

Anent our FRATERNITY, that’s the PI OMICRON—

He has instilled much LOYALTY, that’s the legacy of my cool BROD DICKSON;

He is impelled with much and PURE HUMILITY,

Am sure that ‘tis indeed his ardent CUP OF TEA!

 

 

 

And his diligence at work  is NON-PAREIL,

He comes to work so early without FAIL;

But as he has been tapped to do wondrous MULTI-TASKING,

He skips, hops and travels like he’s into “SUPER FLASHING”…

 

 

 

 

One time he sort of NARRATED,

He was summoned to the PALACE but he could be DELAYED;

Using all his prowess, celerity and SWIFTNESS,

He drove, flew and popped at Malacañang, still with much FINESSE!

 

 

In guns and musketry, he truly is TOPNOTCH —

He skippered their OPAPP team with flair and much PIZZAZZ;

For which reason, they were proclaimed as the true CHAMPS,

He’s sure to hit the bull’s eye and catch them as though gaily dancing in STOMPS!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY BROD…THE DEBONAIR & DASHING DICKSON!!!

==========================================================================

[Left photo shows VIMI & SHANE doing their ceremonial kiss after the marriage rites at ANGELFIELDS NATURE SANCTUARY in Silang,Cavite; while the top right and the bottom right photos show Shane doing the ceremonial walk as she daintily ambulated through the grassy field unto the altar mounted near the hill’s cliff. THANKS GOD FOR A TRULY WONDERFUL WEDDING!]

 

Weather and wonders indeed truly  COOPERATED,

Thanks to all Sisters of St. Claire for the DEED;

Have been praying and passing by, always at  KATIPUNAN —

To offer bunch of eggs for those contemplative NUN! 

 

 

Though it drizzled a bit at the Sanctuary at ANGELFIELDS,

‘Twas shower from heaven a blessing of watery BEADS;

And as SHAYNA ambulated near the  POND with swimming SWAN,

I was excitedly watching with my trembling right HAND…

 

[Quezon City Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista with my siblings: L-R – Wilson, William and Warren]  

 

 

Thanks for Mayor HERBERT for coming up so QUICK,

‘Twas when  his name was called to line up like part of a CLIQUE;

And Mayor HERBERT shouted out: “PRESENT!”…so loud and so CLEAR…

His partner ELOISA ogled at him; so loving, so DEAR!

 

 

And as the DRONE flew above to sort of capture a SHOT,

My heart was thumping as though gaily jumping out from a POT;

And as I saw CHESKA and ALEE both happy but TEARY-EYED,

I told myself not to cry, though I cried a bit… thereafter I LIED!

 

 

 

Thanks to VIMI’s father who served as MINISTER,

‘Twas actually through his words that I learned what’s all that MATTER…

Pastor RANEL explained truly well the RITE’s SIGNIFICANCE,

‘Twas truly enlightening, no one would feel so ASKANCE!

 

 

 

Thanks for KIMG and BAM for the SET-UP, so NICE…

The calligraphy on the SIGNAGES so pretty, on THRICE…

Brought me wondrous feeling like the song EIDELWEISS —

And the white-splashed entrance door, ’twas a plan that was truly  WISE!

 

 

But the MARRIAGE CONTRACT got left in the CAR,

The signing ceremony — I quickly made something BIZARRE;

I asked the coordinator to just slip a sheet of PAPER,

Both lovers signed on a DUMMY, it truly was a CAPER!

 

 

 But PAL’s JIMMY BAUTISTA was truly so OBSERVANT,

He’s not only a keen observer but a jet setting BON VIVANT;

“Why was the contract not passed to us for signing?” … he aptly SAID,

Contract signing got done on the dining table … I received no UPBRAID!

 

 

 

And the food served by BIZU was truly DELICIOUS,

The RACLETE side-bar was felt by many as PRECIOUS;

Almost everyone lined up while the cheese-melting CONTINUED,

The boiled potatoes got scarce thus green salad was thereafter USED!

 

[Family photo at the BALAI TAAL along Ligaya Drive in Tagaytay City before we trekked to the wedding venue at ANGELFIELDS NATURE SANCTUARY in Silang, Cavite.]   

 

 

And the decanters and carafes of WINE,

Brought from Aussie county by my cuz who’s so DIVINE;

Loved the MOSCATO so much, either PINK or the WHITE—

BETH my cutie cuz, was live-wire at the party,  ’tis so full of LIFE!

 

 

I wish to thank all the guests for a NIGHT of FUN,

But really ‘tis still not at all completely DONE;

I have TWO (2) other daughters that will still be SPUN,

And a dashing debonair, that’s Anthony — my ONLY SON!

 

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS INDEED to VIMI and SHANE,

You’ve come up with a wedding that has acquired a GLOSSY NAME;

Your wedding video could really indeed go VIRAL,

As GRANDPA however, I’d hope that you’d quickly go PRENATAL!!!!

 

 

  

 

CONGRATULATIONS ONCE AGAIN TO YOU… SHAYNA and VIMI!

=======================================================================

[Above photos with Shane, were taken at the BALAI TAAL along Ligaya Drive in Tagaytay City- L-R: Shane and my wife Dang; myself, Shane and Dang; and, finally, myself and Shane.]

