Class Legacy
Forty years later...
By Violeta Kalaw
THE EPILOGUE: same vigorous group, not a dent in spirit. It was another memorable moment spearheaded by the indefatigable Noel Canlas (with lovely Alice as the power source) and Morrel Mangubat, a lone ranger... guys wearing the red pants and Caesar Palace's red napkins as scarves... gals in their lovely kimonas and red tapiz... a few more gray hairs, fine lines yet as agile and graceful as young sprinters ...did they march with the big Red Banner... CLASS 69 proudly held by Irene Dyquiangco's hubby, Florante and Angie de Vega's dearest one,Abe while the wild crew screamed and pranced with zest... and with equal energy, did they dance with unbelievable enthusiasm as Ansel Loredo-Canlas and hubby, Mel finally sighed in relief (Yes, there is a GOD !) The Baltimore Forever Young group led the Filipino medley dance performed gracefully by Lourdeline Ramos Tarampi and life partner, Sonny ,Manny de Leos and Pong Sevilla and their charming wives,Lina and Pearl, professional dancers Tony and Cel Calon, joined by the well rested energetic retirees from Florida, Jun and Nora Ingles-Miclat, ever charming New Jersey couple, Lino and Yolan Lazaro-Alcasid and the sweet duo from New York, Chop and Evelyn Pacis-Enriquez ... ... and the awards kept on coming and the claps were deafening and the room roared in unison as the RUBY JUBILARIANS STOLE THE SHOW !!!! (Move over, Cher)...
THE PROLOGUE: 'tomorrow morning at 8 AM, not 8 PM very sharp... please do not talk too loud... just sway together' ...begged Ansel and Mel yet there was no way to stop the news-hungry group ... 'how many grandchildren', 'when is the next wedding', 'what is retirement life all about' or 'what happened to so and so' (beware those who missed the celebration!). So, demure Jean and Elpi Fonte, Angie de Vega, Irene Dyquianco, Nits Sulit-(while dear hubby watched) minus Jimboy (the star of the 25th reunion) just swayed and swayed and swayed ....wait... ... BUM BU RUM BUM...that is the only lyric you can say....How many steps before the turn? ...is it left or right??? .how did these guys made it through medical school?? ? The Kentucky Doctorby champs, the largest delegation dominated the group.... The energetic pairs of Dick and Zeny Madella, Lovey and Ely Garcia and Ruben and Ofie Montoya, after sooo many tryouts proved that Kentuckians can glide on the dance floor and made everyone's jaw dropped in admiration.....just a little bit more hip sway and Freda Sumalangcay showed her graceful moves and so with Tony and Tess Ricalde Belamide and not to be outdone were Ben and Fe Sales ... and representing Florida was Romy and Vicky Tagala and from New Jersey was Manny Tan who graced us with his presence. Conrad Castor and his sweet wife Ester showed elegance in their moves. From Illinois, not to be ignored were Freddie and Hilda Sy ...they were all feisty competitors.
THE GIMMICK... where else will the top notch class 69...dine and wine...of course...a place called The Gimmick...one by one, more and more came in a room (adjacent not to a fishing pole but an ' S 'pole...guys, you know what I mean!!!) that got smaller as more arrived . Led by a prayer by 'Father' Morrel Mangubat, each one recited their current events while enjoying the sumptuous Filipino food and the unlucky lechon got stripped in half a second! Lovely Linda Borja-Enriquez came solo just for the dinner so did Henry Lao, 'still available' and John Abrenica, another lone ranger and retired. Myrlinda Barral flew in from Canada and Loida Nadal- Cruz from New Jersey came together , straight from the airport and stayed for a short but memorable moment...Jun and Helen Dispo flew in from the cold but heavenly Upstate New York and from sunny Texas came Lt Col Vicky Luminarias who caught up with Judy Morato Juco and Judy's Henry..The super duo, Lorna Adolfo and Manny Pecana ,the most deserving awardees for community service gave an update on their most honorable missions along with the unsung medical heroes of class 69 (you know who you are) .Of course, we thought of our dear colleagues who parted ahead of us and are now in the arms of our Lord.
