Tag Archives: Philippines

The Road to Diamond, Day 63: Plan by the Numbers

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Hiking and Nature, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 30, 2025, Manila- Undersea salvage expert Nico Vincent long ago gave up on “Plan A”, “Plan B”, etc., explaining that such a scheme limited one to “only 26 possibilities”. Even if one used the Greek alphabet afterwards, there would be “only 50”. So, he goes with plans that are numbered. Given his line of work, the allowance for multiple plans makes particular sense. It took several people a fair number of tries, over a century or so, before Dr. Vincent and his team were successful, in finding the ice-sundered ship, Endurance, which Sir Ernest Shackleton, the legendary polar explorer, and his crew were forced to abandon in 1916. Team Vincent probably needed to get to Plan 5, before their electronic devices helped them locate the wreck.

My need for a series of numbered plans is far less consequential, but here we are. There is an offer on the table for a responsible, if voluntary, position with my Red Cross department back at Home Base I and there is everything that is here in the Philippines. I have bought time on the former, yet the clock ticks. Plan 1 is to be present for the person who most has my heart. Plan 2 would be taking no for an answer and moving on, in which case the Red Cross offer would be a good balm. There would be other plans, as always, including a blend of the first two.

We are in uncharted territory, all over the place, in this “year of completion”. All that people have been working on, since 2017, is due to be wrapped up, according to astrology and cosmology. A new cycle, it’s said is to start in 2026. I look back at the 9-year cycles in which I’ve been involved, and can see some sense in that line of thought. The present cycle saw my recovery from the residue, both physical and emotional, of seeing Penny decline and pass on. The period will conclude with my having embarked on a worthwhile endeavour, regardless of how things work out.

We simply are in an age when flexibility is especially mandatory for preserving one’s mental and emotional well-being. Besides the political chaos that is prevalent in several parts of the world, there are too many factors in the lives of those dearest to me, for me to be stuck on a given course of action and only that course of action. Then, there is Mother Nature. Case in point: A group of us were considering going to Palawan, early next week. The sea in the beach areas under consideration is roiling. God willing, our plan will be realized at another time, but it’s best to not hold on too tightly to such things.

Plans unfold, by the numbers.

The Road to Diamond, Day 34: Year of The Open Gate

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Education, Hiking and Nature, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

January 1, 2025- The format of the opening gives its message loud and clear: This is a place where YOU decide to go forward, or not. The half-gate, in Coconino National Forest, behind Sedona Red Rock Junior/Senior High School, offers entry to trails leading up Scheuerman Mountain and along the Scorpion-Pyramid route. Hiking Buddy and I chose to do the Scheuerman.

The gate that isn’t a gate.

So began the Year of the Open Gate. What I do this year is totally open-ended. I have plans and goals for the the first four weeks of the year: Spend next week working, in Prescott schools; visit friends in San Diego and Orange County, the following week; focus on Racial Healing and Justice, during Martin Luther King Day and its preceding/following days.

It is the end of January and the first half of February though, that will set the tone and the agenda, for the rest of the year and beyond. I will be in the Philippines, from January 28-February 18. That could well be the precursor to a major change in my life. The central message of a show I just finished watching, (“The Outpost”), is that each of us is responsible for making wise and independent choices, but I knew that. We will see what choices are made at that time.

Regardless, this year will see me constantly on the move-no surprise there-and ever in the company of family and friends. Plan A involves one set of moves and downsizing. Plan B involves other travel, and still some downsizing. Details will come as we go along, for reasons of prudence. This is not a year for announcing grand plans ahead of time.

In closing, here are some scenes from Scheuerman Mountain and Vista.

The icons of Sedona: Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte, Chicken Point and Airport Mesa are all visible from Scheuerman Vista.

Third Thoughts

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

November 12, 2024, Carson City- So often, when faced with novel situations, the mind goes through several gyrations-like the “lassie” in the nursery rhyme, who went “this way and that”. It can be confusing to onlookers, but it is frequently the only way a person can figure out the best way to work through the situation. Second thoughts can be overruled by third thoughts, as is the case with my dearest, right now.

So it is, with K and me, with regard to the possibility of my moving to be closer to her, in late Spring of next year. Some discussions will take place, through messaging, over the next three months, and in-person, when I next go back to the Philippines, in February. Stay tuned, and nothing is carved in stone.