 

 

[BIRTHDAY BOY ARCHIE LLORCA is shown here in this photo with ALLISON and his wife, the gracious and dainty CRISTETA “KITZ” VITERBO-LLORCA. HAPPY BIRTHDAY  AMAZING ARCHIE!!!!]

 

 

He’s into HYPERBARIC¹, that’s a medical CLINIC,

Where he has reaped laurels, and lauds & praises…truly an EPIC;

He’s really so helpful and even is so HUMBLE,

He’s the darling of KITZ² and a child who’s so KISSABLE³!

 

 

 

 

ARCHIE is from my maternal SIDE,

Grandson of Tia Doring⁴, an aunt who’s so POLITE;

Tio Gene is ARCHIE’s Grandpa—named GENEROSO LLORCA—

Truly so GENEROUS, a surname that rhymes with LAGUNA…

 

 

 

 

It was in LAGUNA indeed where his grandparents MET,

Eventually, ARCHIE’s DAD was born; some kind of KISMET⁵…

Tio Gene was from SILAY in NEGROS⁶,

Tia Doring from LAGUNA in Santa CRUZ⁷!

 

 

 

 

ARCHIE’s Dad ARIEL is my JOLLY COUSIN,

It was a bit doleful– ARIEL’s untimely DEATH and PASSING⁸;

But the memory of ARIEL lingers on…

Just look at ARCHIE; he seems like ARIEL’s CLONE!

 

 

 

On your NATAL DAY, my AMAZING ARCHIE,

Continue with the courteous service to all your FAMILY;

Be loyal forever unto all your KIN and KITH,

But most especially to your gracious wife, the ever DAINTY KITZ!

 

 

And kiss for me your  DAUGHTER who’s so FUNNY,

Whose name is ALLISON COURTNEY;

Perhaps next year will meet again…

And dine perhaps at JOLLIBEE⁹! 

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMAZING ARCHIE!!!

=========================================================================

[Legend: 1 – HYPERBARIC oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a medical treatment which enhances the body’s natural healing process by inhalation of 100% oxygen in a total body chamber, where atmospheric pressure is increased and controlled. It is used for a wide variety of treatments usually as a part of an overall medical care plan.

2 – KITZ is ARCHIE’s gracious wife, Cristeta Viterbo Llorca.

3 – ARCHIE has a a young daughter who is so FUNNY and so CUTE and KISSABLE. And her name is ALLISON COURTNEY V. LLORCA.

4 – Tia DORING is my late mother’s younger sister whose full name is TEODORA TOBIAS LLORCA.

5 – KISMET means fate or destiny. Indeed, it was some kind of FATE and DESTINY as Tia Doring was from Luzon and Tio Gene was from the Visayan region, and the distance between Santa Cruz, Laguna and Silay City in Negros Occidental is about 700 kilometers away from each other. 

6 – Tio GENE LLORCA is from Silay City in Negros Occidental. Before, NEGROS was considered as one province. But now, it has been divided into TWO (2): Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental.

7 – Santa Cruz is the capital of Laguna, a province which is south of Metro-Manila. Our forebears are from Santa Cruz, Laguna and I was in fact born in that place.

8 – ARCHIE’s Dad, my JOLLY COUSIN ARIEL, died on June 4, 2016. The proximate cause of his death was some kind of cerebral stroke.  The stroke happened in the early morning of a date  whence  the night before that, he intended to join our YOGA sessions which I conduct at the BADMINTON HALL adjoining our Law Office. ARIEL however was confined for long at the ICU of the UERM where he went into a coma until his death.   

9 – The reference to JOLLIBEE is actually to TWIT Allison, ARCHIE’s only daughter who loves to eat and dine at MacDonalds. JOLLIBEE is MacDonald’s strongest competitor here in the Philippines in the fast-food industry. ARCHIE and the rest of the LLORCA clan in San Diego are reportedly intending , the whole caboodle of course; to spend their Christmas holiday in the Philippines in 2018.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[This nicely snapped photo seems to portray and prognosticate the FANTASTIC FUTURE in store for the VIMI-SHAYNA marital kinship: a future of MARITAL BLISS, POTENT PROSPERITY and HOSPITABLE HARMONY…CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU SHAYNA aka WINSHAYNA E. YOUNG & VIMI aka VICENTE MIGUEL N. RIVERA!!!!]

 

SHAYNA as a TODDLER — was SWEET,

She and her siblings would ask me to PLAY HORSE RACE;

Using my fingers as though they’re BRONCO’S HOOVES,

We’ll all be in bed ROMPING like fried-in-the pan CLOVES!

 

 

 

And everyone of them would be GIGGLING,

Though SHAYNA’s giggle is more EXCITING;

And they would ask for REPETITION,

As though they’re TIRELESS  won’t stop the SESSION!

 

 

 

And now those horsey-horsey PLAYS,

Which have been their source of fun those DAYS;

SHAYNA would now play HORSEY,

Not with me– but it would be with VIMI!

 

 

 

And now as an OLD HORSE would sort of RETIRE,

A STALLION in VIMI would now be the SIRE;

A STALLION who’s VALIANT and a VISIONARY,

You’ll BOTH be putting up for your own POSTERITY!

 

 

VALOROUS and VALIANT is VIMI INDEED,

SHAYNA would have a dependable STEED;

In your journey through life with VIMI,

Am sure you’ll experience much PROSPERITY!

