Education

 Up From Slavery.

Booker T Washington ( 1856 - 1915) was a national leader for the betterment of African Americans in the  post- Reconstruction.

He advocated for economic and industrial improvement of Blacks while accommodating Whites on voting rights and social equality. This approach, however, died with Washington, and its success before 1915 was largely due to Washington's adept method of tailoring his speaking and writing to suit the race of his audience. 

In his book, Up from Slavery, Washington traces his journey from slave to educator on his later

success as a man of action in his community and the nation.

The Modern Times and the Living Past

 Love

"Love is a many splendid-thing

It's an April rose that only grows 

in the early spring..." 

And because of God's love that "He gave 

His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth

in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Song

So goes the song and a writer writing

a "Song of Bernadette on the miracle of

the Lady of Lourdes. He was never converted

to Catholicism.

" Full many a flower of purest ray serene 

The dark unfathomed cave of ocean bare

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen

And waste its sweetness on the desert air.

-(An Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard)

I should write prose and poetry just for the

sake of expression of the mind from the heart.

A Filipino writer said: America is in the heart.

yet out of the stomach, the mouth speaks.

The BC and AD generations, the Silent generation, 

the Baby Boomer, the Generation X, and the Millenials. 

There are always changes but only God. And Grace, Mercy,

and Blessings never change despite the many changes

on Earth.

Change

Grace is for us sinners even if we don't deserve it. Mercy is for

us sinners even if we deserve it, and Blessings are for both. The reason why

the spiritual, the priest, pastor, deacon, and all of us always say in our 

own special way - God bless you!. 

 

The Ponderable

Despite the Grace shown in our world, humanity has the option.

The world is in turmoil, in topsy-turvy. But because of God's profound love, 

He gave us immeasurable divine mercy through His humble creature made manifest

through the first non-Roman occupancy of the Holy See, the world is now in a deluge 

of the Divine Mercy.  

To a Couple

 Strong as a Molave

There was a man who one day I met

A charismatic guy who can sell

And his tales I could never forget

For in me they really rang a bell.

From the once-large province of Davao

He matured in a big Vic Lumber

Drove a truck and not a carabao

A handsome guy and a great lover.

He crisscrossed Zamboanga del Norte

As lumber was highly in demand

Yet lovely ladies were his forte

While age-old trees abound in the land.

He found somebody to love and trust

From among the molders of the youth

And for a partner, she was a must

So his truck took the less bumpy route. 

Like a Molave, he's firm and strong

To bring her to the altar of love

And he knelt that nothing will go wrong

A message to the great One above.

He poised his vision to the urban

For a valued opportunity

As a worker of the sea and land

He is a man of diversity.

The air trip to the U.S.-Midwest

And his wife was beautiful and bright;

Hugs and kisses and shook hands with guest

That homesickness now was out of sight.

It was time to plan a legacy:

Business and an organization.

The right time called for an urgency

Davao  U.S.A. was in fruition.

The president and founder survived

The grueling test of dire circumstance

His momentous time has not arrived

"Besame Mucho" - he sang; they danced.

Penned for: Ely S. Labja & Edit R. Darcera Labja- lovely couple & best friend

of Greg Intas Caponong Trabanca & Eva Rueles Caermare Trabanca

Ely S. Labja - Founder and 1st President of Davao U.S.A of the Midwest.

Ely sang this song, his favorite, in a Karaoke Eatery on lovely weekend nights.

"Besame Mucho" ( Kiss Me a Lot), a bolero song written in 1940 by

Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velasquez.

Induction

 The Making of a Leader

Emerged from a noble profession

Came a humble person at last

"Just be your best," was his confession;

"Defined the future from your past."

I met him at the Phil embassy

Of a meeting among the Pinoys

Indeed it was a necessity

On that forum, each has a voice.

A friendly pedestrian guy he is

Amidst the streams of the middle class

To be humble he tried his best

Honesty is what people trust.

Real Estate: the route for the wise

As he once loves plowing and planting

His hopes spring as he sees the sunrise

That the land's treasure would be lasting.

In his quest he found America;

A force, eternal: Caritas-Love

While there's a group from North Zamboanga

Where there is God, service, and a job.