I went to visit with the family of a long-time friend, who passed on while I was in Manila, last month. They spoke a lot about her earlier life and about their sibling’s adoption, so many years ago. They are showing cohesion as a family, a tribute to all the work their parents did to keep things together. Constant consultation kept peace in the house, when there were differing opinions.

While I was driving up here from Beatty, earlier today, I got a Bluetooth call from a friend who wanted to discuss a long-standing issue between him and another friend. The conversation revealed deeper issues than the matter being raised, and I urged the friend to be bold and reach out, in an unobtrusive manner to the person viewed as causing the problem.

Second thoughts often lead to third thoughts, and to resolution.

Subtleties

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Posted by on in Community, Education, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

October 29, 2024- I “worked” today, basically being a warm certified body, covering for a friend who needed to be in another room at her school, so as to focus on Individual Education Plans (IEPs), which I well remember are the bane of a Special Needs teacher’s existence. (Penny was a long-time SPED teacher.) My biggest challenge was to keep myself occupied, as the long-time and well-regarded Paraprofessional tended to all the instructional activities. I re-read just about all of H.G. Wells’ “The Time Machine”, (one of my favourite novels, in my teenage years) and took a couple of surveys, regarding my daily routine as a High Functioning Autistic person. Seems I have few of the issues that I once had, especially in connecting with other people and in staying on task.

I also have reflected on my recent journey to the Philippines. A few times, I felt that things were a bit too rushed, especially the last day. K, though, was more concerned about my getting to the airport on time-and on most occasions, it’s well-advised to allow four hours, prior to an international flight. So, my beloved was acting out of love, as she has for the past year. I am in love with a complete human being, not with an idea, as I explained to someone who had said “Maybe you’d be better off with _____________, than with K.” No, I wouldn’t, necessarily. Kathy communicates in subtleties and in statements of loving concern. I am more effusive with my terms of endearment. Her love is expressed in her eyes and smile.

I have mentioned that, when traffic signals change, the pedestrian signals, both red and green, are timed. Filipinos, both on motorcycles and in automobiles/trucks, are careful to NOT hit pedestrians. There is a subtle communication between driver and walker, in most cases. When I am crossing the street with Kathy, though, I am between her and the vehicles, and my outside hand goes up. No one will hurt my beloved. Otherwise, I rely on that subtle communication.

When in a community, I participate in events that are dear to my friends. Thus, I was at the funeral of a woman I never met. She was one of Kathy’s Baha’i mentors, which alone made it important for me to be present. She was also a major contributor to the well-being of the Philippine Baha’i community. Thus, I had lunch with the renovation crew at the Manila Baha’i Center, every day that I was in the neighbourhood. Mom taught us that no one was either above or below us, in terms of occupation or social status. I have lived this, for seventy-three years.

Attention to subtleties is also good for the mindfulness that helps to avoid dementia. That, and a diet based on fresh and unadulterated foods and beverages, has kept me pretty sharp, at least for the past forty years. There is no accounting for how I was as a child or teenager, not to mention as a young adult.

I am just about done with the jet lag that seemed to be more intense, this time around. Still, I haven’t missed any subtle hints.

Running on Empty

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Posted by on in Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 28, 2024- The van driver called out what was music to my ears: “Who’s getting off at Yavapai College?” I had designated a stop at Hassayampa Inn, downtown, as my debarkation point,but YC is so much closer, so when the student got off there, so did I. It was a seven-minute walk to Home Base, instead of ten-fifteen.

Between the long wait on the tarmac, leaving Manila and a shorter, but still nettlesome wait on the tarmac in Seattle (One, a ‘technical issue’ on our plane; the second, a ‘technical issue’ on a plane that was sitting in our plane’s designated gate), and having to wander a bit at Sea Tac, to find an escalator that worked (All elevators and one escalator were down, this morning) and the general effects of jet lag, I was beat.

I did push myself, once back at Home Base, to plow through the two boxes of mail that greeted me. I managed to fill out my ballot and prepare it for placement in the drop box tomorrow. Landlord came by and lit the pilot on my furnace. I noticed a new ceiling fan had been installed in the living room and a nice hand-made wooden bench now sits in front of HB.

It was, overall, an enjoyable visit to the Philippines and a change in Home Base, around May of next year, is still a strong possibility. For now, I am focused on getting back on track, with several matters that need attention here, and in Carson City and Grapevine (TX), later in November.

I will be back to full, in a few days.

