Travel Chronicle:   February 5, 2024

Last night we disembarked from the Cathay Pacific airplane, with wobbly legs and droopy eyelids.  We left Kansas City, Saturday 7:30 am February 3 to Chicago, then Hongkong, then Manila, a 25-hour-long trip, including stopovers.     

The next day we awoke to a different world at a plush Manila hotel close to the airport.  The third floor of the hotel was a food court with at least 6 all-you-can-eat stations:  East Indian, Filipino, Western, Continental, Asian, and Japanese.   We were surrounded by good-looking young people, which relative to how old we are, included anyone under the age of 55.   The service staff were all smiles and squinty eyes.  I was told their numbers helped reduce unemployment.  Each had his/her/whoever distinctive uniform which designated his/her/whoever role and function. 

The security and police were smart in their form-fitting long-sleeved white shirts and dark blue pants.  They purchased the shirts and had them altered to look like they were tailored.  Despite their other “law-enforcement” paraphernalia, they showed no hint of an authoritarian demeanor.  They acted cheerful and accommodating like the rest of the staff.

It reminded me of the claim, that for Filipinos, it is alright to be happy.  One should take time to be happy.  One is expected to be happy.

February 10, 2024 

Today is the end of the day of my birthday.  I am 82.  We are at “Flores Retreat.”  This is what Nora and I have decided to call our beachfront property, a change from what we used to call “Flores Sanctuary.”  Unfortunately, a small part of the reason for having a name for the property and for having “Flores” as part of the name is to help establish a boundary from those who presume to lay claims to the property.  It is an old Filipino tradition that what belongs to one family member belongs to other family members as well.  It is not that there are no boundaries, but these boundaries have to be explicitly declared.

This day of my birthday was uneventful but productive.  We made important decisions about the property.  Nora’s siblings are having a reunion here in April and we have to get ready.  Most metals, including nails, corrode to the onslaught of the salty air. 

We did not have a birthday celebration today.  There is no birthday cake, only a glass of wine. However, there WERE two birthday cakes in two celebrations of my birthday while we were in Manila.  That was more than enough.  Many more wished me well than I expected.  As birthdays go, it all went very well.

Being here is a retreat.  After an arduous trip, I slept for what felt like two whole days. I am reviving relaxed, peaceful and awake.  One may not hear one’s heartbeat, but the rhythm of the sea reminds one, one is alive and surrounded by life. 

I will email this before the day is over and wish you all very well, with warmth and affection. 

Luis  

Philippine travel chronicle:  February 14, 2024
Nora’s Island Resort and Flores Retreat update: February 2024

There is a difference between Nora’s Island Resort and Flores Retreat.  The former is an Island that Nora leased from the Department of Agriculture and/or the Department of public lands(?).  It is also under the jurisdiction of the Department of Tourism. 

The lease requires Nora allow public access to the island and some activity for visitors. Thus, Nora’s Island Resort came-to-be and counted as one of the tourist attractions in the area.

Nora’s Island Resort

Below are samples of Internet posts (most posted in 2021) about Nora’s Island Resort. The exact location is in Sitio Buyo (the smallest unit of a government political entity), Tinambac, Camarines Sur.  There are images of Flores Retreat as well.

Vlog:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGbvgHmDMFM

Contributor unknown: https://noras-island-resort.business.site/   

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/100067370328060/videos/noras-island-and-beachfront-retreat/349566593813722/   

https://www.facebook.com/p/Noras-Island-San-Antonio-Cam-Sur-Philippines-100067370328060/

Arial view

 

Nora’s Island Resort is an Island on a shelf.  This shelf extends about 400 meters (?) from shore.  It is densely populated with rocks of all sizes.  My guess is that the average size is that of ranch animals in seated positions.  Most of the rocks are black and look like lava rocks.

During low tide, one can see locals walking on the shelf, fishing and/or looking to catch something for supper.

According to Marivic, a lady that works for us, she can walk to almost the edge of the shelf with the water reaching a level between her ankle and knee.  During high tide she says the water extends above her head.  Marivic is 5-feet-2-inches and based on her gesturing, we surmise the water is at least 6 feet deep.  

I was curious about why she would even venture out during high tide.  She replied she could harvest two batches of seaweed which sells for eight pesos a kilo.  Seaweed farming is an important industry in the Philippines. The carrageenan in seaweed is used in food preparation, cosmetics and has other uses as well.  Seaweed farms in the Philippines are threatened by climate change.

