Dear Ana B,
Kumusta na from here sa Chicago!
I've been with my sister's family who
just moved in here last Nov and the added treat are the
2 nights and a full
day that we
(Nel and I) spent with Kuya Rudy and Jo. I called Loida
at Ruth's sister's
too and took her out to a mall nearby kaya nagkakuwentuhan
kami nang husto .
She was on the lookout for toys for her one and only
apo and she got a couple
of good buys. Medyo naghihintay pa din siya ng real good
result from her eye
surgery which the doctor says could come in a few weeks
or months depending
on the patients ability to heal. She's feeling a bit
low and frustrated kaya
naman we tried to buoy her up the best we can, at times
even just by
listening only. Then, the Tans picked us up in the early
evening and we went
Chinese at doon we met up with Rowie Leopando.. sila
ni Jo pala ngayon din
lang talaga nagkita eh malapit ang cities nila! She's
one of the last yata to
tie the knot among us and Jo mentioned in passing that
Loids naman is one of
the earliest. Her hubby works in another city so they
meet on weekends lang;
she probably felt a bit better when Jo told her I get
to meet mine at most 2x
a year lang! Anyway, Kuya Rudy ordered a feast
fit for a crowd so bundat
talaga kami; on the way home dumaan pa kami for 2 luscious
pies ( Hawaiian
strawberry and pecan) and we had coffee and more
kuwentuhan at their house
till almost midnight. Niyaya nga naming doon na din matulog
pero umuwi din
iyong dalawa. Rowie pored enthusiastically over
the reunion book and photos
at gaya natin noon had to stretch her memories to match
names and faces.
Nagplano ng schedule for the next day and Loids wanted
to join us after lunch
dahil may appointment yata re her medical records in
the morn. Rowie begged
off kasi hindi daw makaka-absent at dadating si beloved
hubby that Fri night
so siempre bahay-bahayan sila ! The reason we wanted
to be all there ay dahil
we were meeting with Miss Mistica for dinner at ngayon
din lang sila
magkikita ni Jo!
Well, we started early next day at
naiba na naman uli ang plano dahil
originally, sasabay lang kami ni Nel kay Kuya Rudy to
the city via the Metra
and armed with the guide brochures and maps Nel and I
will cover the
highlights (museums, art institute, aquarium, towers
etc) till about 4 pm and
meet up with them again somewhere. Kuya Rudy will pick
up Jo from work and
Loida too then babalikan kami. Tapos noong umaga, si
Jo ay sasama na daw sa
amin kaya babalik lang sandali sa office to habilin some
important stuff.
Noong malaman ni Kuya Ruds, nag-apya na din siyang sasamahan
din kami so we
ended up riding all to the city in his Jeep and missed
the "thrilling" Metra
ride. So we did a quick evaluation of Sue's bones sa
Fields museum and spent
more minutes with the Russian display sa souvenir shop
doon. Then off to the
Shedd aquarium and it was a delight to feel like kids
again enjoying those
amazing dolphins, Belugas and seahorses plus the marvelous
and exotic
fishes,corals and anemones. Ang dami din naming kasabay
na bulilits on
educational tour. We rested our feet sa restaurant doon
overlooking a really
magnificent view of the windy city- I personally think
Chicago exuded more
character than the other cities here that I've seen so
far. The buildings are
really so beautiful and uniquely different without clashing
with each other.
After the sea creatures, we rushed to the art institute
and breezed past the
impressive displays of artists we distinctly remembered
from Mrs.
Pangilinan's class. This time there was an abundance
of Monet, Renoir and
Picasso's work and Jo ( who I just learned seriously
paints pala) seemed to
forget her tired feet and marched on to the very last.
Bago magsara ay
hinabol namin ang display ng miniature rooms that Jo
knew Nel would enjoy and
appreciate more; we all did. By the way, hindi na pala
namin kasama si Kuya
Rudy dito cause he decided to check in sa office niya
just right across the
institute. At hindi na nga pala din namin nakasama si
Loids dahil sa change
of plans.