A Tanay Excursion-Part II

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 26, 2024, Manila- With a successful extraction from the muddy road behind us, the five adventurers took to more settled sites-the joys of central Tanay. First off was a fairly new church, Padre Pio Chapel. Here, the ladies indulged in another pose. Kathy could pose forever, and it would not get old.

Tres amigas, at Padre Pio Chapel, Tanay

We got directions from there to a chicken restaurant, Mang Inasal, in Tanay Town Center, where we enjoyed chicken inasal- grilled breast or leg. I covered this part of the meal. K bought us all Halo Halo, a treat that layers shaved us and frozen condensed milk, with bits of fruit.

Following that delectable capstone to today’s journey, we headed over to San Ildfeonso de Toledo Catholic Church, built in 1563. There, we watched a procession of clergy and parishioners, quite common in the Philippines, following Sunday evening Mass.

Procession outside San Ildefonso de Toledo Church, Tanay
Courtyard of San Ildefonso de Toledo Church

After the procession cleared, we made our way over to Tanay Wawa Park, where a small lighthouse stands on the north side of the brackish Laguna de Bay Lake, actually an inlet of Manila Bay. The lake itself is a rich fishing haven, with sea grass and water lilies in abundance, adding a relaxing air to the park.

Wawa, a thriving fishing village, south of Tanay (Above and below)
Tilapia, freshly caught: To buy or not to buy. K and I concluded that lack of a cooler was a problem.
We were satisfied with the decision.
After talking with the fisherfolk, and my climbing the steps up to the top of Tanay Wawa Lighthouse, we headed back towards Manila-but not before stopping at Opus Mall, one of Pasig City’s most opulent. There, a “personal need” became the pretext for more photos. You have to know, I am a willing photographer.

Thus ended one of the sweetest days of this journey.

Foundation of Gold

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Entertainment, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 19,2024, Manila- Many know that the islands of the Malay Archipelago, from Singapore, south and east to Timor and Halmahera, then north to Batanes, had structured, hierarchical societies, based on a chiefly class, prior to the arrival of European traders and colonialists. Relatively few know that these societies were an outgrowth of the successful use of metallurgy, and that the metal most commonly in demand was gold.

The Spanish, Portuguese, British, French and Dutch all had designs on countries which produced a wealth of spices. It was only when the colonialists settled down a bit, and made friends with some of the indigenous people, that they found there was gold to be had. As was their wont, the traders, adventurers and soldiers took the precious metal for themselves, under the guise of “for King and Country”. The rest is known to most of the world.

The Malay people, from their western outpost, in Madagascar in the far west to Taiwan and the Korean island of Jeju, in the north, are related linguistically and culturally to the Micronesian and Polynesian people of Oceania. Various features of Malay people, especially those indigenous to the Philippines, are outlined in exhibits now showing at Ayala Museum, in the southeast corner of Makati, Metro Manila. The foundation of their culture being the mining, smelting and wearing of gold is a point made most deftly.

The golden nature of the Filipino personality, though, is what has outlasted the mineral reserves, to which the Spanish conquistadors and Chinese pirates helped themselves copiously, over several centuries. Filipinos stand their ground, of course, and do not go about their lives foolishly-though anyone navigating the northeast side of Makati on Friday night would wonder about that, as the taxi driver ferrying me to my hostel, after my day with Kathy, could certainly attest. (There was no one to be found, among the drivers, who was obeying traffic signals.)

I was delighted, though, to rejoin her and two other friends this afternoon, at Ayala Museum, experiencing various sensory performances, from a Shadow Play with romantic songs playing in the background to a delightful performance by Manila Symphony Orchestra, which is Asia’s oldest. It was founded in 1926, by Alexander Lippay, and has not skipped a beat (pun intended) ever since. MSO even served as a vehicle of the Resistance, during Japanese occupation. The military governor, not wanting to look like a rube, reportedly attended classical music performances, but missed the message embedded in the program, that the Filipino spirit was alive and well.

The diorama of Philippine history is an area of the museum that would probably take me several hours to properly take in. I may get back there to do just that, on this visit. Otherwise, it’ll wait until February. (Yes, I am skipping out on chilly Prescott, for two weeks in 2/25. Certain matters will need my attention here, at that time.)

Life has taken me to many places of pure gold. I am especially glad for this latest.

Nampo Garcia- A Street Kid Story

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 9, 2024, Manila- (Any connection between the characters in this tale and real people is purely coincidental.)