He tried his best to be generous

To serve more whatever the cost

To toil, to seek, to find what was lost;

There are thorns and perfume in a rose.

A poem for Donaldo Pactol, on the induction as president of ZAMNAI.

The momentous celebration: Gala, Induction, and Christmas Party.

"I expect to pass through this world but once, any good things therefore

that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature. let me

do it now, let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again."

(Stephen Grellet-1773-1855), 

(By Greg Intas Alcala CaponongTrabanca, former past president of ZAMNAI)

A Thanksgiving

Reminiscence

 From the Silent Generation

Surviving the Second World War

The Baby Boomers' innovation

And the strong Millenial doors ajar.

The ocean of mercy opened up

God's incarnation in Mary's womb

And the blessings would never stop

Through the years and glad we are not doomed.

Embedded in humanity's soul

Is Christ's personal relationship

Must be the essence of life's goal 

For all mankind: our fellowship.

Christmas: season of transformation

Christ's real presence is our concern

Great jubilation for the nation

On this, we must profoundly discern.

Deus fit homo ut homo fieret Deus

(God becomes human so humans must become God.)

Catholics and non-Christians called Him Jesus,

The Saviour and we are immensely glad.

A Dedication

 The Children's  Memories

We remember you our dear mother

As a mother, you love your children

Unassuming but there is power

This is how it's going to begin.

In the Queen City, it started

Love grew, nourished until it blooms

This was not the plan but studied

And as Baby Boomers, it zooms.

Soon  the couple received a token

Four beautiful girls and two bright boys

Of the sun's smile and the joyous rain.

"Remember this is life", said the Voice.

The children's role model was their aunt:

A Florence Nightingale sans hubris;

"Strict discipline on what you must want

Will not lead you to your nemesis."

Dear mother is on a lovely bed;

We pay our last respect and goodbye

But there's a place where we must not  dread

Peace and joy that no one can deny.

=====================================++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Belen Fortich Caermare 

Husband: Luisito Rueles Caermare

Children: Geraldine, Riza, Christy, Francis,  Antoniette, Rexis.

The bereaved family of Belen Fortich Caermare would like to convey 

their heartfelt gratitude for those who in one way or another had eased 

their sorrows in time of her demise.

Thank you very much!

The Children

(N.B.) Evangeline Rueles Caermare Trabanca is the Aunt, deceased, an LDR nurse.

"Help someone in distress and you lighten your own burden; the very joy of alleviating

the sorrow of another is the lessening of one's own."  (Fulton Sheen.)

Reflection

One Sky.

From the sunny East to the Midwest

Then traveled to the South and the North

I noticed one sky and went to rest

This is it and so on and so forth.

One sky, one moon, and a guiding star

Glad to know the wonder of this earth

Of the question of peace and of war

Bothered me and also of our birth.

I looked up at the sky one evening

It's the same sky four scores ago

This memory keeps on revolving

That there's one sky and all must know.

I seek wealth but I found wisdom

While faith offered me security

Laughter is a drink of freedom

Patience gave me my immunity. 

On Pre' Nonoy's Blessed Day

 A Dedication ...

Many  happy returns of the day

To my dear friend with the Jaycee

ZAMNAI and would-be members would say

As a founding leader, you should be.

In August nineteen eighty-nine

An idea was mulled over

By a man who felt good and fine

To new immigrants who were sincere.

On relationship and engagement;

The strength and power of unity,

Vision and purpose of assignment;

Activity in society.

Our  group from Zamboanga del Norte

Made a compact for togetherness

Anchored on the sea of honesty

And minding just our own business.

The sea was rough, yet the sky was blue

And we glimpsed our destination

Blessed with grace and mercy so true

Onward we went; no explanation.

( Note:) ZAMNAI is an acronym for Zamboanga del Norte Association in Illinois.

(Beresimo Refugio, a Civil Engineer, was the prime mover and the initial president of 

the then-fledgling association. I was one of the pioneers of that group that made a chapter in the 

wonderful history of ZAMNAI.

Friend

 Our Moment is the Only We Have 

From ZAMNAI with Love

Three scores and fifteen years ago

You basked in the glory of the earth

And that all and sundry may know

That dear life is not all full of mirth.

