An Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back,

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

May the rain fall soft upon your fields,

And until we meet again....

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Source: Farewell message of US Ambassador to the Philippines

Kristie Kenney to the Filipino people

What Matters Most

A man begins to die,
The moment he remains silent,
About things that matter.

-martin luther king

Election 2010

Exactly two days from now, our voting population will troop to the polling precincts to cast their precious votes in order to select new leaders, especially a President to lead this impoverish nation to new heights. After the restoration of democracy in 1986 by Cory Aquino, Ninoy Aquino's widow, our country suffered a lot
from tyrrany for about 15 years from Marcos' martial rule. Properties and businesses were confiscated and given to a favoured few. Press freedom was suppressed and human rights violated. And corruption was rampant in all places. That was the dark past of our country!

We thought then, that with the restoration of democracy we were assured of a peaceful and quality life for the vast majority of our people. But we were wrong, because there was so much to be done. Little did we know that that was the only first step towards a long hard journey.

1992 saw the emergence of a new President in Fidel Ramos. He continued the programs left by his predecessor but our countrymen remained poor and jobs were very scarce. The economy has fallen and its recovery was too slow.

Our poor country still didn't lose hope and looked high to a newly elected President that was Joseph Estrada or Erap, as they use to call him in the movies where he starred in over a hundred films. But his regime was also characterised by corruption and utter disregard for human rights. After almost two years of serving the presidency, he was impeached by Congress for illegal use of public funds and was eventually ousted by a civilian-backed military. Later on, he was found guilty for plunder by the courts and was sentenced to life imprisonment but was quickly pardoned.

He didn't complete his term of six years and was immediately succeeded by his Vice President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who served Erap's remaining 4 years. An economist by training, GMA tried to turn around the economy but she failed. She sought a second mandate but her election to the presidency was marred by wide-scale cheating. Her term of six years which will end on June 30, 2010 was seen by many as the most
corrupt regime in the country's history.

Now, as we come to the culmination of her term, we are racing against time. Because 2010 is the time to implement a true change and lift the spirits of our people to high heavens. The year 2010 may well be answer to our suffering people, because we will now elect a new leader who will turn this country as a nation of God, a selfless leader who will look after the poor, a leader who will lead by example, and a leader who will end corruption in all places. When all of these things have been accomplished, it will only be then that we can truly say that our people were redeemed from bondage. May the Lord's everlasting mercy be upon our country and people. Forevermore.

Chicago In Manila

Ever since the announcement of the Chicago Concert came out, I and my 2 friends were eagerly anticipating the coming of the Big Day. At first Sonny wasn't sold to the idea because of his tight schedule at the office. But I have reiterated to him that perhaps this may well be the very last time we will get to see these guys, having missed them some 15 years ago in 1995. The more we should see the concert before the curtain finally close in on them. The more we should watch them with passion and intense emotion because, perhaps, they will never pass this way again!

I left the office at around 4.30pm for the 8.30pm concert to reach the venue early and get to meet my other friend, Jun, who reserved 3 tickets for us. We entered the Coliseum at 6 to look for some nice seats at the centre of the stage where we can see the band from end to end. Our curiosity turned to excitement when one by one the members lined up the stage. I immediately recognised only 5, 3 of whom were the remaining original members, viz: Jimmy Pankow, Lee Loughnane, and Robert Lamm. Walter Parazaider was nowhere in sight for reasons I do not know. The other two were bassist Jason Scheff and guitarist Keith Howland. The other 3 members were new to my sight.

The opening song was I think 'Make Me Smile' (this is one of my fave songs) which originally sung by the late Terry Kath. Most of their top hits for the past 4 decades were heard including 'Beginnings' by Robert Lamm (also my fave song). Of course, who will forget the song 'Colour My World', a beautifully crafted composition by Jimmy Pankow which became the decade 70's quintessential prom song. Now in their late 60's (the original members), you can still feel the energy emanating from somewhere, perhaps, their love for the music they have created some 4 decades ago and their passion to share that music to everyone from all walks of life.

Before the final 3 songs were rendered, the audience stood up in front of the stage and danced to the tune of 'Saturday in the Park'. A very lively song which was pure energy. It was reminiscent of a victory we had, because we were part of that history, that was CHICAGO. Nobody can take that away from us.

We are surely going to miss these guys, because we practically grew up from their brand of music which partly became the soundtrack of our lives.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

We can lift ourselves out of ignorance,

We can find ourselves as creatures of excellence, and intelligence and skill. We can be Free!

We can learn to Fly! .... even beyond the Far Cliffs!!!

-Richard Bach