Happy 6 ____

The celebrant skipped town - er,rather, skipped the country. It will be his birthday on Tuesday. How old is he? He is receiving letters from AARP you know. How is he going to spend his day? I have no idea. We already had dinner with good friends before he left.
He probably will not even know about this article I wrote. He is not my biggest fan. He is my worst critic though.
Jim will probably have his halo-halo on the 28th. He will want a glass of red wine I'm sure. I'll drink to that.
Nakakapanibago. There is nobody in the office to nag us with our paperworks. There is no body to answer the IRS on tax queries. ( hah - I'm left to do that. How do you drive these pests away?)
He'll be back later than sooner. And pretty soon, I'll start complaining again of his presence. Here's to you buddy - one year closer to retirement.
His favorite tune -

Friendships Part 2

This Part 2 write up is all about Friendship too. This time around it is my generation. We had dinner at Tacoma with Santiago (Agoy) Rivero and family. He is a couple of generations ahead of me but we move in the same circle of friends from Agno, Pangasinan. I like calling him Agoy. That makes him very familiar to me. It was heartwarming to see him again - of all places - Tacoma, Washington.
Kasinsin na dagiti Cudal nga taga daya. He prepared my request - tuna kilawin. We reminisced about our small town and the people we remembered nga pagkakatawaan.
You look good - kunak kanyana. Kasla sing-meng-pet pay itti itsuram. Ngem karuprupam latta ni Tiyo Jaime!!!

Friendships

The whole family drove to Chicago over the weekend to attend a very significant event - Neil and Gawin's wedding. It was held at the Promontory Point at Hyde Park. AJ was the groomsman - he was Neil's best friend from way back grade school.
Jim and I were excited to attend the wedding. We knew we were going to see the old friends crowd. They are not our friends but AJ's friends. The young men and women he grew up with. The kids we saw grow up with our son.
Here are pictures of the bestfriends - Neil and AJ.


Chicago lived up to its name as the Windy City. Saturday was cloudy and cold. There was forecast of rain. The parking spaces were limited. Our good friends Ramil and Lani offered to drop us at the Park before they proceed to their Lamierda.
The ceremony went smoothly. The trio of two violins and a cello provided the music before and during the ceremony. Familiar "Beatles" songs were played.
Gawin's gown was exquisite - especially made just to fit her. Both mothers were pretty. I wonder how they felt all along.



The young kids were not so young anymore. I hardly recognized them. One of them approached Jim and I to ask if we still remember him. Embarrassingly, No. He apparently was one of the boys that trashed our basement on Friday nights together with the rest of the gang.




They all have grown to be fine young men and women. They seem so sure of themselves. They seem to be on top of their game. I made myself remember. I am not their crowd. But I was a part of their growing up years. That basement of ours indeed served its purpose. An album of of memories have been etched out on its walls.

Didn't I say it was cold that Saturday morning? James was kind enough to loan me his coat.