It was late last year when I participated in Janette Toral’s Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2008. Now, the competition is in its third year, and is made possible by the following sponsors, Absolute Traders, My Brute Cheats, Business Summaries, Fitness Advantage Club, Events and Corporate Video, Events at Work, Dominguez Marketing Communications, Red Mobile, Budget hotel in Makati, Lucio C. Tan Group of Companies, and Blog4Reviews.com.

There are several blogs I would like to recommend but most of them don’t qualify because they have been created before May 1, 2008, which is one of the major criteria.

This has made my selection more difficult because I have to go around the blogosphere, read blogs and determine if the criteria are met. I do have blogs which aptly fill out the recommended requirements; for this, I have listed them first.

After going around a bit, I came up with my complete list. Without further ado, here are my Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009:

1. The Struggling Blogger

This blog is owned by Roy dela Cruz, a loving father cum doting mother to his 3 children. I always call him, the “indomitable” blogger because of what he writes and how he writes his articles. There’s a certain, wanton angst in his undaunted words. But mind you, he’s not only that – he has a sweet side too – he’s a poet and a short story writer. Now, can you beat that? A Jekyll and Hide? lol. Just kidding , Roy. I know you’ve got the bird’s eye view of this man. If not, then visit his 13 blogs -yes 13!-( the others are multiply accounts), and you’ll surely comprehend the conundrum of this man behind these blogs.

Here are his informative and well written blogs:

• Be Inspired Now!
• Etsetera! Etsetera!
• Kapampangan Blog
• Letters To Mama
• Money OnLine
• more than just copy-paste
• REFLECTIONS
• Roysville dot Com
• Short Stories Blog
• Subukan Taya Ing Kapampangan!
• Sugar Coated World
• The Gospel Of Roy
• The House Of Puroy
• The House Of Puroy Enterprises
• The Struggling Blogger dot Com

I am a witness also, to how his blogs grew slowly but steadily into popular blogs in the blogosphere. He has now an increased readership and is fast becoming a blog to beat; hence this endorsement. Way to go, Roy!

2. Zorlone

Dr. Lorenzo Bernardino known in the blogging world simply as Zorlone is now considered one of the top ranking blogs in the creative writing division of Entrecard.

He says : “I am a specialist in Internal Medicine.
This blog will be dedicated to my other passion, writing. Starting a practice in medicine sure gave me a lot of time to write. While waiting for patients to come, I found myself typing articles for helium and for this blog.”

And true enough, he is not only a competent doctor but a superb poet and a short story writer as well. He has already won writing contests sponsored by other blogs and writes for two great sites – Helium and Triond where his articles are excellently ranked .

I have seen how his blog grew from one reader -that’s me – to a well read blog in just a matter of months.

His blog is only 4 months old but he has 41 followers to date, and his posts are very well commented on. I have now to wait in line to be able to comment… lol… I could only have one appropriate word for this occurrence – a “Phenomenal” event!

I have no qualms in recommending ZORLONE as one of the
Top 10 emerging influential blogs.

3. Writing to Exhale

I chanced upon Jan’s blog when I was reading Roy’s comments. Jan has this certain jocularity and profoundness rarely seen in writers. I came out laughing – but more informed – from his post: Sex Taught Me All the Things I Need to Know About Blogging.

Sometimes he gets more than a dozen comments in his posts. There is a certain “charisma” that a reader can’t ignore.

He writes with flair and aplomb and I admire him for such boldness. The blogosphere needs writers like Jan – not fearful to express their – sometimes – scathing and atypical thoughts.
Informative articles about diverse topics ranging from blog contests to The Lost Art of Being Silly, and many more extraordinary posts are featured in his blog.

His blog deserves a vote for this contest.

To Jan -Kudos to you!

4. LifeLots

IRENE is the author of LIFELOTS, an upcoming blog which inspires and motivates its readers to live life to the fullest.

At her young age (19 yrs), Irene speaks with so much wisdom and a startling conviction about vital topics that only adults are supposed to know of.

She says: “No regrets, just lessons learned…”

With her jovial disposition and unfaltering optimism, she is a blogger worth visiting. Don’t just drop and run though, for there is so much wisdom you can glean from her posts.

HERE’S ONE ARTICLE I STRONGLY RECOMMEND FOR YOU TO PONDER ON. It is entitled: Interpret tough experience as an exercise in compassion.
This is only one of the various topics in her inspiring collection.

