You will probably ask: “Who’s this American wannabe flip?” You probably won’t recognize me when you see me in designer jeans, black blazer and slip-on black leather shoes. But… oh the sweet taste of tender tendons and fall-off-the-bone pig’s skin. Believe me, I’ve tried making it here in the States but I can’t make it like you can. I remember spreading margarine on those still-warm breakfast rolls and sprinkling white sugar on top.Īnd then there is the “humba” (braised ham hock). To me that is mother’s milk.ĭo you remember how you used to run to the bakery - long before the sun was up - to wait in line outside for the first batch of pan de sal fresh from the oven? I do. If you want to call it halo-halo, go ahead. How about fresh young coconut meat all mixed in its juice, a few tablespoons of condensed milk and crushed ice? I might even throw in a couple of scoops of “macapuno” (sweet palm) ice cream. Just the thought of homemade “siopao” (steamed pork buns) and “tocino” (marinated sweet pork) makes my mouth water. I’ve been dreaming of fresh harvest rice steaming in banana leaves with grilled succulent “sugpo” (giant tiger prawns) in a sweet lime and chili glaze. I can’t wait to see you, hear you and smell you as you are today. I mean c’mon, a B-list action movie star as president? What did we think was going to happen?īut enough with the political talk. I’m sure that oversight is just a stubborn stain leftover from the government corruption during the Marcos regime and the era of Erap (Joseph Estrada). I suppose, being considered a Tiger Cub economy is not all that bad. I think it is a travesty that you can’t seem to gain recognition as one of Asia’s leading economies. Your Gross Domestic Product has grown almost tenfold since I left. I suppose that passes for progress these days.īoy you’ve been hard at work. Michael’s dead, Nonoy (Cory’s son) is president and you can get a pie right in town at Pizza Hut. My memories of you date back to a time when Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” was topping the charts, “People Power” was yet to hitch a ride on Cory’s (Aquino) shirttails and Dunkin’ Donuts was all the rage as “pasalubong” (omiyage or souvenir from a trip). I am now a middle-aged guy with a few rodeos under my belt yet I don’t know what I am going to say when I see you again. To be honest with you I am scared all over again. Way too long, if you ask me.Īs you read this I will be at 36,000 feet strapped to a seat next to my lovely bride in a Boeing 777 going approximately 564 miles an hour. I was just a boy then - scared, awkward, not entirely certain of what was to come. I have to say I have not been this excited since the day I bid you farewell and boarded my Northwest Orient flight to the United States. 18, 2013 Me on a pony on my family’s beach in the mid 1970s on the island of Negros, about an hour by jet south of Manila, Philippines. Join us as we visit the land of my youth.įeb. I have shared as honestly as I can the experiences my lovely bride and I had as we discovered a place that has only lived in my memory for the past three decades. This was my first time back in almost 30 years and I was as much a stranger to my countrymen as was my wife Meg. Dumaguete City is on the island of Negros, about an hour flight south from Manila, and is the seat of government for the province of Negros Oriental. For 10 days, I explored this city of more than 120,000 people. In February 2013, Longbranch Chronicles went on assignment to Dumaguete City, Philippines, in search of the charming town of my youth.
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