A Summer Place
Posted by Charles Godwin | Filed under Uncategorized
I have written this entry almost a year ago. A year ago when I chose to listen to its words and not just to its melody as I’ve always loved. I chose to reserve posting it exactly today, for today is the wedding anniversary of my Mom and my Dad. I have known that the Theme from the 1959 movie A Summer Place is their couple’s song as my dad would from time to time ask me if I can get hold of a that song’s digital copy. My sister, who was then working for an FM radio station, was able to after he passed away . . . It was an instrumental version played by Percy Faith and I fell in love with it. It was only some few months later did I have a glimpse why my parents chose it to represent their love for each other. Here it is . . .
A Summer Place Theme (1959)
Played by Percy Faith
Sung by The Lettermen
There’s a summer place
Where it may rain or storm
Yet I’m safe and warm
For within that summer place
Your arms reach out to me
And my heart is free from all care
For it knows
There are no gloomy skies
When seen through the eyes
Of those who are blessed with love
And the sweet secret of
A summer place
Is that it’s anywhere
When two people share
All their hopes
All their dreams
All their love
There’s a summer place
Where it may rain or storm
Yet I’m safe and warm
In your arms, in your arms
In your arms, in your arms
In your arms, in your arms
The first two stanzas tell how much love there is between them. Happiness. Security. What else can one ask for?
But what hit me is actually the third stanza.
It says not only of their love. Its not merely an expression of love. Its not just telling the world and being proud of finding happiness. But it has gone as far as telling what the secret is. That it isn’t just possible for them but for anyone who would share their hopes, dreams, and love for someone. . . And there you will find . . . A Summer Place . . .
A humbling message and hopeful at the same time.
Its possible to have your own summer place.
Its not just them. It can be you . . .
Such a beautiful song . . .
Happy Father’s Day Da . . .
Oldie in the Philippines
Posted by Charles Godwin | Filed under Uncategorized
Just to put in a different flow of thought in my entries, here’s an interesting article I read via forwarded e-mail. I’m posting how it was sent to me. Appreciate . . .
A bit of Philippine history…
Oldest in the Philippines
Oldest Province
Aklan, originally known as Minuro it Akean, is considered as the oldest province in the country and believed to have been established as early as 1213 by settlers from Borneo. Its first ruler was Datu Dinagandan. In 1399, Kalantiaw grabbed the throne. In 1433, Kalantiaw III formulated a set of laws that is known today as the Code of Kalantiaw.
Oldest Town
Unisan, Quezon could be the oldest town in the Philippines. The people of Unisan claimed that their town is now 481 years old, having been established in 1521, the same year that Ferdinand Magellan <http://www.txtmania .com/trivia/ oldest.php#> discovered the Philippines. All other towns in the country were established not earlier than 1565, when Spain formally occupied the Philippines as a colony.
A Malayan queen named Ladya reportedly founded Calilayan, the old name of the town. In 1876, Calilayan was renamed Unisan which was derived from the Latin word uni-sancti, meaning “holy saint”. (Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Oldest City
Cebu City is considered as the oldest city in the country, as this was the site of the earliest European settlement established by Spanish conqueror Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565.
Oldest Fort
The first Spanish settlement in the country, Villa del Santisimo Nombre de Jesus, was located inside Fort San Pedro in Cebu City. The fort’s construction began in 1565.
Oldest Street
Calle Colon in Cebu City is considered as the oldest street in the country. Named after explorer Christopher Columbus, Calle Colon was first constructed in 1565 by men of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi.
Oldest Stone Church
The Baclayon Church in Bohol is considered as the oldest stone church in the Philippines. But some historians disagree, claiming that San Agustin Church in Manila deserves the title.
Church historians claim that the cornerstones of San Agustin Church were laid as early as 1571, 25 years before Baclayon Church was built in 1596. But most people believe the title should be kept by the latter, since it is situated in the island first occupied by the troops of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, the country’s first Spanish governor general.
Bohol was where a friendship was sealed with blood between chieftain Rajah Sikatuna and Legazpi. The event is known today as ”The Blood Compact.”
Oldest Hospital
The San Lazaro Hospital could be the oldest hospital in the country. According to Pampango historian Zoilo Galang, the San Lazaro hospital was established in 1578; Enfermeria de Naga, 1583; and Hospital de San Juan de Dios, 1596.