Hop over her site and peruse her posts and you’ll understand what I mean.

Irene, keep holding a torch for those wayward souls who have given in to apathy and indifference. The blogosphere needs you!

5. Father Blogger Dot Com

Angel Cuala is the formidable man behind this blog.

Like most fathers, he writes passionately about his family and how to be a successful family man both emotionally and financially as well.

He has that unfaltering faith in God that makes him meet the challenges that life has to offer. read his post about family : “Battered Wives: Not Just a Problem of Physical Abuse” and “Blogging Tips”.

You should visit his blog and learn from his first hand experiences.

He says : “Being a former street child who was raised without a mother, my advocacy now is to help all families to stay together and be happy. This is very far from what I used to do, but this is very close to my heart.”

This blogger who has triumphantly hurdled numerous “trials” that life assailed him with, deserves a vote from everyone!

Keep going Angel, we’ll always be praying for you.

6. Dear Bloggery

I just had the pleasure of “meeting” Snow from Roy’s post and I am delighted to see how lovely she is…lol…. But there is more behind those sparkling eyes, the lady has a lot inside her dura matter .

I visited her blog and she has a lot to offer with regards to being updated with current events, local news and many more interesting stories.

Snow has this to say for herself: “I am currently working in a multinational firm but loves to write about anything under the sun. I also like a lot of stuffs but digs on reading, web surfing, travelling, shopping and writing as my major hobbies.“

She is fast gaining friends in the blogging world and is starting to exert some influence which would soon be felt by many bloggers, for sure. Right on, and keep writing Snow!

7. Life of a Teenage Writer

Izzy Daniels is the author of this blog.

“I’ve picked up a love for writing, and enjoy other activities, such as telling jokes, and break dancing,” he says.

His posts like, “5 Things you should learn before starting a blog” and other articles about blogging and writing are worth a read.

They are informative and rich with good insights.

He writes for Triond.com and is into a variety of genre: creative writing - “The Admiration of a Good Friend”, novels – “A Letter From Tobias Zeling” and poetry- “Hole” .

If you need help, Izzy is one generous blogger who is willing to spend time just to give a hand to a fellow blogger.

Thanks Izzy, the blogosphere needs more bloggers like you and you deserve a vote for the Ten Most Influential Blogs for 2009!

8. I Love-Hate America

This blog is authored by BING.

She is a highly spirited woman who can be generous and sweet, but who would speak out her mind with candor about issues she feels strongly about.

Her blog is fast emerging into a blog which could serve as the popular “voice” of Filipino immigrants in America.

Visit her blog to know why she deserves to be voted as one of these influential blogs.

9. Tales From the Mom Side

I consider this list incomplete without a blog that represents the hardworking Moms (HWOMs) out there. One such blog is Tales from the Mom Side.

This blog is authored by Dee who writes about Love and Relationships, Money Matters, Parenting , Reading and Writing, Giveaways, and many more topics that only a mother could expertly discuss.

We watch the same genre of movies : “Mamma Mia, North & South, Pride and Prejudice (BBC Version) The Duchess, The Notebook” ( I cried a river in this movie, did you cry too Dee?)

The lady is not only a doting and loving mother but (I believe)is also a successful career woman. I am certain she deserves a vote from this blog. Good luck, Dee!

10. SEOWRIGHT.COM

This newly created blog is owned by Kevin Paquet, a 17 yr-old student from Davao City. Kevin co-authors Pinoy Teens – which is ranked 11th, nationwide, among thousands of blogs in the Top Pinoy Blogs.
Isn’t that quite a feat? (mine is only no. 432…something). To list more of his superb credentials, here’s an excerpt from a post written by his blogging buddies:

Start of excerpt:

“…The Digital Filipino Club event when you came home with bright eyes saying “bes, we’re the tenth hottest blogs among the new blogs for 2008“? Or the Mindanao Bloggers Summit, the WordCamps that you have attended in Davao City and Saint Benilde; Manila? Still it seemed to be “nothing” really special to him…”

End of excerpt.

The ultimate award of becoming one of the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs, would be the crowning glory to his blogging career.

I tip my hat off to these young bloggers. Although they still have a long way to go to improve, I could not ignore their unyielding angst to be recognized by other bloggers. This admirable attitude made me vote for him.

