
"Bilin ng Ating Magulang"
At the Catholic grade school in the Philippines where I taught Filipino Grammar and Literature decades ago, the textbook series we used...

Songs in the Heart
"With A Song in My Heart" is the theme song of an old movie of the same title. Like any love song, it expresses the feelings of a lover...

From the Mouth of Infants . . .
Every other day of the week are special days at home. Little Soleil, our two-year-old granddaughter, comes. She gives us much joy. Like...

"Antigo"
When I called an appliance repairman to fix my old washing machine, he said it is a good brand and it can work for many more years. He...

"Memento Mori," Pandemic or Not
Recently, two first cousins of mine, both the eldest siblings in their respective families, passed away a week apart from each other. One...

Grape Culture
When a development bank in the Philippines included grape growing in its agricultural financing program many years ago, I had to learn...

Shepherds *
Many of us city dwellers may have only a vague idea of the life and work of shepherds, especially those of olden times, except perhaps...

"What You Don't Know Won't Hurt You"
"What you don't know won't hurt you." This is an often-quoted saying that some people live by. A similar related saying is: "The truth...

"Hindi Kita Malilimutan" (I Will Not Forget You)
Early one morning recently we were awakened by an overseas call from my sister-in-law. She informed us that their first cousin had died...

My Small Push Mower
Several years ago, I disposed of my heavy B&D lawnmower and gave up mowing my yard myself. Everyone in the family said I was too old to...