 

 

 

VIMI has shown his EBULLIENT INDUSTRIOUSNESS,

You’ll have to take care of your STALLION with loving CARESS;

As I am sure that VIMI who’s a real VISIONARY,

Has planned your FUTURE with precise POTENCY!

 

CONGRATULATIONS

TO

YOU SHAYNA & VIMI!

========================================================================

 

 

 [SHAYNA is shown here with her close friends and kin, particularly her sisters ALEE and CHESKA who posed with SHAYNA at those photos at right.]

 

[Left photo shows my sister-in-law AMY G. YOUNG with her signature enticing smile. At right photo is the loving tandem of my debonair-looking brother WILBERT and his beauteous wife, AMY  (today’s birthday GIRL – May 2, 2017) taken with the San Francisco’s GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE as backdrop.]

It was she who egged me to be a BLOGGER,

But such thought, for me was then an outright GONER¹;

Was super BUSY in my job and EXTRA-CURRICULAR²,

My paperwork seems to travel ala FUNICULAR³!

 

 

 

But with AMY’s way of CONVINCING,

I got bewitched and thereafter was moved to WRITING;

Being a SNAKE⁴ person who persuades, and so ORDERLY and INTELLIGENT⁵…

BLOGGING has now become my heart’s CONTENTMENT⁶!

 

 

Indeed, AMY who’s a SNAKE PERSON,

A WOOD SNAKE⁷ in my researching VERSION;

She has a gift for appreciating the ARTS,

She’s got REFINED TASTE; she loves Dang’s PECAN TARTS⁸!

 

 

Being born as a TAUREAN⁹ is so truly FANTASTIC;

As TAUREANS are reserved and are QUITE STRICT;

And they’re focused with finding enough and much ARGUMENT,

As they strive for perfection  aspiring as though for a MONUMENT¹⁰!

 

 

And as I now reminisce the DAYs,

When WILBERT asked for AMY’s parents’ YEAHs¹¹;

I was the one who talked to Amy’s OLD MAN,

It was me, my brother WILBERT and our late MOM!

 

 

And the orderliness and WIT of AMY,

Has now become their offspring’s traits; each is a POPPY¹²;

And their daughters who’ve all become so COSMOPOLITAN¹³,

Their parents, AMY and BERT…have all made each a T.R.A.M.¹⁴!

 

 

And as  AMY eventually  became Daddy Max’s LIAISON,

She has sort of connected with the GUINNESS TOME¹⁵;

We’ll try to make Daddy Max HAPPY,

By marking his old age remembered in POSTERITY!

 

 

As it is your natal day BRIGHT AMY,

You’ve been the GUIDE and LIGHT of MANY;

Though you may really look a bit STRICT,

You’re just an eager tutor, the best in the CLIQUE¹⁶!  

[Wilbert and AMY are shown in this photo together with their lovely and alluring daughters: (From L-R: Gabby,  Frances and Winnie)]

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY!

===================================================================================================

[Legend: 1 – GONER is used in this BLOG to mean something that won’t last; as I really thought all along that if I get to start BLOGGING; it would just be for an ephemeral and short duration and time.

2 – I have a lot of EXTRA-CURRICULARs then such as being an informal YOGA guide and driller,  a college parents’ organization’s Year-Level representative, a speech writer for Daddy Max, a legal counsel for a war veterans’ group, a regular badminton player, a director for a couple of foundations, a corporate secretary for several companies and a retained counsel for a host of clients.

3 – FUNICULAR is used in this BLOG in a manner which sorts of PERSONIFY the “ascending” and “descending” ways the pile of paperwork on my office table go…it would seem as though a continuing and never-ending cycle of accumulation of paperwork; then finishing them off; then another series of accumulation and resolution/termination…

4 – Being born on May 2, 1965; AMY is a SNAKE person. Before involving herself in the family business, AMY was PurchasING Group Manager of PROCTER & GAMBLE (“P & G”)  INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS-SINGAPORE, her last posting until her resignation in December 2013. Prior thereto, AMY was with P & T – TAIWAN and much earlier on with P & G DISTRIBUTING-PHILIPPINES.  

5 – A quick research via GOOGLE would show that a SNAKE PERSON is so ORDERLY and INTELLIGENT.

6 – After almost TWO (2) years of being a BLOGGER; I have loved this preoccupation  and it would seem that there is always a thing, an event or an occasion to BLOG about. To date, I have written 226 BLOGS, 110 of which consist of this FUN-RHYME BLOG series.

7 – A person born in 1965 is classified as a WOOD SNAKE person who is not only ORDERLY, INTELLIGENT but is also possessed with a refined taste and a lover of the arts.

8 – AMY has been my wife’s (i.e. Dang) customary and regular buyer and procurer of the best pastry that Dang bakes, the PECAN TARTS. And Amy would usually buy it in bulk. Indeed, being a topnotch PASTRY CHEF, my wife Dang bakes the most delicious PECAN TARTS in the whole universe.  

9 – Amy’s ZODIAC sign is TAURUS, and a person born under this ZODIAC sign is referred to as TAURIAN.

10 – The term MONUMENT is used in this BLOG to denote the PINNACLE of SUCCESS.

11-  YEAHs refer to Amy’s parents’ acquiescence into giving Amy’s hand in marriage unto my brother WILBERT. When Amy’s parents sighed in unison that they will be losing a daughter; both of them with a streak of tear exuding from their eyes…I was compelled to make a quick retort…  “Though you will be gaining a SON…”. And their acquiescence quickly followed.