During high tide, all one sees is open sea except for the frosty line of waves that break at the edge of the shelf.  This is visible in the arial view.

-o-o-o-o-o-

I have had to explain numerous times that we were not entrepreneurs, nor developers, nor out to make a profit that could replace what we made from our previous employment.  Our money-making interests were directed towards supporting local efforts (giving back) and providing for our daily needs.

The flurry about Nora’s Island Resort as a lucrative tourist attraction was primarily due to local excitement and a misunderstanding of our original intentions.  In compliance with the requirements of the Department of Tourism, the island is easy to access during low tide.  In addition, Nora’s Island Resort provides a meditation walk and shrine to Stella Maris (“lady of the sea” or literally “star of the sea”).  Her statue faces the sea atop a tower located on the highest point in the island.  Other structures on the island include small bungalows that allow for overnight stay, a gazebo, and an activity building.  The resort is ideal for small-group gatherings/meetings and retreats.      

Because Nora’s Island Resort rests on a shelf, we provide only limited opportunities for boating, surfing and other challenging water sports.  Swimming in areas clear of rocks and snorkeling within the shelf is possible.  One can fish and wade to the edge of the shelf.   

So far, families and the groups of friends that have visited the resort have all had positive enjoyable experiences.  We have had no complaints. 

Nora’s Island resort today:  February 10, 2024

The flurry about Nora’s Island as a successful tourist resort has diminished to almost nothing.  Of course, there was the pandemic but our not being here enough in the flesh, has a lot to do with it.

The other more definitive reason is that the resort is not accessible by automobile.  When Nora and her siblings first encountered the Island, they were 45 minutes into a hike.  There were no roads to the area.  Other than by hiking one can take a banca (native outrigger canoe) from the nearest barangay (San Antonio) during low tide and when the sea is relatively calm.  These were characteristics that appealed to us at the time. 

With the allure of a tourist attraction, it was not long before a path to where the Island was situated was built.  The dirt road allowed visitors to the Island. Since then, patches of this road were paved but it did not make it more accessible.  During heavy rains ruts in the road were created and not repaired.  These ruts became worse over a span of just one year (deeper and more slippery).  At present, other than heavy commercial vehicles, only 4-wheel-drive SUVs and 4-wheel-drive pickup trucks can make the trip when conditions allow.

We have placed anything that has to do with a resort on hold until road access is readily available.  Otherwise, even if we build it, they cannot come. 

Flores Retreat update:  February 10, 2024 

Because of the unsuitability of Nora’s Island as a second dwelling for us, Nora decided to purchase the beachfront adjacent to Nora’s Island.  The location was ideal.  At present there are two main housing structures on the property, one of which will become our second home.  

Originally, we agreed to allow access to these facilities to visitors of the resort when we were not in residence.  This has not worked out well. 

At present we are working to make Flores retreat a real and separate entity from Nora’s Island resort.  We can go from there.

The absence of visitors has created a calm consistent with our original intent – a place of meditation and repose, a harmonious assimilation and blending with the surround (physical and social).

The rhythm of the sea is a heartbeat.  It is also a beckoning, a seduction.  To what I do not yet know but to which I am drawn.

potpourri

·         We had a gander and a goose.  We still have a gander and I am trying to get our caretaker to get another goose.

·         Our chicken population is down.  A good portion was eradicated by some kind of disease.  Still, about a dozen have survived and will no doubt increase their numbers.  Our caretaker tells me that one hen has begun to lay eggs.

·         It has been cool.  It rains every day.  There is always a breeze.  Nora has a cold.  We sleep a lot (laziness).

 

 

Here Lies Love - the musical

 

Dear Paulo and Melissa,

In a conversation, at a restaurant in New York city with you guys, I claimed I would write and send you a copy of my take on Here Lies Love,” - the Filipino musical we just saw on Broadway.   I mostly did write “My Take.”  It was 4/5^th done when I lost the file.  I will not go into details but,  suffice it to say, I will no longer exclusively rely on the use of flash drives to save my files.

I will come directly to the point.  The focus of “Here Lies Love” is about the personal life of Imelda Marcos that unfolds in a historical context that does not sufficiently nor adequately establish a meaningful connection with this context. 

I have the same objection to the film “Oppenheimer.”  The Second World War, the fear of fascism and communism, “white man’s burden” and the harnessing of nuclear energy were part of the Oppenheimer historical context. 

In both cases, it is difficult for a viewer to make the connection between the main character and the historical context unless the viewer already has sufficient knowledge of those times.  The dots were there but the connections were not well-organized or meaningfully developed. 