I felt the blade at my back,as I retrieved the cash from the ATM. “Now, you will give me the due that you refused, back at the Light Rail station!”, snarled a voice at the other end of the knife. “Will I, now?”, I responded, in my best fake Irish brogue. I looked at the wad of bills, then glanced over at the small pair of hands to my right, cupped and ready.

I tossed the folded bills to a chuckling, triumphant street boy. The hapless beggar took off after Nampo, dropping his knife and momentarily forgetting about me. The boy, little more than 3’8” and 50 pounds soaking wet, ran around the floral planter that graced the front of my hostel, all the while holding the cash, in a teasing manner, as the half-addled thief continued to pursue him, like a cat chasing its own tail.

Nampo knew the drill. He ran up to the hostel’s security guard and stood still, until I came up the steps. His meal depended on not running afoul of Steven Morales, who had often graciously provided the boy, and his little sister, with one of the hostel restaurant’s signature burgers or at least one of its ample rice bowls. Tonight, though, as Steven handcuffed the foolish beggar, I took Nampo inside the cafe, and for once, the Chinese owner did not wince and start fussing in Mandarin, about “a mouse being in the house”. Nampo had a full meal and was allowed to take an order to go, for his sister, who was waiting at their makeshift cardboard and plywood hut, off Dominga Street.

“Uncle Rama”, Nampo queried, as we ate, “do you have a friend like me, back in Bengaluru?” “Actually, I have several such friends, Nampo”, I responded. “You see, not so long ago, I too was sleeping under rattan and cardboard, frequently crying myself to sleep and keeping one eye open. The street bandits back in India are not so easy to elude, as the drugged up fiends here in Manila.”

“Not all the thieves here are drugged up”, answered Nampo, “in fact, the only reason I can leave Shakira alone is because we have Auntie Jinja looking after us. Her son, Raul, is also here, visiting his mother and taking her to see a doctor, for her diabetes. Raul said that if he needs to take his mother back to his house in Sucot, we will go with them-and he will make sure we go to school every day.”

I felt relieved at this news and as I walked Nampo back to his encampment, thought of how lucky this resourceful little boy was, to have found Jinja, and by extension, Raul, in the first place. Then again, it was Nampo’s heart energy, taking care of little Shakira, and his pluckiness at cultivating a security guard and a tourist as his friends, that most appealed to my own heart. As it happened, Raul had gone to the hardware, on P. Ocampo, and purchased a few folding chairs. His mother was sitting in one, and he, in another. The dutiful son beckoned me to sit for a while. “Would you care for a cup of iced tea?” “That would be heavenly”, I replied, taking the last empty chair, as Nampo sat down on a bean bag seat, which Raul had also purchased. Shakira was asleep on a small cot, covered with a clean sheet, again provided by the dutiful son.

This night would pass safely for the makeshift family, and soon the four of them would head past the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, through Paranaque to the seaside community of Sucot. I would be heading home to Karnataka, in a few days, and thought that I would make more of an effort to help the urchins in my home city, in honour of Nampo and Shakira.

(The street children of Manila are definitely winsome and engaging. It is their sheer number that prevents meaningful individual assistance, but there are a number of organizations, such as Children International, which I use as a vehicle to help two families, and Save the Children, that can provide assistance to destitute children and their families. Nampo and Shakira are fictional characters, but there are people who fit their description all over the streets of Metro Manila-and other Philippine cities.)

Baccarat

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

October 5, 2024, Manila- What I was told, about yesterday’s travails, more than tugged at my heartstrings. I said as much, and sincerely want to be there, when life goes off the rails for one who has had to struggle on her own, for far too long. I said that, too.

Maybe because she has a need to do things on her own, to struggle and see things through, my comments were met with a shrug. It’s hard to say; after all, I can only be here, this time, for three more weeks. Then I have to return to North America, to at the very least meet obligations, and at the very most finish up what I started, before I met her. While I am back at Home Base, and elsewhere on the continent where I have spent most of my life, K will be here, carrying on and relying on her own abilities and talents. I will be offering moral support, from a distance, and that’s all.

In the game of Baccarat, a player holds two hands and a dealer, one. The player may bet for or against either hand, or against the dealer’s. In life, one can show confidence in the figurative hand one has been dealt or plan against it-or may challenge the hand held by the person in control.

