A Tribute To Benjamin Santos,Sr. , A Friend and A Godfather

A Tribute to Benjamin Santos, Sr., A Friend, and a Godfather.

Dear friends on our stay as members
Our journey is only a dream
For we are dead in our slumbers
But we are alive as a team.

At North Francisco, we all met
Nurses, dentists, lawyers, priest
The North, West, South without retreat
And we are one. That we insist.

We work in joy and in sorrow
To fulfill each one's destiny
And to write our own tomorrow
Whatever will be, it will be.

Time is fleeting not our yearning
We are in the land of the brave
And alive our hearts are beating
We pray for a friend on his grave.

Lives of those who left remind us
That Life is precious and sublime
That we must depart not to rush
Leave footmarks on the road of Time.

Let us, then,  be firm in praying
In our hearts with love not hate
Still hoping and still believing
That this is our cherished Fate.

(N.B.)  This poem is a glimpse of our mid-seventies arrival as immigrants in the United States for a greener pasture and a breath of fresh air from the ashes of Martial Law. We landed on North Francisco Avenue near the Norwegian-American Hospital and the Humboldt Park area which is between North Avenue to the North and Chicago Street to the South. This was memorable and remarkable as nurses, dentists, doctors, accountants, teachers, lawyers, and engineers huddled together in the coldness of the Windy City to form a bond of friendship and a compact of professionalism sans hubris in a newfound frontier.  These immigrants were the true daring Filipinos of The Silent Generation and the Baby Boomers coming from the North of the largest island of Luzon, the West of the Visayan islands, and the South of the second largest island called Mindanao. These professionals were from a sovereign country of more than 7,000 islands, the Pearl of the Orient Sea better known as the Philippines named after King Philipp of Spain. Spain colonized the Philippines for more than 300 years, brought the Catholic religion, built churches, cathedrals, and parochial religious schools; while America stayed for over 50 years with its Torch of Education, the Protestant religion, and the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.

Our beloved friend Benjamin Santos, Sr. who is a godfather to my eldest son. is a lawyer and a Fiscal of Cotabato. However, he is from Zamboanga City, a Zamboanga A.E. College law graduate but practiced his law profession in Cotabato where his brother, a Zamboanga Normal College graduate occupied a prominent position in the public schools. In the twist of circumstance, he found a Florence Nightingale, a practicing nurse, and a graduate of the Philippine General Hospital School of Nursing in Manila, who eventually became his best half. Pare' Ben is a man with a good heart and helping hands. He had helped us several times when my car broke down and when somebody attempted to rob me as I approached to park in my garage, he sent his guys to my succor.

And his family is a lighthouse in times of distress.

Pare' Ben, rest in peace, and may perpetual light shine upon you!

( By: Greg Intas Caponong Alcala Trabanca)

The Time of Our Life

Nostalgic Past

The sure coming of four scores years
Of rural lovely memories
Didn't bother me to drop  some tears
Or dare to think of more worries,

Twenty nineteen is now ending;

This creeps into my little mind, 

Boyhood memories come rushing

The plan must now be realigned.

Those were the times when days were long

When the brooks sang and the flowers smiled

Joyfully we hummed and jogged along

On this journey of a glorious ride.

They were all friends the  people we met

Exchanging stories and glad we did

We plowed the field and watched the sunset

We worked, we played and we studied.

Simbang Gabi Note 1

2019 

'Twas a good year, the best of years

'Twas the month of the Simbang Gabi

A nine-day novena that gears

To the birth of the Most Holy. 

For a delightful mortal life

The fulfillment of the nine-day

Prayer for peace and out of strife

For this is what Christmas can say.

For me, it was this: I was able to finish the 9-day attendance of the 5:30 A.M. Simbang Gabi/Misa de Gallo and also celebrated my birthday on two venues without really trying. Picture 2 B-Day celebrations in one day! Luck of your life! One at 5:30 am at Transfiguration Church 'til 7:30 am. The other at 7:00 pm at St. Henry Church with Fr Jose' Baptista, the celebrant of the Holy Eucharist.

Memorable Birthday Sans Really Trying (12/19/19)

Four scores years in the annals of the history of a man's life is a feat or a faux pas (foh pah).