 12 – The slang meaning of POPPY is a girl who looks good and is so intelligent. 

13 – COSMOPOLITAN, as used in this BLOG,  means familiar with and at ease in many different countries and cultures, as Wilbert’s and AMY’s daughters are the so-called THIRD CULTURE KIDS, kids who have been reared and raised in a country which is not their parents’ native land particularly in TAIWAN, SINGAPORE, U.S.A.  and  CANADA.

14 – T.R.A.M. is an acronym which has that slang meaning of: “THAT REALLY AMAZES ME”.

15 – TOME means PUBLICATION or BOOK.

16  – CLIQUE is used in this BLOG to mean GROUP.]

 

 

 

[The DOC ANDY TAN BADMINTON CUP-ASPAC (2016-2017) was a great success as it was a unique experience for BEGINNERS who sort of stumbled into a real tournament event. The skilled players had their time mentoring and strategizing on how to guide their BEGINNER-TEAM-TANDEM into snatching a score. As I was too busy coordinating the event, I was unable to snap many photos; but I am sure many of those who attended-participated  will eventually upload the photos in their respective FB accounts. The YELLOW TEAM skippered by Doc Andy Tan and Earl Elpa was declared CHAMP. First RUNNER-UP is the White Team skippered by Kattie Sy and Jose Mari Revilla. The SECOND Runner-UP slot went to the RED TEAM skippered by Christian David and Pinky Santos. Finally, the KALABASA AWARD went to the BLUE TEAM to where I belong. A BOODLE-FIGHT as shown in the right photo capped the half-day tourney. ASPAC is acronym for the ATENEO SCHOOLS PARENTS COUNCIL. See you all at the NEXT TOURNAMENT!!!!]

Nagkasubukan na ang lahat at okey ang naging BANAT,

YELLOW Team ang syang naging PAMBATO’T SIKAT¹;

Aba may KNEELING SHOT² pa si Doc ANDY,

Akala mo’y nag-GEGENUFLECT kay Mama MARY…

 

Sumegunda naman ang WHITE Team ni KATTIE,

Muntik pang mauwi sa KASO ang labanang HOTTIE³;

Aba’y nakia-alam na ang lahat ng mga PLAYERS,

Mabuti’t si Gen. PIANO⁴ umusal ng munting PRAYER…

 [At right photo is the CHAMPION TEAM, the YELLOW TEAM which is skippered by ASPAC Prexy Doc Andy Tan and Earl Elpa. At left photo is the FIRST RUNNER-UP Team, the WHITE TEAM which is skippered by ASPAC Veep Kattie Sy and Jose Marie Revilla.] 

 

Ang PANGATLO naman ay ang RED Team⁵,

Akala ko’y sila ang siyang MABIBITIN;

Dahil pana’y ang reklamo ni JULIET REMORQUE,

Shallow BENCH daw ang syang taglay nilang MARQUEE!⁶

 

[The RED TEAM which is skippered by Christian David and Daisy Gacura is shown in this photo with Daddy Max. The RED TEAM snatched the 2nd RUNNER-UP slot.] 

Pero bumanat ng husto si RAFA FRANCISCO⁷,

Umani ng PANALO pati tandem ko TINALO;

Ako pa naman ang bumili ng KALABASA,

Yon pala’y sa BLUE Team⁸ ko ang squash ay ma-IPAPASA!

 

[Here is a photo of the BLUE TEAM skippered by Robert Tan and Pinky Santos with Daddy Max. The BLUE TEAM bagged the KALABASA Award for coming in last.]

 

[The long table which became the VENUE of the BOODLE-FIGHT (and the main feature of the DOC ANDY BADMINTON CUP) is shown here being daintily prepared by ASPAC Board Member Mikee Rubina as she places the variety of foodstuffs  on top of the cooked rice and adjoining thereat.]

Yong BOODLE FIGHT ang siya nama’y naging TAMPOK,

Dinagdagan ko tuloy and TOKA kong MANOK⁹,

Siyempre yun ay ang maraming bawang na CHICKEN PORK ADOBO;

Ginawa ko na tuloy halos ay SAMPUNG KILO!

 

 

Mukha namang lahat ay nabusog at NASIYAHAN,

Nagpaluto na rin ako ng ISDANG

PAMPISTAHAN¹⁰;

Ito na nga rin kasi ang syang BLOW-OUT KO,

Dahil panganay ko’y mag-sa-say “I DO”!

 

 

Hindi na ako pinayagang  na mag-IMBITA PA,

Bilang ulirang ITAY, ako’y TUMALIMA!

Dahil daw sa bilang ng DANCE STUDIO students NILA,

Lahat ay naimbitahan halos sila’y nangakong PUPUNTA!

 

 

 

Pumalo ng TRES SIYENTOS ang syang naging ENROLLMENT¹¹,

Ganun bilang din marahil ang darating sa EVENT…

At saka nama’y nakapunta na rin talaga KAYO,

Sa ANGELFIELDS Sanctuary noong pang MARSO DIES Y’OTSO¹²!

 

 

At ang sarap din naman ng KAIN nyo DOON,

Pati nga yong DESSERT masarap na NILAMON;

Kaya NEXT TIME na lang sa paligsahang BADMINTON,

Dadagdagan ko ang BOODLE-FIGHT  ng HOPYA at MAMON!