SILLY SIDE TRIPS: "more Halo-halo...it's mine...its mine..." Joe 'Kalaw' Sheedy claimed them all at the turo-turo place...Tony and Cel Calon bought their month's grocery from the oriental store by Goldilocks...Manny Pecana treated everyone with the turrones from heaven...thus those guys who teed off from morning till dawn (Lino,Morrel,Jun and Andoy) missed the local delights and their lovely wives. Nora and Yolan were just as happy at Red Ribbon while enjoying the sinangag and tocino... and an entire crew, too many to mention led by Noel and Alice, I heard drained a dim sum place with so many orders that the place had to close prematurely....others kept their side trips so secret ...so we really don't know where they went..or what they saw...or what they did...or could they be just exercising their little arthritic fingers playing poker or their shoulder bursitis romancing with the one armed bandit???
ONE MORE TIME>>>: for the energetic seniors who cannot remember the dance steps or who have forgotten to count or have developed right-left disorientation...here comes Ansel again...please do not sing...please keep your line straight..Please does not talk...QUIET...LISTEN ...PLEASE...? Carming Payumo without his muse was just relieved to see the end of the line..., Arsenio Go and wife Dianne never gave up and were faithfully watching the guys in front of them...(too bad, it was Dick Madella) and Andoy Torres and his dear Noreen just gave their very best...how about Badong 'Archie' Arguilla and wife Aida all the way from New Jersey and one of the many Californians...Pedro Peralta and Ophie... they were so patient and graceful...and Tony Tan with his lovely wife, Ely flew all the way from sunny Hawaii just to invite all of us to visit them (on the house package including airfare) and sending the best regards from a co- Hawaiian, Cora Cadiz . It was so nice to see Luz Parlan Reyes all the way from New York just in time on the last chance- practice and so with Ed Rubio and his lovely partner, Aurora from California.
SOMETHING FREE and PRETTY.... yes, there was something free and did not bleed our wallets..... the wonderful presentation of the world renowned UST Singers on a Friday night along with invocation from the Rector Magnificus de la Rosa--and welcome from the USTMAAA officers....and what a surprise...so I heard that Cora Sta Maria graced us with her presence handing leaflets for a dance show nearby?....and on the grand night, how nice it was to sneak out of the Big Room and hold our very own Mini Awards and giggle like little carefree munchkins, gently elbowing each other to get the best position , feeling free from our parents and saying 'cheese ' as the lights from all the digital cameras in the USA led by Joe "the photographer" Sheedy shined on our beautiful youthful faces!
TIDBIT SPOILERS: yes we can...no we can't ...present our class awards...no, you can't say that...no we don't have extra chairs ...yes we can add more chairs... so we kept on adding chairs ...and finally,how nice it was to have everyone seated and smiling and laughing and posing and dancing ...
The CHAMPS:::: USTMAAA most outstanding jubilarian class: EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF CLASS 69...the GENEROUS CLASS accepted by Morrel Mangubat and the outstanding awardees, all deserving :Noel Canlas , USTMAAA Most Outstanding Alumnus, Antonio Tan,USTMAAA Most Outstanding Awardee for Community Service and special mention ,the indestructible primer registered ,Vladimir Parungao and his ever loving wife,Ched ; and our very own Class '69 voted awardees: Noel Canlas for Most Outstanding Jubilarian , Antonio Tan, Lorna Adolfo and Manny Pecana for Most Outstanding for Community Service, Pacita Keh and Angie Dingcong for Academic Excellence and Edna Garayblas Munson for Service to the Alma Mater ...Inasmuch as Pacita, Edna and Angie could not be present because of earlier commitments, their hearts and spirits were with us.
...
...we did miss Norma Villaroman and Jose Lorenzo who registered to attend but due to unforeseen circumstances were not able to make it....and to whoever came and I could not recall and whoever name I misspelled or transposed , blame my declining eyesight and dulling mental capacity... please accept my sincerest apologies.
.....now, it is all part of history, part of a lovely memory being weaved into a design for the tapestry of our GOLDEN anniversary- year 2019... and along the way will be SAPPHIRE 2014... The LORD will guide us on our journey !!!