This is the story of a man who celebrated a natal day party without really trying. 

He has never held a birthday anniversary party in his life but just like the shadow it just follows wherever and whenever his day of birth arrives. It sounds unusual and it is true because of the strategic date in the calendar in the zodiac sign of Saggitarius which falls in December when many occasions are observed. Is it then his fault when the circumstance is favorable on his court?

 And especially that it is the month that the mystery of "the Bread of Life and the Chalice of Salvation" comes into full credence of its very essence and veracity in the tapestry of humanity's spiritual life.

Such is the fate of this man, a treasure of clay, so to speak. 

He was born barely after the Great Depression. He witnessed his native land under the era of colonialism struggling to be free. No appropriate epithet can describe the journey of this son of the Creator who nourished and shielded him from an onslaught of the vicissitude of time.

Simbang Gabi Note 2

12/16/2020. This year's Simbang Gabi, a Filipino Catholic Christian tradition was memorable in the annals of Simbang Gabi history as it was streamed globally with modern technology. It was observed at the Vatican with Pope Francis.

Simbang Gabi, is a nine-day novena to the Blessed Mother that culminates in Christmas eve . This tradition was observed after Spain's conquest of the Philippines who brought with them missionaries whose primary objective was to catechize and evangelize the population.

Simbang Gabi evolves from "Misa de Gallo" pre-dawn mass to accommodate the native Filipinos who were mostly farmers and fishermen.  And also, "Misa de Aguinaldo", Mass of the Gift (gift of incarnation).

In Illinois, particularly in Chicago, the Transfiguration Church observed a nine-day pre-dawn (5:30 AM) Simbang Gabi mass and St. Henry, a nine-night ( 7:00 PM) Simbang Gabi.

The theme of this year's Simbang Gabi is- Jesus: still, the Word that we proclaim.

On the homily of Bishop Blase at St. Robert Bellarmine Church, I was reminded of the book written by an Australian-born catholic author and speaker, Matthew Kelley whom I met and witnessed physically in one of his lectures. His book entitled, The Shepherd is a story about a man who has found the happiness that our hungry hearts desire. His simple and peaceful spirit provides a vision of happiness that is deeply rooted in ancient wisdom but may just be that can rescue us all.

It is a modern parable about our search for happiness, that the human heart is on a quest for happiness. As individuals, we are all so unique and different, but we are bound together by our common yearning for happiness.

The Adventure of a Kid

The Charm of a Town Kid

Everything has a reason for our historical perspective.  And when you were young you were fearless. You didn't think of consequences. What you did was never premeditated. You jumped on teeming opportunities and grabbed chances. Nothing barred your way. At this stage in time, all things were possible.  And your confidence is unquestionably tremendous. 

You were young, restless, courageous, fearless, and rebellious. You have no plans but you only relied on His guidance from what you've picked up along the barely trodden path from Mother nature, home, and the solid-rock Catholic education of the sectarian and religious clergies. Your feet itched for adventure, for exploration as you were borne from a town but found a rural village pregnant with fascinations, bucolic beauty, and mystery; with its tailor birds, orioles, hawks, and wild pigeons. On its ricefield were a swarm of happy mayas (ricebirds), busy herons/egrets, and the slow-moving carabaos (water buffalos) wallowing in the mud devoid of chemicals. On its mountain and forest, deers gleefully played, wild pigs tirelessly roamed for food, the woodpeckers/ hornbills undisturbed on their lairs, and the wild pigeons fluttered in wild abandon while the snakes slithered unmolested.

Your junior year in high school ended at the town as your life seemed bleak and weary but your horizon was colorful when you feasted your eyes from Labason beach to the not-so-far-away Bayangan/Murcielagos island. You boarded a slow boat with your mother to the Ciudad Hermosa (Zamboanga City) where the dialect was broken Spanish called Chavacano. There you met a doctor at Zamboanga General Hospital, who offered you a place to stay and to continue your senior year as ambition was always dogging you. Sure enough, you matriculated in the last night high school at a renowned and all-boys Jesuit school, the Ateneo de Zamboanga. You were the youngest as your classmates were already family men and employed but cannot be given promotions on their jobs as they lack a high school diploma. You were the small kid but a big man when you graduated yet you only garnered the silver, not the gold award because of your lack of academic residency as a transferee.