Oldest Church Bell
The oldest church bell in the country is said to be the one found in Camalaniugan, Cagayan. That bell was reportedly forged in 1595.
Oldest Bridge
The Jones Bridge, formerly known as Puente de Espana, was first built in 1701. It was rebuilt by the Americans in 1916 and renamed after Atkinson Jones.
Oldest University
The University of San Carlos (USC) in Cebu City is considered as the oldest school in the country and in Asia. Formerly known as the Colegio de San Ildefonso, it was founded by the Spanish Jesuits on August 1, 1595. This makes the Cebu-based university older than the University of Santo Tomas (1611) in Manila and Harvard University (1636) in the United States.
The University of Santo Tomas, however, contests this title. Formerly known as the Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, UST was the first school, which got a university status in 1645. USC became a university in 1948. UST also claimed that the original USC was closed in 1769 as a result of the expulsion of the Jesuits. It reopened in 1783 under a new name and ownership. But the USC officials stick to their claim. The university observed its 400th foundation day on August 21, 1995.
Oldest Vocational School
The Don Honorio Ventura College of Arts and Trades (DHV CAT) in Bacolor, Pampanga is said to be the oldest vocational school in Asia. Augustinian Friar Juan Zita and civic leader Don Felino Gil established the vocational school on November 4, 1861.
Oldest Company
Ayala Corp., one of the largest conglomerates in the country, is also the oldest existing company around. It was established in 1834 by sugar barons Domingo Roxas and Antonio de Ayala. It was later renamed as Casa Ayala, then as Ayala y Compania and recently as Ayala Corp.
Oldest Bank
In 1881, Domingo Roxas, an ancestor of the Ayala family, became one of the first directors of Banco Español-Filipino de Isabel II, which was founded by virtue of a royal decree issued by Queen Isabel II. The bank issued the country’s first currency notes the following year. Considered as the first private commercial bank in the country, the bank came to be known as the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) in 1912. The oldest savings bank was Monte de Piedad, which was established in 1882.
Oldest Military Supply Shop
The oldest military supply shop in the country was said to be Alfredo Roensch and Co.
Oldest Rizal Monument
What can be considered as the oldest Rizal monument in the country is a 20-foot metal structure standing at a park in Daet, Camarines Norte. Its construction reportedly began on December 30, 1898 and was finished in February 1899. In comparison, the Rizal monument at the former Luneta park was built in 1912.
Oldest Vice
The 2 earliest vice among native Filipinos, according to historians, was the chewing of betelnut or “nganga”. It was said that Filipinos had been chewing betelnut for 3,000 years.
Oldest Insurance Firm
Insular Life Insurance Company was established on November 26, 1910, becoming the oldest insurance agency in the country.
Oldest Epics
In a 1962 study, E. Arsenio Manuel said the country had at least 19 epics, which were passed to the present generation from our early ancestors through oral chanting. Among these so-called ethnoepics were 13 epics among pagan Filipinos, 2 among Christian Filipinos, and 4 among Muslim Filipinos. These included the Ilocano epic Lam-ang, Manuvu’s Tuwaang, Sulod’s Hinilawod and Maranaw’s Bantugan.
Anesthesia
Posted by Charles Godwin | Filed under Uncategorized
My life right now is under a knife of a surgeon whom I call fate.
It is inevitable. There’s no other way.
My insides are all out.
But I couldn’t feel anything.
I don’t know until when it will hold.
Despite the sudden numbness,
There are far reaches that still aches in pain.
Moreso, when the operation is over,
And the anesthesia has long gone,
I’d start to feel everything
And I, to writhe in pain.
This is a sad reality in life to bear.
It is what they call the necessary pains.
How far is it from recovery?
balon-patibong
Posted by Charles Godwin | Filed under Uncategorized
There’s nothing in the dark that you cannot see in the light.
Maybe that’s why some choose to avoid the light,
To remain oblivious,
With what is in the dark.
The darker it gets, the more the desire,
The more you want to hide,
The more tiring it gets.
And when you have a small glimpse of light,
It is blinding.
The more it reminds you of how dark you are . . .
And you succumb further into the well.
tiyarls