Blogs to watch our for ( I would have included them, if I were to vote for two more)

1. Kelvinonian Ideas 2.0

This is owned by Kelvin Servigon. Just like Kevin, Kelvin is a teener who wants to make it big in the blogosphere. He’s armed with only his dreams and a persistent desire to fulfill his goals.
He says:

“…I’m just a simple teen guy just like anybody else. I am now studying at Bulacan State University taking up Civil Engineering course. I used to love computers since I was a kid. I know how to use Adobe Photoshop CS3…”

Kelvin, you’ll go a long way for sure, even without being voted for the contest.

2. I’m disheartened to know that ELMOT’S blog Ani-mo!!! is not qualified for the Contest. Anyway he still deserves to be featured. Elmot is the proud owner of “Ani-mo”.

I also “met” him at Roy’s blog. He writes about a variety of articles, and will surely go a long way in this blogging world.

“… this blog is my online alter-ego. I post here my reactions, reflections, joys, triumphs, and frustrations about philippines politics and social issues and blogging. I love to comment on things but I am not the eternal cynic type…,” he says this about his blog.

Right on, Elmot!
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By JEAN KNILL

The letter was an official one from the local council, landlord of the lease of the apartment I’d bought six years before in 1990. My hand shook as I pulled it out of the envelope.

Weeks before, I’d attended a meeting where we residents learnt that the council was considering adding an additional lift to the block. As a home owner, I would be liable to pay a share of the cost. It would be in the region of £10,000.

For me that was yet another nightmare. The children and I had been living a roller coaster existence since Edward, my policeman husband, left us to live with someone else when Susie was not yet three and Stephen nine years old.

I was devastated and my feelings were a strange mix of meekness and pride. He had rejected me and I would show him that I didn’t need him. I became fiercely independent. Very foolishly, I agreed to a do-it-yourself divorce, all the custody and access arrangements, and maintenance for the children of £9 each a week until they were 16 – no maintenance for me. I think we had the cheapest divorce on the planet.

Of course, we were evicted from the free police married quarters once we were divorced. I’d applied for social housing before this and when it became imminent, the council put us in a halfway house before I incurred any fees for court hearings.

Three months later I accepted their offer of the apartment.

When his father left, it had hit Stephen really hard; Susie was too young to understand, and she was still the apple of her father’s eye. But her brother suffered and hit out indiscriminately. In the years that followed he got into all sorts of trouble and became totally estranged from his father. When Edward remarried Susie was a bridesmaid but Stephen was not invited.

I truly believe that the reason I survived three diagnoses of breast cancer was because my children still needed me. When I decided to take up my ‘Right to Buy’ option on our flat, it was because I desperately wanted to have a chance to leave them something after I was gone.

Although there was never much money, we’d had plenty of happy times. I was a working mother and somehow managed to pay for activities for the children. One summer, they each had a week caring for horses and learning to ride. We spent time with friends at each other’s homes. Once Susie started school, I even managed to go back to college and get a degree.

Eventually I met Philip – another single parent who lived in our block with his two daughters. We couldn’t afford package holidays but we all went camping together.
In 1996, my offspring were aged 25 and 32. Stephen had missed out on qualifications and was unable to hold down a job. He had moved north and married but that hadn’t worked out and he’d come home to Mum. I was providing a home for him and supporting him. Susie had worked abroad and was now renting a nearby bedsitter and continuing to work as a nanny.

Philip and I were cohabiting. Still, I determined to remain independent and pay the mortgage and bills myself so that the home would remain mine and eventually my children’s.

The previous year, I had been made redundant from my full time job and had set up a business with an ex-colleague. We worked as consultants from our homes but were struggling to become recognised and were not yet making a profit.

I didn’t have £10 to spare, let alone the £10,000 that would be my share of the cost of the new lift. And I didn’t have the guaranteed income I needed to get a loan. I had eked out my redundancy money to cover my mortgage repayments and our living expenses, but there was very little left.

The letter I was opening from the landlord would give me their decision, which would tell me which way the roller coaster would be going next – up or down. I moved in slow motion as I pulled out the letter, unfolded it, set it down on the table in front of me, smoothed it out and started to read.

“Thank heavens. They’re not going to put in the new lift.” But what they were going to do was raze the building to the ground. Was this any better news? It meant they would buy the flat back from me at current market value.