[The Doc ANDY TAN BADMINTON CUP was great opportunity for BONDING too among the officers and staff of the ASPAC as depicted in this photo showing all the colors of the TOURNAMENT: YELLOW, BLUE, WHITE and RED. It was a great time for FAMILY BONDING too as Dra. Digna Gavina brought along her granddaughter, 3rd from right, making out a PRETTY-LOOK-AT ME pose.]  

===========================================================================

[Legend: 1 – The YELLOW TEAM which was skippered by ASPAC Prexy Doc Andy Tan and  Earl Elpa won the CHAMP TROPHY and the CASH PRIZE of Php 10,000.00. The FIRTS RUNNER-UP slot was snatched by the WHITE TEAM which  team is skippered by Veep KATTIE SY and JOSE MARI REVILLA. 

2 – In one of the episodes of the hotly-contested game  between the BLUE TEAM Tandem of ROBERT TAN and PINKY SANTOS and the YELLOW TEAM Tandem of DOC ANDY TAN and EARL ELPA, Doc Andy Tan delivered a strike of the shuttlecock which successfully cascaded atop the net’s edge into the opposing court while in  a kneeling position.

3 – In another episode  of another hotly-contested game  between the WHITE TEAM Tandem of WARREN YOUNG and CINDY FRANCO and the YELLOW TEAM Tandem of RAUL PANLASIQUI and TINA ANDAYA, there arose a scoring controversy which WARREN was spiritedly defending. The problem was that everybody from both competing teams (i.e. YELLOW and WHITE Teams) was intruding into the officiating chore of the SCORER-REFEREE Fiscal Arnold Magpantay.  Intimidated perhaps by Col. Agane Adriatico of the WHITE Team and the fact that the principal sponsor of the TOURNEY, Doc Andy Tan, is from the YELLOW Team; Fiscal ARNOLD whiled away the time until the controversy got resolved to the satisfaction and acquiescence of all.

4 – Well, actually—anent the aforesaid controversy, after Gen. George Piano of the WHITE TEAM uttered a little prayer and pacified WARREN, the conflict was immediately resolved and the play quickly resumed.

5 –  The RED TEAM which was skippered by CHRISTIAN DAVID and DAISY GACURA was declared as SECOND RUNNER-UP.  

6 – The term MARQUEE is used here to mean a  SIGN.

7 – RED TEAM member RAFA FRANCISCO (15 yr. old son of Fiscal WALLY FRANCISCO of the YELLOW TEAM) is the team-tandem mate of RACHELLE TAN, ROBERT TAN’s better half (in fact they were celebrating their wedding anniversary today – May 1, 2017) and which tandem carried the RED TEAM to its SECOND RUNNER-UP position.

8 – The BLUE TEAM where I belong is skippered by ROBERT TAN and PINKY SANTOS…and the BLUE TEAM proudly received the KALABASA Award.

9 – My POT-LUCK contribution was the CHICKEN-PORK ADOBO…more of the CHICKEN actually…

10 – ISDANG PAMPISTAHAN refers to kinds of FISH which are served during TOWN FIESTAS or FEASTS like Lapu-lapu, Talakitok, etc.

11 – My eldest daughter WINSHAYNA who will be wed at the ANGELFIELDS Nature Sanctuary, this week-end, manager and operates a HIPHOP DANCE Studio which carries a peaked enrollment during the school summer break.

12-  Through the courtesy and generosity of Doc Andy Tan, the ASPAC staff and officers held a bonding get-away to the ANGELFIELDS Nature Sanctuary on March 18, 2017 and partook of sumptuous meal thereat.]

 

[Daddy Max, at extreme left photo, is shown delivering this SPEECH by way of WELCOME REMARKS at the WREATH LAYING Ceremonies held on April 26, 2017 at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani in Taguig City, Metro-Manila, Philippines. Middle photo shows the start of the WREATH LAYING Ceremonies as part of the commemoration of the 66th Anniversary of the famous Battle of Yuldong (From R-L: a South Korean guest who heads the United Korean Association in the Philippines, Daddy Max, Col. Paterno Viloria, Former Pres. Fidel V. Ramos, LtGen. Glorioso Miranda who is Commanding Gen. of the Phil. Army atop the mounting stand together with GUEST OF HONOR,  USEC Arthur Tabaquero, Presidential Assistant of Military Affairs; and PVAO Administrator Ernesto Carolina). Extreme right photo shows Daddy Max doing the march to the KOREAN WAR Memorial Pylon with TWO (2) Filipino soldiers preceding him in the march donned in RAYADILLO uniforms as they carried the wreath to be offered by Daddy Max.]

A pleasant Good Morning to you all.  Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat.

I wish to most respectfully greet our honored guests;  my fellow veterans from PEFTOK, officially known as the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea.

Ladies and gentlemen!

Sixty-six (66) years ago is a very distant time replete with age-old memories. Indeed, memories fade but heroism endures forever.

Sixty-six (66) years ago, in the morning of April 22, 1951, the 900 men of the 10^th   Battalion Combat Team of the PEFTOK were digging in on a three mile-long sector in a place inside North Korea whose name most of them did not even know.

I was a member of the 10th BCT. My unit, like the other combat arms of the 10th BCT, found itself preparing for another battle with an enemy we knew well — the communist Chinese.