At exactly 4:30 pm lumabas kami sa
harap at nandoon na si Miss Mistica.
her disposition and smile are still the same pero higit
siyang makuwento
ngayon kaya nakakaaliw! We went across sa Bennigan's
at Kuya Rudy came down
to join us na. Amidst the American pop culture display
doon ay nag-reminisce
kami over nachos and chicken wings na merienda. Nanghinayang
si Mam na hindi
nakasama sina Loids at Rowie and she also excitedly pored
over the reunion
book as she tried to recall names and events. Bilib kami
ni Jo dahil mas
madami siyang recollections ng mga field trips natin
noon! She also made
kuwento on her escapades after she left Prep at lumipat
siya sa Diliman. I
have to stop muna here and will continue this sa Houston
I have to pack
cause we're leaving for an early flight para doon where
I will visit with my
nephew naman before proceeding to Mexico. Ang isang special
request ni Mam
ay for a copy of the 35th annual natin na baka daw puedeng
dalahin ni Ruth
when she comes here sometime June 8 (?). May plano silang
afternoon tea ni Jo
uli ng June 9 yata. O sige muna at gagawa pa ako ng box
for my stuff. Hope
you are well at makakaboto nang maayos sa next week;
my contact email sa
Houston is rollov@bcm.tmc.edu. at sa Mexico ay r.villareal@cgiar.org.
Have a
nice day!!!!!!
Ruth M.V.
Dear Ana B.,
After adjusting to the cool temps and thin
air here, I felt well enough today to send this so here
goes! We had a
great 5 day sojourn sa Houston with my nephew and this
included a live
baseball game (pero talo ang Astros!), a Spanish opera,
a visit to the art
institute for Nel's interior design course and a a good
pasyal sa kanilang
famous Galleria complex. But then I'm sure mas interisado
ka sa mga
recollections ko ng Chicago stint so here goes....
> 2hrs drive
from her) with a radiology unit and comes back every
Fri night to spend
weekend at home. Wala pa silang tsikiting....
Terry ( si Mam Mistica!) teaches English and literature
in 2
schools at medyo matatanda na daw mostly ang students.
She maintains a
condo across Lincoln Park and says she enjoys lounging
there with
sandwiches on weekends just watching people and the lake
side
activities. Mahilig din siya sa concerts and attends
them kahit unescorted ( her
hubby passed away already). During summers, she normally
spends the first
part somewhere sa Europe to see the sites of the "classics"
and then she
goes back, change her luggage and moves on to the Phil
for her balikbayan
sojourn. Now that she knows na madami taong pakulo during
summers, she
hopes to join us more daw.
Mam
says the one thing that did'nt change among all of us is
our signature smile.... she can easily recognize us with
this one daw
kahit doon sa 35th yearbook. Aliw an aliw siya sa mga
makuwento doon lalo na
sa photo spread mo AnaB! We all had a good
laugh as Jo recalled the
story of Jomelo claiming that we (the girls of batch
65) are already amoy lupa
na so there was no need for his wife to be worried that
he spent so much
time in our reunions ... until she saw Dexter and Tess
ano! She also recalled
the pieces that Luis, Ling, Gloria and Dennis delivered
sa elocution
contests noon--- tatangos ang ilong nila dito!
Sayang na sayang siya that
Rowie and Loids couldn't be there pero may plano na sila
ni Jo to have future
dates and the first one will be when Ruth F. comes on
early June.
Jo and Kuya
Ruds are really taking it easy and right now must
be swinging through Austria, Italy and France for their
break. I was
really impressed with Jo's paintings which she mostly
does on wood crafts
(boxes, plates,clocks etc.) Her artistic side will probably
prosper more as
soon as she retires from work; plano na yata nilang bumalik
uli sa city proper
where she can have easy access to the galleries, museums
and shops.
Also Kuya Ruds would be just a stone throw away from
his office which
happens to be just across the art institute....we breezed
through this one in 2
1/2 hrs pero busog na busog ang mata namin
with the impressionists and
post impressionists who were currently on exhibit then.
Well, as finale,
eto ang 3 photos for
the web ; I'm sending
them separately cause they won't go through together....
saka na lang ang
iba pa OK? Just had a glimpse of the early Namfrel results;
ito ba ang lista
mo din?
Cheers and God bless!
Always,
Ruth