Unfortunately there had been a slump in the housing market. They offered me a lot less than the value they placed on it when I bought it. But I had qualified for the full discount when I bought. I would have a small amount of equity.

The council’s offer was less than my own independent valuation. My solicitor set up negotiations that would result in a little extra.

Meanwhile I was still living the nightmare of not knowing if we would end up homeless. If I could get another mortgage, I wasn’t going to be able to buy locally in South London where prices were so high. I contacted all the housing associations with shared ownership schemes but nothing came up for me, although what we discovered did allow Susie to get her own home soon afterwards.

For a long time I’d had a pipe dream of living in the country. Years before, I’d shared a holiday cottage in Dorset with a friend and had fallen in love with the surrounding countryside. I wondered what house prices would be like in the county. After all, it was half way to where my sister lived in the west. And Philip was happy to move there with me. He was a minicab driver in London and could get a taxi licence to operate in Dorset.

Calls to estate agents brought a flood of property information and I began to look at locations along the train line from London. My computer and I could be based anywhere but, until I could afford a car, I’d need to be able to travel to my clients’ businesses by public transport.

I was overjoyed when I found out that prices in the Blackmore Vale were within my reach. After viewing a number of houses, I chose one not far from the station. It was in a quiet area set back from the road in a group that surrounded a green and some trees.

It wasn’t easy getting another small mortgage but I eventually found a lender that would accept me as self employed. Philip and I are married now, and we have plenty of equity in our home, which is a freehold property with gardens front and back.
The nightmare is over and we’ve been living the dream, half way between where our three girls live and my sister in the opposite direction, with Stephen and his new girlfriend only four miles away.

I have another dream now that’s about to come true. Soon we’ll be moving to another lovely home at the seaside. I truly believe that, however hard things get, you should never stop dreaming. Life is just taking you towards the fulfilment of your dreams.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JEAN KNILL has two successful blogs to her name , Jean’s Musings and Jak’s Blog.
She is also a noted writer at Constant Content where she has discussed a variety of topics from The Infectious Romp that is Mamma Mia to Legends of The Three Gorges.

She has this to say for herself:
“I started freelance writing in the early 1980s and have been been published in many UK magazines and newspapers, as well as in writing and travel e-zines. Until recently, I had to slot the writing in beside teaching and marketing projects. Now I have retired from these sidelines and am revelling in the freedom to write as much as I want.”

Thanks Jean for contirbuting your 2nd heart-warming story. This one tugged at my heartstrings and inspired me more than you’ll ever know.

Photo 1 by mescon
Photo 2 by tata_aka_T

Congratulations to all winners, Izzy, Roy, Zorlone and the rest of the group.

WOOF Contest – Top Picks

PoetryDragon Blogger – “A Moment Spend For Me Alone” – Poem about a suicidal person’s last moment.

Christable Anon – “myth” – The myth of life naked in the cold of

December…Zorlone – “Padyak” – “Escape is on thoughts of so many. If they are lucky to know a different life they can dream of it and try to take action. We don’t really know how badly people want to escape until we see that ourselves or live that experience.”-Alexandra GarlandJennifer M

Scott – “Elemental” – I went camping this past weekend and this is what I wrote.

About WritingIzzy Daniels – “Remaining Consistent is Key To good Writing” – Why consistency is important, and how we can go about find ways to set up goals for ourselves to remain consistent.

Script / Short Story
Roy – “The Strongest Link” – A short script I wrote for my son’s classroom presentation.

Jena Isle – “Go Home Yankees” – A story about an uncommon friendship.

By: Roy dela Cruz

I knew it wasn’t meant to be, but at the back of my mind, I wish it would be. From the start, I was silently protesting against my wife. But seeing her enthusiasm, hard as she tried to hide it, I just could’t let myself be the one to burst her bubble. And like I said, I too, though discreetly, was hoping it might work.

When Angel was only three years old – modesty aside – many people have told us that her name really fitted her. Like most parents, we taught our little Angel to sing and to dance, which she performed to our hearts’ delight.

Babies were the sweetest things to watch, especially if she was your own baby. The problem was that, when we asked her to perform when there were other people around, like close friends or relatives, she would run away, stood still or just clung to us. But she would not perform – leaving us embarrassed and trying our best to change the topic. Okay, so our little Angel wasn’t the showbiz type.