There was a small village some distance from where we were digging our foxholes and examining and sighting our machine guns, as we anxiously waited for the enemy.

As we slumped ourselves into the grubby foxholes, we felt so forlorn and did not know what tomorrow will bring us. Fear haunted us all as we thought of our families that we have left behind, our loved ones, our country, the Philippines. Varied morbid thoughts crossed our minds. Though we all know that we have defeated the enemy not once but in various occasions, we truly felt that they will attack us with ferocious vengeance. And we can only tell ourselves then; will this be our last battle– will this be the prelude to our end or will this signal the end of the Korean War.  

We did not know the name of the place at that time, but we all realized the significance of our mission.

The communist Chinese were about to launch a great summer offensive which they expectantly hoped would carry them to final victory by overwhelming the United Nations Command.

It was PEFTOK’s job to blunt that great offensive, along with its allies in the United Nations Command.

We knew the Chinese would attack at night. As they had so often in the past.

We knew they would hurl wave after wave of frenzied men at our rifles, machine guns, mortars and artillery. As they had so often in the past.

And we knew the only way to defeat a Chinese human wave attack was to kill as many of them as we could. And this we had done so often in the past.

It was the same old enemy using the same old tricks. And we would beat them in the same old way.

We had beaten them in the past. And we were confident we would do so again at this hilly and God forsaken stretch of terrain whose name escaped us then.

As expected, the Chinese came at night. They struck in the early morning hours of April 23, in a vast human wave.

The 10th BCT held its ground in those hours of ferocious fighting.

In a night battle, the only things you clearly see is the flash of your rifle.

And the flashes of your comrades’ rifles. And the flashes of the rifles and machine guns of the Chinese enemy shooting at you.

As dawn broke, we were surprised that most of us were still alive. We joyfully thanked Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary for our deliverance.

But in front of us were the dead bodies of hundreds upon hundreds of Chinese military force.

We were victorious. This we knew, because we were still alive.

Unable to overrun us, the Chinese avoided us altogether, leaving us in possession of the battlefield.

We counted our dead. Tended our wounded. And resupplied our machine guns and rifles with ammunition.

It was only later that we learned the name of that blood-soaked ground where so many lives were lost.

The place was called Yuldong.

It was only later that we learned that we had stopped the advance of an entire Chinese communist army– in the largest communist offensive of the Korean War.

And it was only very much later that historians determined that our victory at Yuldong helped deny the Chinese the decisive victory they needed to win the Korean War.

Today, on this hallowed ground of the Libingan ng mga Bayani, we commemorate the great Filipino victory at the Battle of Yuldong. And the valiant Filipinos who won that great victory.

It is a great victory for Filipino arms. It was a great victory in a Forgotten War. But the victory at Yuldong might one day become a Forgotten Victory.

It is the task of younger Filipinos to ensure they do not forget their great victory at Yuldong.

And is the task of the few remaining PEFTOK veterans of the Korean War to remind them of that glorious past.

Let us always remember.

Thank you.

[After the WREATH LAYING Ceremonies, a sumptuous meal courtesy of the South Korean Embassy and the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) was served at the BULWAGAN within the Libingan ng Mga Bayani (LNMB) premises. Shown in this photo is Daddy Max at center with: (L-R) My brother WARREN, PVAO Administrator Ernesto Carolina, Mr. Eddie Quirino (son of the late President Elpidio Quirino who issued in 1950 that Presidential edict which authorized the sending of the PEFTOK to the Korean War) and Gen. Miguel Villamor, who introduced the guest speaker, USEC Arthur Tabaquero, Office of the President and Presidential Assistant on Military Affairs.]

***Happy birthday Ms. HANNAH!!!!***

 [Ms. Hannah Y. Kim embarked on a private enterprise to visit all those ALLIED nations (25 in all) which sent armed contingents to the 1950 KOREAN WAR to rescue South Korea from the threat of a communist take-over. Arriving here in the Philippines, Hannah conducted a LIVE interview of Daddy Max on April 12, 2017 at the UERM Medical Center as Daddy Max got confined thereat due to a bout with PNEUMONIA.  As and by way of showing much gratitude and respect to Daddy Max’s daring efforts during the 1950 KOREAN WAR, Hannah lied prostrate on the ground and bowed down before Daddy Max. After which, Hannah announced that she has adopted Daddy Max as his GRANDPA. Hannah worked as Chief of Staff of retired Congressman Charlie Rangel, former US Representative of the District of Manhattan-New York.] 

 

It was as though a breath of fresh air ARRIVED,

As Daddy Max recounted the persistent plea for an INTERVIEW… LIVE;

‘Twas apt and timely, as Daddy Max was then feeling WEARIED¹,

The plea for INTERVIEW cause Daddy’s doctors to be WORRIED²!

 

 

 

And the appointed time for the TALK CAME,

HANNAH Y. KIM went to see Daddy Max, she was GAME³;

Despite the requirement to wear a FACE MASK⁴,

HANNAH pushed her luck and took the risk to TASK!

 

 

HANNAH was indeed a pretty LADY,

She was statuesque and truly DANDY;

She could even pass for a Hollywood STAR,

She felt so INVINCIBLE as though shielded with KEVLAR⁵!

 

 

And that interview animated our DADDY,

As though DADDY MAX popped an energy pill…so FUNNY;

Daddy Max’s answered in STENTORIAN MANNERS,

As though he’s not sick in  his tired TUBERS⁶!

