May 2010 - Antioch, California

mga 'tol sabi ko nga kay Allan nakangiti pa 'ko hanggang ngayon sa sobrang saya. Pero sa totoo lang tol na-oblak yata ko, ubos hokbu ko dahil mula Union Square sa downtown Sanfo hanggang Bakersfield eh naka top-down si Flip...di ko maramdaman mukha ko, nabura yata. Eh alam mo naman ako, batang Recto lang, di ko akalain na makakasakay ako sa kotseng tinanggalan ng bubong. Hanggang ngayon sunog pa anit ko....nakalimutan ko lagyan ng left-over na KY, ha, ha....sama daw si Luis sa susunod. Eroplano naman daw kami mula LA punta NorCal kung mauulit. Sana naman hindi eroplanong convertible dala ni Luis, ha, ha....Di biro 'tol, kung mauulit 'tong reunion sa December I don't mind renting a convertible and driving again with Flip. Kakaiba 'to dahil top-down in winter, mula LA to San Fran...dare ko nga si Flip sabi ko sige hubad tayo ha habang nag dadrive, walang bubong, walang heater tingnan natin. Seriously, we had fun, fun, fun, nothing can replace that in this world we're in right now. A well deserved break from the worries in the world, sponsored by no other than our loved ones from NorCal...

To top it off, hats-off to our host this year, Ricky 'udaman' Reyes. Thank you Ricky and to his lovely wife Lynn and daughter na nagmana ng katalinuhan at kabaitan kundi sa mga magulang! Huwag kang madadala Ricky. It was not too long ago when we met by chance at Asia Garden Buffet in Valencia. I asked Ricky, you look familiar...have we met before? (ha, ha...good old pick-up line) Siguro kung kengkoy si Ricky sinabi nya sa 'kin...eh sira ulo ka pala magkaklase tayo no'ong high school. Which of course nasa isip n'ya lang 'yon. But in a very polite way he said we were batchmates in high school. We found you Ricky and you found us, your Bedan brothers. Ricky, maraming salamat 'tol. Your warm reception will not be forgotten.

There were a handful of batchmates who made it to the get-together. Kadyo 'gay or no gay' delos Santos...down but not out. A couple of hours laughing and alaskahan made a huge difference for Archie. Skip, andito lang kami. We were a team back then, we're still a team until now. Thank you for taking the time to be with us...keep in touch 'bro, we will reach out! Richard 'REALtor' Lee...salamat sa oras mo 'tol...we know you're a busy man but managed to be with the group. Thanks for the accommodation. ..next time ituloy natin 'yong pagtira sa isa sa mga bahay na ibinebenta mo...request lang, pwede ba 'yong may pool saka jacuzzi? ha, ha...biro lang 'tol. Hindi ko masyadong kilala si Aymon Reyes masyado when we were in high school...kalog din pala 'to, ha, ha.... you are indeed a bonafide member of the beda7882 batch! Thank you pareng Aymon. It was nice meeting Judith, as well. Sonny 'Serapion Akhbar' Torre, ikaw ang buhay at mitsa ng get-together na 'to. Thanks for your never ending effort and sacrifice. Ala una na ng madaling araw nagluluto pa si Sonny. Di lang 'yon, habang nagluluto, naglalaba pa saka nagpaplantsa, ha..ha.....' yan si Akhbar...kita n'yo ba picture n'ya? Pwera biro 'tol, hats off to you my brother. Sonny and Grace joined us the following day for lunch with Jimmy Yulit, thanks for your time 'bro! It was wonderful to see Grace again. Keep the fire burning, 'tol! Si Roland 'Cabron' Cabrera...di pa rin nagbabago... nasa isip pa rin nya buddy-buddy niya noong grade school...kaklase natin na ang last name ay Doctor. Remember him? Roland is still the jolly-type guy. Ang mga taong masayahin bumabata itsura kahit bumibilang ang taon. 'Tol kahit single ka pa rin, it looks like you are enjoying life to the utmost! Sana makarating na rin tasyo mo sa Merica to be with you. He jokingly said, kapag ang syota mo more than 50 miles away, parang wala na rin 'yon....eh Roland bak naman pareho lang kayo ng sinasabi, 'tol, - dyok lang 'tol. We wish your mother the best. May the Lord bless her and may she find comfort with your caring and affection. Keep in touch Roland. God bless, 'tol! Seatle's best...I mean you still are throughout the years, kami'y pumupugay (at kayo nama'y pumopogay) kay Julius Gamponia and Allan Garcia. These two guys deserve recognition from the Californians. Mapa-SoCal or NorCal, present 'tong dalawang 'to. We admire your dedication to the group Julius and Allan. Which means our brotherhood in the West Coast reverberates towards North (kasi kung south, chikano kayo!) Thank you both for coming. Sorry mga 'tol, napasarap tulog ko eh, sana nabisita ko kayo sa kabilang kwarto, tutal wala naman si Flip, three's company sana tayo, ha, ha....huwag kayong madadala, next week uli kina Poco naman, lipad uli kayo dito! darating daw si Luis! Our special guest all the way from PI to Louisiana then to SF...Jessie Cuenco! Maraming salamat 'tol at pinaunlakan mo ang aming paanyaya. You were at the right place at the right time. Pinagbubuklod tayo ng Panginoon upang magkasama-samang muli. Thanks again to Julius and Allan for picking-up Jessie from Vallejo coming from Oakland airport. Jessie pare, let us know kung mapadpad ka uli dito sa Barackland! Have a safe flight back home! Of course, the SoCal boys, Christian 'still Flip' Ylagan, Victor Uy and yours truly. You can never tell kung ini-stir ka ni Chris or not...si Jimmy Yulit ang latest victim, ha..ha... It was fun being with Chris and Joanne. Pre' don't forget advise ko sa 'yo para magkasama-sama pa tayo nang matagal-tagal. Sanayin mo lang sarili mo kumain ng konti, solve ka na. Be healthy so you'll be happy...no stir, 'tol! Vic pare, it was a pleasure meeting your family. It felt like you are in control, mababait mga anak mo. I'm sure mabait ka rin sa panganay mong linebacker. You've raised your own personal bodyguard. 'Tol maraming salamat. Thank you also for hooking-up Jimmy with the group. Mr. Jimmy Yulit and wife Joy are co-owners of Toppings Filipino/Chinese Restaurant in the Bay Area. Kung sino man bumabatok kay Jimmy nong araw, mahiya naman kayo. Eto na si Jimmy, a very successful batchmate. Makatao, service oriented kaya matagumpay! It was nice to see you again, Jimmy. Our batchmates wish you the best on your business. Ang no. 1 customer ni Jimmy sina Sonny at Grace. Suki na sila ng restaurant for the longest time, ngayon lang nalaman ni Sonny kaklase pala niya ang may-ari...such a small world. Sonny boy, ikaw yata bumabatok kay Jimmy eh! Pakabait ka Akhbar, hire ka na daw ni Jimmy!

Meron pa ba 'kong nakalimutan? Dito na nagtatapos nobela ko mga kapatid. It was truly a very memorable and enjoyable moment. Sana maulit muli! Sa haba ng nobelang 'to makikita n'yo na I have a lot of time on my hands. Sa tingin ko ngayon lang 'tong araw na 'to kasi bakasyon eh. Bukas back to work, back to reality na naman. Next stop, Edward Soriano's love shack for summer pool party. speedos optional, ha, ha....Surpriiiise Edward! ha, ha.....

Animo!
Erwin Canela