You were born in Katipunan

A Zamboanga del Norte town;

Dipolog and Cebu drew a plan

Architecture is just around.

Saudi Arabia. America.

Land of rich oil. Land of the free.

La vida: dulce y amarga.

And Dodong cannot disagree.

There is a time for everything.

Time to laugh and a time to cry,

Time to lead and a time to sing,

Time to be born and a time to die.

A hero said, "To die is to rest."

And Dodong left a legacy.

Leader, he is: one of the best

Of great ZAMNAI with ecstasy.

God is good to shower us with grace

And follow up with His mercy

The charity we must embrace;

A blessing for eternity.

After all, words are said and done

We shall pursue eternal life

And the hard-earned riches are gone;

Only the moment is our stripe.

An elegy is written for you

Dominador T. Santos, Jr.

Rest in peace. Lives just come and go!

You live the sole version of who you are.

(N.B.) Life is a mystery. It is short and fleeting. We must do our best version of it as we have at the Moment. On Sept. 25, we have a phone talk. I wished him the best of luck. And what I heard later he's out of luck. 

I first met Dominador T. Santos, Jr. (Dodong) years ago when he left the hot desert of Saudi Arabia to seek a cooler place and landed in the Windy City of Chicago.  Friendship blossomed as he was a likable fellow. He came from Katipunan, Zamboanga del Norte where my High School Biology teacher came from. Then Dodong became one of the presidents of ZAMNAI, whose founder and first president was his high school classmate, Beresimo "Nonoy" Refugio. Then the arrival of HUDYAKA, in Chicago. This became the annual ZAMNAI celebration, the brainchild of Zambo del Norte's former governor Rolando Yebes.

Dominador "Dodong" Santos, Jr. gained leadership prowess as a vice mayor of Katipunan, Zamboanga del Norte, through his involvement as a town planner and a project manager for a commercial complex, and his employment in Saudi Arabia.

I wrote this elegy as a dedication to our friendship. Rest in peace my friend, Dominador T. Santos, Jr.

The Wonder of Flowers

 Blooming Flowers

Beautiful blooming flowers exude

The most amazing melody

That one can forget the dire feud;

A very handy remedy.

These beautiful blooming flowers   

Charm the secret corner of the soul

They are very refreshing showers

For the distressed, the weary, and all.

These flowers bloom but are unseen

Permeating the earth's corners bare;

In our hearts, we pray in deep serene

The world is asleep but we care.

In our journey, ideas just show

We have to care for and to nourish

It's God's gift that we'll let them grow

So they will bud and not perish.

What's for us...

 The Moment

Our dear moment is all we have

To nurture, cherish and protect

As God is watching us above

And He is waiting to collect.

Enjoy our life on this planet

We have anything we needed

What we pursue is what we get

This life is worth living indeed. 

Era of Unity

 Unity

Forget not the power of three.

It is the thing that we must need

'Cause by that there is unity

God. Son. Spirit: eternity.

Three words: grace, mercy, and blessing.

We hear these in the human lip.

It is our prayer as we sing

It is profound we cannot nip.

Things we don't deserve, God gives us.

He spares us for faults we deserve;

Rightfully, He gives us a plus

His blessing for us to preserve.

In my aloneness, I wonder

The nuance of grace in our life

That divine mercy is so near

A blessing in avoiding strife.

Things Essential

 What is/are:

GRACE - is when God gives us good things that we don't deserve.

MERCY - is when He spares us from bad things we deserved.

BLESSINGS - are when He is generous with both. (Grace and Mercy)

Truly, we can never run out of reasons to thank Him.

-------********* --------*******------------************

A good husband is not a man who is rich or handsome. He is a man who knows the value of a woman

( which are respect, understanding, honesty, and love)

 Likewise, with a good wife. She is not rich or beautiful. She is a woman who knows the value of a man

( which are respect, understanding, honesty, and love)

 *******************************************************************************

Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the  human face ( Victor Hugo)

Train your mind to see the good in everything 

SMILE - a sign of joy.  HUG - a sign of Love. LAUGH - a sign of Happiness.

TEARS - the sign of Hope that things will get better. NEVER GIVE UP!  