 

 

 

But what really amazed us is HANNAH’s  PRONE POSE,

She lied flat on the ground almost touching her NOSE;

Thereafter she knelt and bowed down to DADDY,

Showing much respect to a GRANDPA⁷…DADDY felt so HAPPY!

 

 

Found out thereafter that HANNAH was past PEACE CORPS,

She was Congressman Rangel’s⁸ Chief COMMUNICATOR;

Graduated HIGH SCHOOL at Seoul’s National University,

Pursued thence a course in LITERATURE— she’s quite LITERARY!

 

 

She’s got a MASTERAL at George Washington U,

It’s a topnotch school available only to a FEW;

A certificate in ENTREPRENEURSHIP at UCLA,

At JOHN HOPKINS,  scored a course on foreign relations’ CONSORTIA!

 

 

 

But HANNAH’s quest has now become HISTORIC,

She has retraced  and reminisced a WAR EPIC;

Visiting and giving warm greetings to KOREAN WAR VETS,

It’s a PASSION, as she’s keen too on lifetime learning and FITNESS!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH!!!!

===========================================================================

[Legend: 1 – Daddy Max was hospitalized at the UERM Medical Center for over two (2) weeks due to a bout with PNEUMONIA and he was getting bored and wearied by that unwanted episode of inactivity and dormancy.

2 – Daddy Max’s doctors got so very worried as the strict directive was to limit visitors to Daddy Max’s room. But as the President of the UERM knew fully well the passionate feeling of Daddy Max about the KOREAN WAR, UERM’s Prexy, Dr. Romeo A. Divinagracia,  yielded and acquiesced to the requested LIVE interview. Actually, the doctors who were medically attending to Daddy Max’s needs were somewhat adverse to allowing the LIVE interview.

3 – HANNAH was truly GAME as she actually risked her health in going into a LIVE interview with a hospital patient who just had a recent bout with such a deadly illness, PNEUMONIA.

4 – Most people would certainly think twice in cases where a visit to a hospital patient would be required to go through the sanitary practice of wearing a FACE MASK.

5 – Kevlar is a well-known component of personal armor such as combat helmets, ballistic face masks, and ballistic vests.

6 –  TUBERS is a term used in this FUN-RHYME BLOG to mean the LUNGS.

7 – HANNAH announced during the LIVE interview and  after lying prostrate on the ground and bowing thereafter unto Daddy Max that she has adopted Daddy Max as her GRANDPA.

8 – Congressman Rangel is former U.S. Representative Charlie Rangel of New York.]

 

 

 

 

[Daddy Max as President of the PEFTOK-10th BCT Chapter is shown at top photo delivering the WELCOME REMARKS at the 66th Anniversary of the BATTLE OF YULDONG which was held at 7:30 AM this morning (April 26, 2017) at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, Taguig, Metro-Manila. The BATTLE OF YULDONG is a great battle of the KOREAN WAR that chronicled the heroism and bravery of the Filipino soldier. Following the entry of Communist China into the fray in November 1950, the joint North Korean and communist Chinese militia forces composed of 250,000 ferocious warriors planned the launching of their GREAT SPRING OFFENSIVE to purportedly attain for themselves their desired VICTORY. At the early dawn of April 23, 1951; a  horde of 40,000 of this 250,000 communist force which was  designated to penetrate the FILIPINO DEFENSE LINE (manned by close to 1,000 10th BCT PEFTOKERS) attacked. After the smoke of the shooting war cleared up which ultimately ended in bloody hand-to-hand combat, the 10th BCT PEFTOKERS held their ground and totally vanquished the communist forces. The yearly anniversary to commemorate this victory of FREEDOM and DEMOCRACY is aimed at keeping the memory of FILIPINO HEROISM and to avoid this BATTLE OF YULDONG relegated into the dustbin of history.]

 

 

With the odds at FORTY to ONE¹,

Our PEFTOK² soldiers fought with a PLAN;

To kill as many of the ENEMIES,

End the WAR…to be with their FAMILIES!

 

 

And the VALOR of the FILIPINO SOLDIERS,

Though with casualties brought in BIERS³;

MacArthur praised & commended the PEFFTOK,

It was a recognition of heroism with such great TALK ⁴!

 

 

As they were holed up in those grubby FOXHOLES,

They were thinking of their wives & BOYS;

And those girls among their cute little CHILDREN,

Brought them tears; the officers and  their SUBALTERNS!

 

 

And waves of communist warriors ARRIVED,

As though they’re cats with their fabled NINE LIVES;

But as the FILIPINO soldiers were so PASSIONATE,

Every adversary’s soul turned so very UNFORTUNATE…

 

 

When the dust of the gun smoke CLEARED,

The communist warriors eventually VEERED⁵;

They avoided the FILIPINO DEFENSE LINE,

Except for over a score⁶, the FILIPINOS were FINE!

 

 

And it was the 10^th7 which went on a shooting WAR,

The other BCTs⁸ were still away…miles AFAR;

Still it was the FILIPINO SPIRIT that emerged as HERO,

A brand of BRAVERY championed by LAPU-LAPU⁹!

 

 

 

And the SOUTH KOREANS have been very GRATEFUL,

For the help of the FILIPINOS…an AID so WONDERFUL;

In fact, the PHILIPPINES sent the FIRST TROOPS¹⁰,

And the severe WINTER¹¹ brought them fever and COLDS!

