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Going home to Butuan to be with family and ‘ig-agaw’
By Candace Copio Last year, I had applied to a five-week, service learning program in Jamaica. I was accepted to the program and was ready to accompany my fellow college peers to the tropics. Weeks after my acceptance, I remember being in the foyer of my house talking to my mom. My mom, with a […]
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For 9/11 families, the pain lives on
By Elton Lugay It’s been 11 years, but the pain in Corazon Fernandez’s heart lingers as in the morning when two hijacked planes rammed into the World Trade Center Towers and Arab militants waged a war against America. Her daughter Judy Hazel died instantly, one of nearly 3,000 New Yorkers caught in history’s crossfire. “Every […]
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A race to save marriage
By Elton Lugay How can an athletic competition keep marriages from falling apart? That’s what Timothy Aquino, a 45-year-old contestant of Ironman Triathlon, will seek to find out. Tim is registered for the first Ironman U.S. championship in the New York/New Jersey area next month. The World Championship – bringing in all the winners across […]
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Best of both worlds for Gerard Araw, Wall Street banker and suburban family man
By Cristina DC Pastor Gerard Araw, the relationship manager for Commerzbank, probably speaks for many immigrant professionals who are trying to strike a balance between the traditions they grew up with and the alluring cosmopolitan lifestyle of New York. Gerard, 41, works in Lower Manhattan and goes home to his family in Springfield, New Jersey. […]
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Heart-warming story pushes the boundary of children’s lit
‘Papa’s Gift’ By Genny Javellana BananaHeart + SoulSnax May 2012 “Papa’s Gift” is a moving story that touches on the relationship between father and daughter. Written and illustrated by Genny Javellana, it is a story based on events from the author’s life. Weaving deeply personal story and dialogue with whimsical imagery, Javellana creates an inter-generational, […]
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Downsizing my mother: Practicality versus tradition
By Roberto Villanueva Last year, I made the wrenching decision of “downsizing” my mother. I transferred her from a large three-bedroom multi-level house to a one-bedroom condo unit. It also meant trimming her expenses and letting go of a suburban lifestyle she was used to for many years, that is, until my financial situation improves. […]
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‘Goodbye to the little angel who taught us the meaning of faith’
By Jun Ilagan On May 9, our first grandchild died of respiratory complications from Aicardi Syndrome. Andrea was 4 months, 12 days old. Six months in her mother’s womb, the baby was diagnosed with the rare syndrome. Devastated would seem an understatement to describe how my son and his wife felt when the team of […]
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I’m sick of it
By Sheila Marcelo By now, you’ve probably seen the TIME magazine cover featuring a mom breastfeeding her preschool-aged son. It’s attention-grabbing… to say the least. While my first instinct is shock and pity for the future teenage boy who will never live this cover down, I do see the beauty in a mother’s ability to […]
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Salsa for Rafael
By Cristina DC Pastor A death in the family would, in a strange kind of way, put the swing back into Mary Jane San Gabriel’s life. Also the cha cha, the merengue and the salsa. Her U.S.-based sister passed away in 2005. From Singapore, this chemical engineer rushed to New Jersey to take on the […]