My Birthland

 God Bless the Philippines

God bless our cherished Philippines

Land of treasures, mountains, and seas

Of sugar cane and its central plains

Guide her O God and these our pleas.

God watches over our Philippines

Through its resurgence of progress

That you have never before seen

The Communists had their digress.

Mindanao looms with ideas

Among them is Federalism

And one of the panaceas

Of dream into realism.

SIX LITTLE STORIES

With Lots of Meanings

1. Once all villagers decided to pray for rain. On the day of prayer, all the people gathered, but only one boy came with an umbrella. That is FAITH. 

2. When you throw babies in the air, they laugh because they know you'll catch them. That is TRUST.

3. Every night we go to bed without any assurance of being alive the next morning, but still, we set the alarm clock to wake up. That is HOPE

4. We plan big things for tomorrow in spite of zero knowledge of the future. That is CONFIDENCE.

5. We see the world suffering, but still, we get married and have children. That is LOVE.

6. On an old man's shirt was written a sentence. "I am not 80 years old, I am sweet 16 with 64 years of experience." That is ATTITUDE.

HAVE A HAPPY DAY and LIVE YOUR LIFE LIKE THESE 6 STORIES. REMEMBER - GOOD FRIENDS ARE THE RARE JEWELS OF LIFE, DIFFICULT TO FIND AND IMPOSSIBLE TO REPLACE. 

(- Julie Bustamante Garmen'a - The Senior Citizens of Today and of Tomorrow)

On Father's Day

 For All Lovely Parents

As we observe  dear Father's Day

We recall what fathers have done

Help us, dearest God Almighty

To love them and those that are gone.

All of them have their own story

Of unsung sacrifice and love

In this life, we must not worry

God is in heaven up above.

Heaven watches the strong fathers

As they work for the family

So here are the lovely feathers

For making the home life happy.

Dear Lord watch over their siblings

At work or on the battlefield

Keep them safe away from bad things

That to evils they will not yield.

(Greg In Trabanca)

The Electoral Result

The Winner 

From the annals of colonial Spain;

Notes of Imperial America

We learned we rebelled with cause and pain

PILIPINAS, TIERRA PRECIOSA.

The Tiger and the Eagle landed

On the land among  the water

And all the people were excited 

Healing the wounds altogether.

The troubled people were happy

To join the festive celebration

With stories of the victory

Forewarned is forearmed with emotion.

Now is the time to continue

Federal and building as started

The plan that was honest and true

Urgently this will be noted.

Let's work the talk and roll the sleeve

As we are true Pilipino

Whatever we have we must give

This land is ours: the world to know,

Farms and forests will be an envy

The seas will swell with diverse fish  

Factories will hum with industry

Education, health, trust: our wish.

Unity finds a home in Congress

And change is now the battle cry

The nation moves toward great progress

Peace sans drugs, the people must try. 

Raise up above the red, blue, and white              

Stand proud with the right hand on thy breast

With rugged hands that do what's right

Busy building with a day of rest.

The people who lived fought, and died

In giving new birth to freedom

Be remembered for this great ride 

Peace to all men; Thy kingdom come.

(Greg In Trabanca)

The Presidency

The Choice

The Modern Times and the Living Past

"Every act of love is a work of peace, no matter how small." ( Mother Teresa)

  I belong to the Silent Generation and am a product of an American regime.  I am a vintage of that textbook era, Modern Times and the Living Past and The Good Manners and Right Conduct. The Filipinos were immensely taught with heartfelt sincerity by their first English teachers, the "Thomasites who arrived in the Philippines in June of 1901. They were a group of 600 American teachers who traveled from the United States to the newly occupied territory of the Philippines on the US Army Transport Thomas which included 346 men and 180 women hailing from 43 different states and 193 Colleges, Universities, and Normal Schools."

 In High School English and Literature class, we were given the assignment to read the story of  The  Lady or the Tiger written by a full-time American writer Frank Stockton which is mind-boggling. On that day the class was in a  hullabaloo.

 As the national election approaches, I surmise to have some mental exercise. for the Silent Generations,(1928-1945), Baby Boomers,(1946-1964), Generation X, (1965-1980), the Millennials, (1981-1996), and the post Millennials. (1997- present) voters.          