So, I can move forward with confidence, make plans to return here next May, with or without any guarantee that I will initially be welcomed again. I can “bet against my own hand”, put it down and stay put in Home Base, being thankful for even having had time with K, at all. I can bet against the dictates of conventional wisdom, and come here with a greater purpose: To do, in the Philippines and southeast Asia what a core group are doing in the Phoenix area. None of these options depends on the strength of a relationship with a specific person-and that is most likely what would actually save it. Independence reassures-and draws people in.

It’s easy, in some ways, to get young people here involved in the building of an equitable society. They are more likely to bring their friends along to a gathering and to take leadership roles, without being prodded. There is no residue of “Children should be seen and not heard”; no noxious after-scent from the Victorian Era. For their part, youth are more prone to thinking before acting or speaking. A good part of that has to do with numbers: People under the age of 30 constituted 60 % of the Philippine population, in the 2020 Census. The percentage of youth in the United States population, according to the same census, is 28.6 %.

Youth in developing nations, like the Philippines, are more likely to be in the driver’s seat, so to speak than their peers are in the developed countries, whose populations are both aging out and much more in a state of time consciousness. There is much that we can learn from countries like the Philippines, in terms of youth engagement.

I hope, thus, to pick up some of those lessons, in the next three weeks-and trust that the right course of action in 2025 will make itself known.

Cave People, A Change Purse and a Cockroach

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

October 1, 2024, Manila- The three titular things stood out, in my visit yesterday, to Palawan Heritage Center. My guide, a knowledgeable, if soft-spoken, young lady named Irene, presented two videos: The first, on the island and its tributaries-which constitute the largest province in the Philippines. There are roughly 1, 780 islands and islets in the jurisdiction. The main island is 280 miles (450 km) long and 31 miles (50 km) wide. It is the mini-Chile of the Malay Archipelago. It is also the only part of the Philippines that was once part of mainland Asia.

The second video raised an issue of humanity: The Tau’t Bato, a small subgroup of the Palaw’an First Nation, live traditional, simple lives in the Singnapan Valley, of southern Palawan. They take shelter in nearby caves, during the rainy season. many of the Tau’t Bato came to live in cities, from Puerto Princesa to Manila and Cebu, in the 1970s to 2000s. They found urban life to be totally at variance with their experiences in the Singnapan, only finding “work” as house servants, trash pickers or purveyors of trinkets. They slept on the sidewalks and were generally treated as curiosities, at best, or outcasts, at worst. Many went back to Singnapan, though some still live in the larger communities. Fortunately, those who have returned to their homeland are protected by the provincial and national governments.

As Irene was showing me several paintings by local artists, a cockroach came onto the polished marble floor. I left it to her to decide the insect’s fate, and a janitor was summoned, whisked the creature onto a dustpan and deposited it in the garden outside. (I do this at home, when confronted with a sewer roach.)

The last item was a handmade change purse, which I bought for K, given her love of local handicrafts. I picked up a “glow-in-the-dark” trinket for myself.

Here are a few scenes of the Palawan Heritage Center..

Palawan Provincial House
Some works by local painters
Dr. Higino Mendoza (top row, second from left) was the wartime governor of Palawan. He worked to keep his people safe from Japanese rule, and was executed for his trouble. He is regarded as the provincial hero of Palawan.
Here are more works by local artists.
Here is a replica of Plaza Cuartel’s gate, when it was intact. The present structure has fallen into disrepair.
This depiction of a babaylan ( a traditional healer) was intended, by the Spanish, to frighten children. The healer was actually a gentle soul, as a rule.
Here is a diorama of a Tau’t Bato home.
This may be as close as I get to a Palaw’an village, any time soon.

In the afternoon, I went with Roger to a small local beach, called Aquaman Beach Resort. It is in a small barangay called Bancao-Bancao. The tide was incoming, but the water was like a bath, so I walked around a bit and took some shots.

A view of the Philippine Sea, at Bancao-Bancao. (Above and below)
Roger, resembling Ernest Hemingway.
Longhouse, at high tide.
Lone tree, and a boat cabana
Long view of Aquaman Beach Resort.
Another “tree islet”
Forest trail, out of Aquaman Beach Resort.

My last day in Puerto Princesa ended with a nice meal at McCoy’s Restaurant, at Bay Walk Park. For now, having returned to the capital, Palawan will continue to exist in my heart. The Philippines as a whole will, as well, after I head back to North America, on October 27. Something tells me, though, that we will be far from done with one another.