One day, my wife told me my little Angel was chosen by the day care to be the school’s candidate for the search for “Munting Prinsesa ng Angeles” (Little Princess of Angeles) in the upcoming town fiesta. I couldn’t remember how I reacted then. I didn’t say no, but neither did I say yes.

My wife knew that I wasn’t keen on the idea, but it didn’t bother her. She saw it as an opportunity to show the world how beautiful and talented our baby was. A sentiment that I shared with her. She also saw it as a chance for my baby to develop herself and somehow overcome her stage fright.

I, on the other hand, was very much worried. The thought of putting my little darling on the spot, this time with a bigger audience, filled me with anxiety.

But amidst my silent protest, my wife insisted. She said that she asked Angel if she wanted to do it, to which my baby said yes. So with less than two months before the contest, the preparation began.

The road to the beauty contest wasn’t a smooth one. For one, we couldn’t afford to hire a trainer that would help us train and develop my little Angel’s talent. Hence, we had no choice but to train Angel ourselves. But then again, I was a weekend father. Being assigned in a place far from home.

Her daycare teacher was very unsupportive and compromised my baby in the first place; this left my wife by her lonesome self to prepare Angel for the contest.

Juggling her schedule between teaching, herself being a teacher in secondary school, and looking after the studies of my other two sons, and training Angel and looking after the house and the children’s needs.

Something was bound to give, and so it did. My wife eventually got sick for a week, the succeeding weeks, my two sons alternately got sick, and Angel was sick almost every week. In fact, the day before the contest, my baby had fever, and the apathetic daycare teacher was of no help; she even threatened us, “Is Angel ready? Because if she’s not, I have someone who is ready and willing to replace her at a moment’s notice.” The nerve!

(TO BE CONTINUED)

All photos by Mel B.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Roy delaCruz is a dedicated and indomitable blogger who successfully authors 13 blogs namely, House of Puroy , Reflections, Letters to Mama Sugar Coated World The Struggling Blogger (1 & 2)
Be Inspired Now Subukan Taya Ing Kapampangan
The Copy Paste Blog Roysville AND
a creative writer (poetry and short story) with his newest baby: Short Stories Blog

Thanks Roy for being my Guest Blogger in the Inspirational Stories Book.

Oftentimes, you want your things personalized. You want your names etched in your pens, your bags, your tables, etc. You go to so much effort to establish your identity. You don’t want to be just “one of the guys”. You want to be different and unique.

There’s nothing wrong with this. It’s a natural human need to acquire your own identity and one way of doing this is by having your own mailbox customized according to your needs and specifications.

In this 20th century of computers and electronic gadgets, email internet services are predominantly used in writing and receiving mails. You still need mailboxes in your homes, though. This is because there would be parcels and other mails which you could only receive through your mail boxes.

Your mailbox could be customized the way you want it to be. You could select from several good designs, colors and sizes, be it for a single home or for big business companies.

There are a variety of Mailboxes that could fit amazingly into your house’s structure and individual lifestyle; all you have to do is to take your pick of these affordable mailboxes have it customized and you’re “ready for business.”

PATRICIA ROCKWELL, author of the blogs COMMUNICATION EXCHANGE and SUBJECTIVE SOUP has responded kindly to my question and request for a post on INDIFFERENT STUDENTS,
In response to this, here is her article “DEALING WITH INDIFFERENCE”.

Patricia is retired now and has been a professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the Northern Illinois University.

Her expertise in the field of education and communication has provided her with appropriate credentials to speak on topics such as Online Education and communication. She writes about a lot of topics under the sun, e.g. entertainment (Dancing with Warren Buffet), medical related articles, girl chat and many more. She does not only pen formal and academic papers but also has a creative venture – a novel, Sound of Murder, which she completed in the month of November for NaNoWriMo .

She writes too for Helium and Associated Content and has a book for sale entitled: Sarcasm and Other Mixed Messages: The Ambiguous Ways People Use Language .

Due to these, I had nominated her to the Blogger’s Choice 09 Awards for Best in Education Blog. Kindly click this link to vote for her.

Visit her blog and read various, interesting topics that could be very useful and relevant to you. Thanks Patricia and all the best!

