Dear Loved Ones,Pleasant Greetings from Sacramento, CA! Officially, fall has started but we are still experiencing the heat of summer, both in the east and west U.S.A. where I partly spent the month of September.
On our monthly Catholic Lunch Club held on Sept. 17 at the Radisson Hotel, the guest speaker was Carol Younger, Ed. D. on the topic Jesus, the Saints . . . and God’s Salvation Story. Although I was not physically present, my friend shared the following notes: What are the critical elements of the Greatest Story ever told? Where do we find these elements in everyday life? How do we understand and communicate this great sweep of Jesus’ history with excitement and connection to life in the 21st century? Dr. Carol, an educator and expert in narrative and connections to the daily life of Catholics, presented a lively discussion with a captivating, exciting, and responded effectively to queries on the current topic issues.
As planned, I went to the east coast (Sep. 5 – 26) for my APOstolate, i.e., to big-boy sit my 8-year old MAX while his mother Sarah went on a Paris, France holiday. During that period, Sarah celebrated her birthday (Sep. 7) while I had mine on Sep. 20. Highlights of my sojourn are::
• Sep. 7 – After Mass at the church in Montclair, NJ, had lunch at the Greek Taverna with Sarah’s friends Tim Graham and Dr. David Anderson; followed with Cake and coffee at Sarah’s pad; then attended a meeting at Max’s school;
• Sep. 11 – Drove Sarah to Newark International Airport on her JEEP Commander for her flight. Using the GPS, I traversed successfully the Garden State Parkway and other routes, without a single ‘recalculation’; The driving boosted my confidence level throughout my stay as I brought Max to / from school the succeeding days;
• Sep. 17 – Joined relatives for the 97th birthday celebration of Mommy Charing Dompor I Clifton, with Mass and sumptuous Filipino food – lechon, pancit, lumpia, etc. She was still active and very pretty!
• Sep. 19 – The family of my Kumpareng Kiko (Engr. Francis Catayong of NPC days), his wife Nory and son Rey, who are based in Long Island, NY, fetched me to spend the week-end with them. First, we had lunch with Sarah and Max before we went off. After the long drive, we were joined by their daughter Len-len at their home; then went to have dinner at the fine-dining H2O resto. As Sean said later, ‘social, pang-movie sets, at reservations required daw’. The kids do have great tastes. Our families. bonds date back long years. We started visiting Mareng Nory who was a nurse in NY in 1988, and every time we are in the U.S., we would watch Broadway shows, after having lunch; Kiko is Sean’s baptismal Ninong, his three kids attended NPC Christmas parties, Sean’s 1st birthday at Jollibee’s, and other family events. Our 5 children combined (2 from us, 3 from them) are now: Sarah (36), Kay (30), Rey (28), Len (26), and Sean (23) grew up close together – see how time flies!
• Sep. 20 – My birthday turned out memorable as I had envisioned it to be! I intended it to be secret, but Sarah blurted out to them that it was my special day. Pareng Kiko had promised to have the day off from work that Monday, and I prevailed on Mareng Nory to do her normal working day; Kiko was enough to guide me in NY. After breakfast with Len, she drove us to Huntington station for the 10am train to NY. Upon arrival at Penn station, we took a leisurely walk from 34th St./7th Ave. to 49th St./5th Ave. St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was perfect timing as we entered the church; the priest was also entering the Altar for the 12:00 noon Mass. Then we spent hours at the Top of the Rock, Rockefeller plaza, posing like tourists, enjoying the full alert status with the opening of the UN General assembly in NY. We had so much fun before I took the 3:10p train back to Montclair, where Sarah and Max waited for me to have dinner and spend the rest of my birthday with them! I thank God for the opportunity to have a memorable day with my loved ones and friends! BTW, I had a long phone chat with Gerry and office staff in Pinas the night before, extending me their greetings and the great news of their major, major busy days as they were completing documentation of officers and crew joining the new Taiwanese vessel on Sept. 22. Thus, I announced a bonus for them as our anniversary and my birthday sharing and appreciation for their services and God’s Blessings!
• Sept. 26 – Thank God to be back in SAC, after the smooth flights from Newark, via Salt Lake City.Attached are 5 group photos of recent reunions with family and friends. Let us continue to pray for our country and people. Peace and Joy to You and God Bless Us All!
Much love and Best Regards!!!
