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FAMILY

The Tangonan Family of Tambo, Paranaque - Sandi, Remy & Jeeves.

F

amily – one word with deeper and extensive meaning. As Harraps book of knowledge succinctly states – a group of persons closely related to each other like: father, mother and their children and so forth...

Since birth, the word itself evolved in a way none of us, if ever there’s one, who could explain with certainty how instinct works and yet, its presence so intense you can feel it in your bones unless you were born with an intelligence of extraordinary frequency not inherent of the majority of us.

Family – what’s in the name? For all of us to discern and really comprehend this so esoteric a word, I think we need to analyze the word or rather, break it down from its conception to aspect, objectivity and essence.

Conception – self-preservation, birth & formative years.

Aspect – love, communication, forgiveness, parenting & provisions (material and emotional).

Essence – acceptance of being there and what you can do for yourself and your family.

Objectivity – hope, frugality, stoicism, patience, determination, diligence & prayers, to name a few.

Unfortunately, there's no school to address this particular subject matter nor offers a course to make it a place to start when one decides to enter a new phase in life which is the family. At least, it’ll give and help you to have some right notion what you’re getting into.

Whatever knowledge we learned about it is more likely from our parents, relatives and friends. The question is, were those things still applicable to your own situation, if ever it comes?

Nonetheless, for any family to work out right, everyone has to give his/her share of sacrifice for whatever it takes to make a home. In other words, a family affair is a concerted effort like a team should be. The father secures the bread; the mother prepares it and the children setting the table while others clean the dishes after the meal. Let one person carry all the obligations and you’ll find a hostile atmosphere all-around and such family situation is never a happy one – only a breeding place for contempt, discontentment, hatred and more disturbing thoughts you may never dream can happen in a family.

On the aspect of support and the so-called provision – it is a necessity and obligation. Who doesn’t need money? But never for one moment let it cloud your judgment and make you blind and your heart into a stone. Remember, you may run out of money at times when you need it most but never let your heart run out of love and compassion if only to fulfill your needs. Money and material things are not everything – a family is. And family is god. When a righteous man is in trouble, he only seek-out two places: home and church – the home where his family is…to find solace and support, the church - where God and love abounds.

With communication, there are things better left unsaid and matters that wishes to be heard like expressions of love. A phrase seldom spoken in these troubled times in many homes and more often construed as rhetoric. If I may ask, what is more important than family and love? I don’t know. All I know is, without it, where would you be, in orphanage, in the street, in jail, in places where you would never relish anything – not even for one minute of your life. Worse, without it, it’s like missing one half of your life – there seems to be always something lacking.

As for parenting, we could only give our best effort in our own ways to raise a decent and loving person(s) out of your children and it doesn’t end there. For when the time comes for them to have their own family, they would only be too glad to give them their best too – what they had from us and what they have for them, nothing less. When we say, the best, it only means we’ll go as far as we can and within reason as well as our capability to do it.

The hard part is going through it and come out of it in one piece unscathed – the heart of the matter. I guess I’m okay… I’ve been there.

Well, there’s more to the word than meets the eye, believe you me…

THE JOY OF COOKING

Fine Filipino Food

I

t simply is a pure delight when I’m in the kitchen. It’s like magic – beating, kneading, mashing, shaking, stirring and more. And voila! You come out with a MOUTHWATERING GEM in your hands out of something innocuous and insignificant matter with a lot of people going gaga over it!!! The taste and experience you had put into it just plain enough to wreak havoc on your taste buds.

Speaking of this particular field of work, here at home, it is appallingly underrated with the misconception of banality. Although no one would openly admit it, our so-called Philippine Cuisine is nothing but a farce; a flimsy attempt to boost our already bloated and unpopular ego relying only on poor imitation of Western and other Asian Cuisine among other things.

Instead of rooting out what is true and our very own food preparations and tradition, we take short-cuts and spoil things…a faux pas the undeserving younger generation will carry through their lifetime our unthinking but knowing elders unwittingly left in their wake in pursuit of a complete identity.

A typical example, to name a few: lumpia (fresh or cooked spring rolls), all pancit (including molo), tokwa’t baboy or any guisado of meat or vegetable variations are of Chinese orgin.

All tomato and pot sauce based meat & rolls like: apritada, caldereta, embutido, empanada & estufado are basically Spanish viands. Their names alone speak for it self.

Another thing, you’ll notice as you go deeper into culinary exposure especially among our elders in their preference of having “ulo ng isda” for sabaw, laman- loob whether guisado or adobo claiming it to be a Filipino specialty, are all hogwash.

Way back during the Spanish colonial rule, them, being our masters, it is no wonder that only left-over and unwanted portions of foods are thrown to the dogs or to be blunt, slaves that we were, then and there, such defensive and shameful notion was born. To think that my long experience working with western people as our past colonizers, not once I’ve heard them utters openly about fish-head or animal innards as their favorite food item, much less eat them with gusto and in public? Not a chance!

However I detest what our past made us to accept, it is because we were not given a choice and we cannot change it .We could only do the best out of the present and the future by learning from our mistakes and shortcomings, if only to make a difference.

The best training one could get in life practically about anything only happens at home…the kind of upbringing you get from your parents. Life becomes precious when one went through a lot of hardships and in the course of this events, you’ll learn to appreciate even the simplest of things. And simple things often meant a lot.

The good thing is, it is only nowadays that Filipinos, young and old alike, are beginning to recognize the true worth the art of cooking represents. One proof – is the proliferation of cooking schools not to add that every respectable universities and colleges in town have B.S.H.R.M. in their curriculum.

Despite the fact that a minority of men folks (chauvinistic group) expressed differently and asserted that cooking is a women thing??? This notion came into the picture when wives and mothers performs the kitchen chores since the time we even learn to walk – a tradition and obligation handed down through generations.

Well, I’ve got news for them. First of all, cooking is for every one. Secondly, try and visit every palace, hotels & restaurants you happen to be where you are at any given time, and you’ll be confronted with a cold certainty that majority of the chefs and their assistants are of the genus of men.

Men or Women, whatever you do in life and loved the things you do, then you are confidently at peace with yourself. That is, what is important and life is all about…

ISANG MAGANDANG SIMULA

I've written quite a number of love and inspirational songs in the early eighties (80's), one of which is the one i would like to share with everyone so much that i would settle to pass it as a poem.

This particular song sends a very compelling and touching message, if not total awareness, to all of us, and as an eye-opener of what is happening around us, especially the environment. The environment in which we all knew, grew up with it, devoured and relished its blessings and yet so abused and ignored only few people in our midst seem to care...

I wish i could sing this lovely song for you and i'd like to dedicate this song to all the people out there to awaken their hearts to give a helping hand, make a fresh start and reach out. For now, to read it as a POEM would serve its purpose. AWARENESS!!! MAHALIN ANG KALIKASAN, MABUHAY TAYONG LAHAT!!!