 

 

And in REMEMBERING the BATTLE OF YULDONG,

Posterity must treasure this memory for LONG;

If not indeed, it could turn into a FORGOTTEN WAR —

A victorious TRIUMPH that has raised the FILIPINO SOLDIER above PAR!!!!

 

========================================================================

[Legend: 1 – At the BATTLE OF YULDONG which happened on April 23, 1951, less than 1,000 Filipino soldiers of the PEFTOK squared it off with over 40,000 Chinese communist warriors. But despite the massive superiority in number of the Chinese militia, which was ostensibly aimed to AWE and TERRIFY the Filipino soldiers; the communist forces were successfully vanquished by our brave and daring PEFTOKERS.

2 – PEFTOK is acronym for PHILIPPINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE TO KOREA.  This army contingent was sent via the

edict of former President Elpidio Quirino to Korea in September 1950 with the arrival in the Korean Peninsula of the 10^th Battalion Combat Team. After the great Battle of Yuldong, the 10^th BCT was relieved by the 20th BCT in September 1951.

3 – BIERS are coffins.

4 –  General Douglas MacArthur was compelled to declare in virtual acknowledgment of the BRAVERY of the FILIPINO SOLDIERS, following the BATTLE OF YULDONG, through this resounding statement – “Give me 10,000 Filipino soldiers and I will conquer the WORLD.”

5 – As the FILIPINO DEFENSE LINE seemed impenetrable, the Chinese communist warriors veered away from this DEFENSE LINE in sheer exhaustion and consequent diminution.

6 – During the Battle of Yuldong 10 Filipinos soldiers got killed and another 14 were declared missing in action.

7 – 10^th is the 10^th Battalion Combat Team which was the first combat battalion sent by the Philippines to the Korean War as it arrived in the Korean Peninsula on September 19, 1950. 

8 – BCT is acronym for Battalion Combat Team.

9 – Lapu-lapu is the FIRST FILIPINO HERO who is acknowledged as having killed the Portuguese Fernao Magallanes aka Ferdinand Magellan in the Battle of Mactan.

10 – Among the ALLIED NATIONS, it was the Philippines among those nations which quickly reacted in the call for help aired by South Korea government and eventually, the Philippine government was among the  first to send its combat troops to the Korean War.

11 – That November in 1950 was recorded as the coldest WINTER ever in the Korean Peninsula.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 [Here is my son TONTON walking the ramp (acting out as though a topnotch ramp MODEL) during the 2016 CHRISTMAS party at the REED ELSEVIER company (a British-Australian multinational firm) where TONTON is currently employed. Well, the photo seems too apt to show in light of my prognostication in this FUN-RHYME BLOG that TONTON will in the future become a GREAT and AFFLUENT person. Take note of the NUMBER 8 ( a very lucky number indeed, in Chinese belief).HAPPY BIRTHDAY TON!!!!] 

 

 

You’re a child born in the year of the DRAGON,

And eventually you’ve been nicknamed as TONTON;

Your nickname evokes such massiveness & weight,

Not just one TON but twice the freight¹!

 

 

 

 Thus, I truly feel you’ll soon be great,

For those DRAGON born would gladly state:

“Our luck and fortune are bright in gaze,

They come in great number even through a haze…”²

 

 

 

When you were an infant in your nonage,

Your Mom and I hired a female page³;

She was a nursemaid with Visayan accent,

Taking  care of you like crazy sans any dent⁴!

 

 

 

That nursemaid even prohibited us;

Your Mom, myself; she would even cuss;

As though she’s your mom, and us just like none,

No chance to be near you, when twilight has come!

 

 

 On hindsight now, I feel and think—

That nursemaid might have thought & cringed;

That she was nursing⁵ some kind of royalty,

Perhaps not yet; sort of  some  destiny!

 

 

 

And now on your way to full adulthood,

You’ll soon perhaps attain affluent livelihood;

Could it be some fortune in the MEGALOTTO,

I’ll cross my fingers; I still don’t know…

 

 

 

But with your diligence, industry and ken…

I’ll hope and pray just like any fatherly kin;

That you’ll be great and even massive…

Oh not your weight— I am thinking of wealth!

 

 

And if you’ll truly win the MEGALOTTO,

Be truly generous and don’t be LOCO⁶;

Though wealth is good, it sparks some kind of ROCOCO⁷…

Just stay as SIMPLE, WISE and GOD-FEARING; it’s truly a great MOTTO!

 

[Here’s a wacky photo of TONTON with his GF, Aly Duyan.] 

 

 

HAPPY 29^th BIRTHDAY TON!!!!

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[Legend: 1 – FREIGHT is used in this FUN-RHYME BLOG to mean VALUE and/or VOLUME.

2 – Those born in the YEAR of the DRAGON are customarily regarded as very LUCKY and BLESSED persons.

 3 – PAGE is used in this FUN-RHYME BLOG to mean an attendant; actually a nursemaid in fact.

4 – That nursemaid whom we hired (who was then about 40 years old) was so caring and so very strict that she would not want Tonton to be touched or caressed while Tonton, during his infancy, was sleeping or past asleep.

5 – NURSING is used here to mean taking care of an infant.

6 – LOCO is used here to mean FOOLISH.

7 – ROCOCO is used here to mean as a sign of LAVISHNESS.]