“This place was part of him, and would always be. A rough place, a stern place, where it was monumental task just to survive. And it had given him some of its strength.” Max Braithwaite, All the Way Home (1986). By Rey Moreno “Don’t judge me until you learn the facts and circumstances of my life. Don’t take… Read More »
“When the plane was taking off…I will start everything again elsewhere…I was simply looking for a haven.” Ying Chen, “On the Verge of Disappearance”. The plane took off on schedule. I was at the window seat and looked out one last time, reflecting on the glaring but fading lights of the Philippine International Airport and its surrounding areas.… Read More »
“When you do something best in life, you don’t really want to give that up – and for me it’s tennis.” – Roger Federer The literal translation of the French words in the above title is “game of the palm.” The game of tennis then started as a handball game, and whenever the French would serve, they would… Read More »
“But I have learned that kindness and love can pay for pain and suffering.” Alan Paton, Cry, the Beloved Country (1948). Wedding day is one of life’s important milestones for a woman. Being the centre of attention once in a while is a reaffirming moment to an elevated status that is hard to come by. That was on… Read More »
“Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan.” What’s that hyphen for? Does that mean you’re not a pure Pinoy anymore? Yep, I used to be one but I renounced it to become a Canadian citizen. Also, I have lived a lot longer in Canada than the Philippines. My daughter and granddaughter were born here. Canada… Read More »
“There are no wrong turnings. Only paths we had not known we were meant to walk.” – Guy Gavriel Kay Dear Graduates You honour me for selecting me as your commencement speaker when you can have a better person than I am. As some of you may have known, I am a homosexual. I hope my revelation won’t… Read More »
“The truth is that where you stand does affect what you see.” William Kaplan, Why Dissent Matters (2017) Rosario and I were inseparable when we were in high school. We did things together during our classes. We were seated side by side in the classroom, studied together and had lunch together to update ourselves with the latest gossips.… Read More »
“Ubos, ubos biyaya, mayat maya’y nakatunganga.” From my wife’s collection of Tagalog proverbs. “The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep somewhere else another stops.” Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot. By Rey Moreno Grace loved her family so much. So at age 17, she decided to look for a job… Read More »
(When reading or listening about the life of Jesus, the greatest story ever told, I keep wondering what the conversations would be like. This three-act play is meant to do just that. For its historical context, I refer to the Four Gospels of the New Testament. The characters, therefore, are real, but the conversations are merely fictional. They… Read More »
“For to travel is always, in some sense, to learn. What we don’t know yet, is to be found Elsewhere.” – Hugh Kenner, The Elsewhere Community (1998). By Rey Moreno My name is Samuel “Rocky” Magtaka. My first name was not an accident. My parents were deeply religious Catholics, so were my grandparents and also my ancestors who… Read More »