The author's purpose in "The Lady or the Tiger is to present a familiar fairy tale with an ending that will provoke enthusiastic discussion about which choice the princess made. We all make decisions and decisions come with consequences to explore the concepts such as justice and human nature. What actions have consequences? After all, it is the action of the princess to decide if her love is killed before her eyes or if he opens the rest of his life married to another woman." 

"The climax takes place at the end of the story. Just at the moment when the young man accused in the arena, selects the portal that the woman told about. If the accused choose the door with the lady behind it, he is innocent and immediately marries her. If he chooses the door with the tiger behind it, he is deemed guilty and immediately devoured." Now the discussion curtain is open to possibilities. What if that vicious tiger met and gained friendship with the accused? Probability!

"The mood or feeling of the story is passionate, tense, and full of suspense; a chilling and barbaric mood that makes the reader anxious. The feelings run very high, dark feelings of hatred, envy, and anguish over the lost love dominate the story of The Lady or the Tiger."

The take now comes from the voters and all those who can vote. The ball is in their court. Their choice is very important. And this is about choices and consequences. And here's a perspective.

How about a president who unites the people to a noble cause, sans revenge but with love in the heart, who builds to sustainably improve the landscape of the country; resumes the former programs and the unfinished infrastructure projects of past leaders, and rejects the dogma that is impregnating the young minds to topple the government. What about a president who wants to put an end to the destructive drug problems, prune the power of the Oligarchs' political and business clout, and continue the laudable National Task Force-ELCAC program. 

Also, the cleaning of the Augean stables (clearing away of corruption) in the government by this coming election with the likes of the Ocho Derecho phenomenon. The advent of independent and unbridled social media is a boon to the populace whose means of communication was the biased mainstream media - the radio, television, and newspapers.                                                                 

Last, but not least, the Philippines need a president who is not in love with money but with justice; not in love with publicity but with humanity. A president with a genuine love of the people through the complete support of the guardian of freedom - the Armed Forces: the Army, the Police, the Navy, and the Air Force. The president has the passion to serve, to perform, and is an authentic and not a plastic human being. However, the president must have the full backing of the vice president of the party together with the senatorial slate so the legislative body can muster enough votes to pass the measures and not spend time on non-constructive criticism only to gain visibility.                                                                                                            

Now the choice! Please vote wisely as your vote determines the next six years' scenario for the Philippines.

(Greg In Trabanca)

The Holy Cross

 The Time to Ponder

"We can think of Lent as a time to eradicate evil or cultivate virtue, a time to pull up weeds or to plant good seeds. . What is better is clear, for the Christian ideal is always positive rather than negative."   ( Fulton Sheen.) 

     I now clearly see the truth behind the Holy Cross, which to me is the essence of Christianity and the enemy of the Devil. It is this Holy Cross that opens the mindset of Christianity and becomes the shield against temptation. It is by this Holy Cross that Jesus, the Christ, redeemed the world.

    

 I always make the sign of the cross as a constant reminder of that Golgotha scenario when Jesus is between two sinners. Remember also that Jesus is human, so he can die, but as a Divine, He cannot sin but lives forever. Now, this is beyond the realm of human comprehension. We have to fortify and increase our Faith. The Bible says, "...For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not die but have everlasting life.

In the Apostles' Creed - I believe in God,  

  So why did Jesus die on the cross? Because of love and obedience. To prove to the world that all who are born in this valley of tears are the inheritors of sin through that unforgettable scenario in the beautiful garden of Eden, when immortality became mortality as the law was broken  - not to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil. ( For sin is the transgression of the law... and the wages of sin is death.)

     But God loves His creation and the Word made flesh to dwell among us. Then follows the Birth of Jesus, the Passion, the Death, and the Resurrection.

      That is why I always make the sign of the Cross- In the name of the Father,  and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. When I retire to dreamland, when I wake up from a beautiful sleep to greet a thanksgiving to the Almighty Father for the grace and blessing of being alive. When I eat, when I leave the house, when I  get in my vehicle, when I pass by a church or a cemetery. I make the sign of the cross. 

 

     These are my friends are the ritual of my humble, mortal existence. By the way, don't leave home without a Rosary in your pocket or as a necklace. 

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.