By the way, the city added a fascinating feature in the chapter of your book and a treasure to reckon with that will pave the way to more exciting sequels. These episodes would eventually be notched in Greg's Notes and Footprints.
                       

Of Love, Light and Life

Life is a Poem

This time many things are coming
Cell phones, e-mails, YouTube, Facebook,
Twitter, texting, and messaging
The world is sporting a new look

Driving is fun with GPS.
It's modern times and living past
It's fast food and takes out the stress
We just hope it will never last

However, let's not put aside
The wisdom that we have received
From the chapter on the great ride
Of that Presence that we believed.

We were fondly borne out of Love.
It's the greatest word of all time.

A message carried by a dove

From the top that is hard to climb.

The Blessed Mother

The Lady of All Time

In the "sink and swim" time of today, there is a battle raging between the powers of good and evil.  And, to gain control of its supremacy the power of evil is trying to gain a foothold upon the Church that was built on a rock, the Catholic Church that has the Eucharist and the Blessed Mary. We have seen and heard of the Christian religion or maybe "cult" or are Christians (they believe in Christ) but not in Mary, the Immaculate Mother of  Jesus.

There are questions about the Blessed Virgin Mary. Why she does have many faces and names? There is Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Piat, Our Lady of the Pillar, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, etc... Good question! By the way how many people are you if you are a wife, a mother, a provider, an adviser? As a wife, you are a mother to your children. As a mother, you are a protector against harm's ways as you refuged them for nine months.  As a provider to your children, you are Mama. As the provider, you are a pillar of strength because you nourish them for their growth and development. As an adviser, you direct them to the path of righteousness as you sheltered them in the womb for 9 months. To your friends, you are whatever you are known to them, To your company you are, mom, madam. You are the same here but different people, addressing different needs.

The same thing applies to Our Lady, The Blessed Virgin Mary. She has many titles, and many faces but the same sweet, beautiful Lady who caters to our special needs. As a mother, she is a perpetual help, as a friend, she is understanding and ever ready for our succor. an intercessor, a trusting confidante. And she is always available. She is the best friend of Jesus who at the wedding feast at Cana, motherly told the wine servers to do as "He tells you."

Do you love Mama Mary? If so, say the Hail Mary!

"Be still and see that I am God" Ps 46:10

Pray, Love, And Live

Prayer is effectively said

In the stillness of your moment.

It is in silence that we laid

The fullness of life's great event.

Through the scintilla of our score

We fathom the trickle of truth

Penetrating our inner core

As clear as the days of our youth.

Let us live to understand life

And that we have all the options
To ask even as sharp as a knife

That sears our inner emotions. 

Pray, love, and live the experience

The beauty of simplicity

The greatness of the Omnipotence

The source of spiritual energy.

The Living Past

The Independence of the Philippines

"All that is necessary for evil to prosper is that good people do nothing."

We have seen and experienced the political maneuverings of the 2-party systems  (Liberal and Nacionalista) in the democracy of the Philippines that saw its independence with the guidance of the United States on July 4,1946. And fittingly, every 4th of July, Independence day is pompously observed at the plaza Luneta in Manila where the seat of the government is and where the president lives -  the Malacanang Palace. On May 12, 1962,  President Diosdado Macapagal of the Liberal Party moved the commemoration of Independence Day from July 4 to June 12. Despite the accusation of politicizing the holiday by many people which is normal in a democracy, Macapagal stood his ground on the recognition of June 12 as the true Independence Day because it was "the birthday of the independent Filipino nation. This has unprecedented support, unity, and resolve of various leaders from local government nationwide. Macapagal argued that when America declared its independence from England on July 4, 1776, it was only after 7 years on Sept. 3, 1783, when the former Mother Country formally recognized the United States'  independence. " "Nevertheless, the American people have regarded July 4 as their day of freedom. In the same way, June12, 1898 is the true birthday of an independent Filipino nation, for it was on this day that they called the whole world to witness their powerful resolve to consider themselves absolved of allegiance to the Spanish crown, said Diosdado Macapagal."                                