By: JENA ISLE

My name is Pepe. I am 12 years old. People say nobody would read what I will write because I lack schooling and English is my second language but you see, I very much want to share with you the story of my friend Dave. I am confident that although I’m not really a writer, I hope I will be able to communicate the message I want to, through this story. My qualifications? I earned the “Best in English” in my grade six class. This is my story.

I met Dave one night in a bar. Right after I graduated from elementary, I worked as an errand boy for Paradise Bar. I wanted to earn to be able to continue my schooling the coming year.

Dave was not one of the “ugly Americans” as others call them. (“Go home, Yankees!” I often hear the cry of protesters in the streets.)

According to the women in the bar, he looked like Mel Gibson – the actor in Braveheart. (I watched that movie several times with them, and I had to agree.)

When the other airmen were noisily drinking, he was just in one corner, silently sipping his beer. He was also soft spoken and treated me kindly -unlike the other Americans. He always gave me a tip – not in coins but in paper- that was a lot for me.

Every night, he came to the bar, all by himself. The women would crowd around him and tried to talk to him, but in the end , he always preferred to be alone. One time when all the customers left and I was done gathering the empty bottles, he summoned me.

“What’s your name?” he smiled.

“Pepe” I answered.

“Where do you live?”

“Gueco Street.”

“Do you want to work for me?”

I was surprised, “What work?”

” A yard boy and someone to clean my house once a week,” he continued smiling at me. “Lighter work, and more pay”

” Yes, ” I nodded eagerly.

” You can start tomorrow.”

I started working for Dave. He lived alone in a three – room apartment near their Military Base. I learned that he was a pilot – an officer – he had a “wing” symbol on his military uniform. At times when I was done cleaning the yard, he would talk to me about his family back in Wyoming. How he missed them. He said he had a younger brother my age. (Perhaps that was why he had helped me?)

He went less and less to the Paradise Bar as days went on. He allowed me to stay in the other room of his apartment. I went home during weekends to give money to “Nanay” (mother). I was earning more and I was able to save money too.

During evenings, we would barbecue at the backyard and just talk. He asked
me about my family and my plans. I told him about how I wanted to go to high school; that I was the eldest of 5 children and that my parents could not get good jobs because they were not able to go to college too.

I was not telling him this to ask for help. I was telling him because he was able to encourage me to talk and I didn’t usually open up that easily. I think we were alike because we didn’t talk openly about ourselves to other people.

One day when he came home;

” Myrna, this is Pepe, Pepe this is Myrna – my girlfriend.”

I was shocked. I stared at her face and saw a smirk. I did not like her but I shook her hand anyway.

” Sige na, iwanan mo kami,” (Go on, leave us alone) she said in the dialect, so I left them.

I could hear Myrna’s laughter echoing in the house.

“You don’t like her,” Dave said when she left.

I did not reply.

“You’ll like her when you’ll get to know her better.” he said and I nodded.

Everyday thereafter, Myrna came to the house even when Dave was not there. She ordered me around like she owned me. I am not new to this as bad people always do that to poor people like me.

“Pagkatapos mong gawin iyan, labhan mo ang damit ko!” (After you’re done with that, wash my clothes!) She would bark the order at me.

I had no choice but to obey, she was my boss’ girlfriend and I could see that Dave’s happiness was complete with her around.

One day. when Dave was at work, Myrna came. She had a man with her. They went straight to Dave’s room. I can hear her giggling.

“ Eto, puede na ba ito? ” (this one, is this okay?) She asked the man.

There was no reply and when they came out, she was carrying Dave’s big camera in one hand.

“Ate,” I asked ” Saan po ninyo dadalhin iyan?” (Where will you bring that?)

“Wala ka na doon”, (It’s none of your business) she pouted at me.

I could not do anything when she walked past me. When evening came, Dave arrived and I waited for him to ask about the camera but he said nothing , so I presumed that everything was well.

During the days that followed however, I noticed that Myrna no longer came to the house. Dave went back to his usual silent moods. I tried to talk to him but he answered in monosyllables.

“If it’s about the camera, ..” I started.

“No, don’t worry about that,” he replied, and that was that.

He did not want to talk about Myrna and I did not dare ask. By then I knew that when Dave wanted me to know, he would tell me. As days passed, his mood improved.

We went back to cooking barbecue and talking about his experiences: how he had slipped into a pond because he was rushing to school; how he and his brother enjoyed their first rodeo and many others. These was all new to me so I listened with awe.