During the detonation of the first nuclear bomb in Los Alamos (The Trinity test in 1945) a verse from the Bhagavad Gita came to Oppenheimer.  “Now I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”  I believe it was also during that time that he mused that the bomb could ignite the world’s atmosphere.  Evidently, this was not enough of a deterrent to Oppenheimer.  Gun powder can destroy a city block.  Nuclear power can destroy us all, including those who pull the trigger.  To quote a line from another movie; because of nuclear weapons “…our worst enemy is war itself…”

In Here Lies Love, the program brochure cites 1898 as the time when “The U.S. colonized the Philippines, having ‘liberated’ the country from Spain.”   However, during the program, the D.J. bellowed that the U.S. bought the Philippines from Spain.  The D.J. was more accurate.  In a very real sense we have been owned by – or, if you must, depended on - the U.S. to this very day.  (note the arrogance of this narrative).  To some it was a love affair.  To others it was a version of strife and suffering.  

In 1945 the Philippines was granted independence by the U.S. from the U.S. in what has been described as a transition to a neo-colonial relationship with the U.S.  The Philippines did not have independent control of its own economy, a main contributor to the lack of political independence as well.  When Marcos declared martial law, he quickly assured foreign business interests that it would be business as usual.  Marcos’ fight was with the local oligarchs.  Ninoy Aquino had no real platform other than his opposition to Marcos.  Nevertheless, Aquino was a symbol of a democratic alternative to the Marcos dictatorship.  When the Marcos left the Philippines at the end of his rule, it was an American helicopter than lifted him and Imelda to Hawaii, not to the U.S. mainland. 

To this day, local oligarchs control the Philippine government.  Their loyalists populate official government positions.  It is like the game of musical chairs on who becomes president. 

During the time of Imelda, the Philippines, like other “developing countries had an American-style neoliberal economy.   The result was an increase in the unequal distribution of wealth.  These countries have thriving urban-global economies surrounded by massive populations of poverty and near-poverty.  Since then, globalization (primarily capital and debt) has increased income inequality and migration.

Imelda was of the privileged wealthy class entangled in corruption, extravagance and intrigue.  The Marcos regime was a kleptocracy.  Imelda enjoyed celebrity status locally and internationally.  Though she wielded some political power it is dubious as to how far this influence extended.  Her program was to make the Philippines a western style showcase of affluence. 

She had little understanding or empathy for the mass of non-affluent Filipinos.  She divorced herself from and concealed her modest origins.         

“Here Lies Love” was intended for Imelda’s headstone when she passed away.  The love affair and fascination with western affluence is still very much a priority and/or a necessity to many, even though to these many, “love” lies where Imelda lies.

My Take. 

 I apologize for an overly brief and scant rendition of the historical context of Imelda and Oppenheimer.  This email is clearly an opinion, a reaction to the films rather than an explanation.  I am open to correction, clarification and further exposition.  I am sure I made mistakes, errors in punctuation and need more detail.

Here Lies Love is enjoyable.  It boasts a talented all-Philippine cast.  It employs an innovative and modern “disco” format.  It combines dance, music and audience participation in a way that sustains a level of energy for a full 90 minutes.  I am all for it.  I support the endeavor.  I never say “no” to art.

These cultural “showcase presentations” serve to maintain the status quo as most myths are wont to do.  (Examples are the story of the good Samaritan and how Washington confessing to cutting down the cherry tree illustrated the importance of not telling a lie.)  They all fall in what I refer to as the “marketplace of ideas,” more-or-less a free-for-all under the guise that one has the right to believe whatever he/she wants.  People have the power to believe anything they want but not the right to do so.  Supposition, fantasy and rationalization can easily become the basis for social reality.      

Cultural presentations helped the assimilation of Filipinos to U.S. culture to the level we are now.  The key to success is not to “rock the boat” and not be too visible.  One can dissent (to prove one’s individuality and independence) but not “rock the boat.”

In instances of real conflict however, a more considered, scientific, rational and truthful rendition is imperative if justice is to prevail, if humanness is to prevail, if we (as a species of diverse peoples) are to prevail.  In important ways, it is up to us too.  We all have to be revolutionaries in a manner.  We have to stick together.  We are not each other’s enemy.

In my opinion, one of the most significant U.S. contributions to the Philippines was the establishment of a public education system.  Literacy was prohibited by the friars and monks during the Spanish occupation for fear it would foster revolutionary thinking.  They were right.  The blacks in the U.S. had the same obstacles to literacy at one time; and, to education to this very day.  One obstacle, then another, then another, then another … have hindered Blacks from an equitable assimilation to U.S. culture. 