"The Philippine Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on June 12, 1898, in Cavite 11 el Viejo ( present-day Kawit, Cavite) with the public reading of the Act of the Proclamation of Independence of the Filipino people." (www. history.com/)   Independence was declared by Emilio Aguinaldo at Kawit, Cavite).  

And when a new administration enters the door of the Malacanang Palace, new programs are installed in the name of the incumbent forgetting those programs that were started. especially so that new cabinet members were chosen by the coming president.  Four years are not sufficient for projects or programs to be fully implemented.

This vicious cycle in Congress plus the bickerings, shades of vengeance tend to slow down the smooth flow of the legislative process. Thus, the first term of the president is a preparatory period for the re-election campaign and of course, the programs that were undertaken were not fully implemented. All along the rough road of Democracy, problems sprouted; the people of the Palace have their picnic time of abundance, catering to the halves, befriending the mighty and moneyed echelons of society.

The political arena was greatly monopolized by the two parties - the Nationalista and the Liberal. And names like Quezon, Roxas, Osmena, Quirino, Macapagal,  Garcia, Magsaysay, Aquino, Marcos, etc., occupy the spaces. And  Benigno Aquino has the ambition to occupy the Palace only to be overshadowed by the popularity of the promising UP law grad Ferdinand Marcos whom the old Laurel found a presidential future that led to his non-conviction on the Nalundasan case.  Marcus of the Liberal Party was courted by the Nacionalista stalwart to go against Macapagal. Meanwhile, Benigno Aquino, the young journalist was with the Liberal Party who has the secret plan to topple Marcus by creating a unique plan to destabilize the government with a man called Jose' Maria Sison to plant the seed of rebellion by fertilizing that seed with chaos painting the Palace as adamant to the demands of the poor, of the marginalized while the rich are getting richer, those with power became powerful.

We have democracy on July 4, 1946. And I was 6 years old from the municipality of Labason who had one private Protestant high school and college and two years later a private Catholic high school was founded. There was no radio at that time in a farmer's hut. Neither was there adequate plumbing. The meadows, the bushes, the forest, the swamps, the streams, the rivers were our friendly neighbors who cater to our wants and needs. Reading materials were the vernacular media, Bisaya, Liwayway, Song Hits, and the Philippines Free Press.

The airwaves floated with the vernacular's tunes of " Birds they voted in Lanao at pati aswang pa raw ang eleksiyon lutong Macao 'til Magsaysay see them how? Mambo-mambo Magsaysay, mambo-mambo mabuhay ang eleksiyon lutong Macao 'til Magsaysay see them how". And Ramon Magsaysay who was the Secretary of National Defense became known through his great job of letting the members of the Hukbalahap movement surrender and captured them led by the supremo Luis Taruc and later emerged the Communist Party whose armed force is the New Peoples Army (NPA). The main concern of their rebellion was about land reform. So Magsaysay opened the homestead to the vast virgin lands of Mindanao, particularly Lanao, Bukidnon, Cotabato, and Davao.

With this move, I surmised, the tentacles of corruption wriggled. The vast virgin lands of Mindanao were open for grabs. But you have to know somebody, a surveyor, a forest ranger, a politician local and national as the homestead land title is only processed in Manila. People from Luzon, the Visayas flocked to the Land of Promise- Mindanao.

Some enterprising minds looked at the centuries-old trees in the tropical forest of Mindanao and the rivers. ( Remember the Niles river of Egypt.) A certain unschooled man became rich because of the forest and the river.  And there were those who have the capital that used dummies to operate the logging business. Here again, was the temptation of those who were elected by the people to ameliorate them only to impoverish them, instead. Years later, as the loggers basked in the glory of the good life, the poor farmers suffered the wrath of the bald forest, the rivers, and the streams. 

By the way, Mindanao is really the land of its natives and those that later embraced the Islam religion. And there were three groups of Muslims: from the coastal- the Tausogs, (people of the current) the Muslims of the Sulu peninsula. The second to accept Islam were the Maguindanao of Cotabato (people of the flooded plains) and the third group were the Maranaos of the province of Lanao. (people of the Lake).

And life especially in an independent country is precious, let's enjoy it. 

The Walk-Talk-Sing of Lincolnwood Town Center

05/02/2019  A Day to Remember