When it was my turn, I went on to talk too about how I enjoyed reading so much and my interest in poetry and writing. He gave me a box of pocketbooks to read the following day, “here, they are all yours.” he said.

Several months later, I had saved enough money for enrollment but not enough to buy my school materials. That was good enough for me though, the rest can be remedied, I was sure.

It was after several months that Olive came into our lives. Unlike Myrna, I liked Olive immediately. She treated me like Dave did. Her kindness was from the heart, because even when no one was around she treated me like a younger brother. I came to know that she worked as a nurse in the Base hospital.

I can see that Dave was happier with Olive than with Myrna. They were so in love. I was not surprised when they told me they were getting married that coming June. I was happy for them! They assured me, I can stay with them for as long as I wanted.

But that was not what happened. Fate had more surprises for me – the following June, Mount Pinatubo erupted. Tons of ashes rained and all US bases (Subic and Clark) were abandoned by fleeing US soldiers.

I was home helping my parents take shelter when the order for the evacuation of the US bases was given. I knew Dave would be looking for me. I braved the ashfall and rushed to Dave’s apartment… but he was gone. Olive was there, packing things in boxes.

“Nasaan siya?”(Where is he?) I asked her.

“Umalis na siya” (He’s gone), she said with tears in her eyes.

I can’t help but cry too. Dave was gone! I couldn’t believe it. I had thought we would be together for long.

“Will you be okay?” I asked her , knowing she was feeling the same way, even much more perhaps.

“He promised to keep in touch,” she assured me. “He left something for you.”
She gave me a camera and an envelope… the camera ?

“It is brand new,” Olive said when she saw the question on my face. ” He knew about the first camera. It was Myrna. ” she continued.

I opened the envelope. There was green money – enough for me to pursue my ambition of going back to school. I cried all the more, thinking how generous he was. You can always count on him – my Boss Dave – NO – my friend Dave!

One important lesson I have learned is that, no matter what race one belongs to, there will always be the bad and the good!
Photo 1 by echoforsberg
Photo 2 by Bob Jagendorf

Home should be a place where you should feel secure and safe. Nowadays, we often hear of homes being entered into by criminals who don’t have any respect for people’s privacy and property. You should be certain that your home is secure from these unwanted element s of society. What are simple ways to ensure that your home is a safe haven for your family?

The following are simple ways to do this:

1. Before you go to sleep, check all doors and windows, be sure they’re safely closed, latched and locked from the inside. Fix those faulty locks.

2. Do not turn off all the lights outside and inside of the house. Leave one light in your front porch. Inside, leave lamp shades on, so that the house would not be totally dark. This will give the message to intruders that someone is home. Even when no one is in the house and you’re on vacation, make sure sufficient lights are left to secure the house.

3. Instruct your family members not to open the door immediately when somebody knocks. Ascertain the identity of the visitor before letting him in. Your children should be specifically given instructions on this precaution.

4. Have some home security systems in place. This would help you monitor the house security even from the outside. ADT security system is one such company. They have a 24 hr. – surveillance and monitoring system and they respond quickly. This would add more security to your home. What more, the price is affordable!

Knowing you made all necessary precautions in securing your home by observing all these tips and installing a home security surveillance system, you could now confidently leave for work, and you would also be able to sleep soundly in the night.

It’s summer once again and the heat is on! You would want to go somewhere else less humid and more refreshing; it maybe a dip in the pool or a swim in the sea. Not everyone; however, could go outdoors to be rejuvenated. There are instances in which you don’t have any option but to stay inside.

Indoors, there are several methods you can use to beat the heat:

1. Drink ice cold beverages

Several glasses of your favorite juice drink would do. Even pure water is good enough. Ice cubes are added to maintain the coolness of the liquid. Drinking would also improve your circulation. Detoxify your body and promote good health. Remember your body is 60-70 % water.

2. Use ceiling fans or air-conditioning units.

To save on costs, ceiling fans are ideal and economical to use than air-conditioners. There are several styles of ceiling fans and thousands of fans you can choose from.

Accessories would not also be a problem as these are easily ordered.

The Casablanca ceiling fans and other popular modern brands are made available for shoppers online. Aside from the Casablanca fans, there are 16 ceiling fan manufacturers you could select from.

Shipping is also facilitated, and you would be sure that what you have purchased is the durable type of fan.