My Take

There is another dimension to my take on Here Lies Love.  Nora and I are cohorts.  We were both born and grew up in the Philippines.  We went to the same high school at the same time although we did not run into each other or know each other.  We both came to the U.S. at the end of the 60’s to continue our education.  We already had college degrees when we arrived.  We were adults.  We both speak Tagalog (a Philippine language) and Nora speaks Bicol (a local dialect) as well.  We both still have family in the Philippines.  We have resided in the U.S. for almost a half a century.  

We were in the U.S. when Marcos declared martial law.  We experienced the tail end of the 60’s in the U.S., the end of the Vietnam war and all the violent conflicts since then (in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, etc.), including those against peoples like the war on drugs and the war on terrorists.  In the wars against peoples, anywhere can be a battlefield. Persons are killed (or jailed or tortured or whatever) indiscriminately and wantonly.   Anyone can die.  No one is safe.  No place is safe.

Probably most of the audience of Here Lies Love were not yet born or were children when Marcos was in power.  He and Imelda are distant concerns, a fuzzy reality.

-o-o-o

About 6 years ago, Nora visited the Philippines on the occasion of the passing of her brother.  During her stay she stumbled upon and impulsively bought a 1.5 acre Island.  She made the excuse that she bought the island as a gift for my birthday, but I knew what was really going on.  She wanted to go home. 

Later we found out the island (Nora’s Island) could only be leased because it is government property and that we had to allow public access.  We subsequently bought a small beachfront property (Flores sanctuary).  We built a house there.  We will spend part of the year in the Philippines and part of the year in the U.S.  We have homes in both countries.  

 

End-of-the-year-Letter: 2023

 

Holiday newsletter of Luis Flores marking the end of 2023

This is the first year I am writing what in the past has been referred to as a “Christmas” letter.  I am not writing a Christmas letter, more of musings at the end-of-2023.   

I am retired from giving Christmas gifts to my kids because they are no longer kids.  I will continue to strive to give gifts to friends and family, but these may not coincide with Christmas or any other social holiday or birthday.  It is partly because I am in cognitive decline.

Neither am I having a Christmas family gathering, not even a video conference.  I will spend Christmas day with Nora and the Quiason extended family.  They have succeeded in keeping several generations together in a small but active extended family community.   

While I am not having a Christmas gathering, I welcome all those who wish to connect and visit with us (Nora and myself).  All are welcome to our home.

An overview of all family members will be too lengthy to attempt in such a brief note of the past year.  There have been no additions.  The youngest of the family is Hannah Juliette Flores (Paulo’s and Ali’s daughter) who was born in March 2022.  No divorces in 2023 and no deaths.  We remember those who have passed away in the last couple of years – Alex, Pauline, Katherine, Josie, Audrey.   

Our family is all over: New Zealand (Bengoy and Amy), Canada (My brother and his family: Lanny, Aileen, Ian and kids), Philippines (too many to enumerate), Australia (Emilie and Tess), U.S. (New York, Kansas, Missouri, Seattle, San Francisco, etc.).    

I have lost contact with some family members but I understand they are all doing well and coming into their own.   Alejandro, Rebecca and Carlo went for a visit to the Philippines this year.  Froilan is living happily with his half-sister in Idaho.  The young adults have new jobs and challenges (Maya, Nathaniel, Nickolas, Collin, Carson, Dylan).  Jackson Leo Flores (4-years old) started pre-school.   All are moving along fruitfully with the business of living – Emilie, Dan, Melissa, Allan, Robert, Paulo, Allison, Bengoy, Amy,

Nora is no longer receiving chemotherapy for her cancer.  She is moving away from the strictly medical towards incorporating the energies of the universe.  She is a Swami, a Buddhist, now an emerging Shaman towards self-healing and well-being. 

I will re-write and continue my writing of the “Coming of Age of the Elderly.”  It is mostly a memoir, a closure, a tying together.  I will also post our travel chronicles and other items of interest in my blog, walangsukat.blogspot.com.  I only write to and cook for people I know.

We will continue our association with close friends and colleagues.

This year has been and still is politically, socially and environmentally catastrophic.   Too many things are approaching and wavering on the brink of disastrous change.  Too many people are dying, too many are starving without water and the essentials of living.  Too many are at war.

Happy Holidays!!  Our love and best to you all.  We have a rough road ahead.

Luis and Nora