Manaoag By Al S. Mendoza MANY of our balikbayans visit our Lady of Manaoag year in and year out. Some do it for curiosity’s sake, others for devotional commitment. One such balikbayan was with us a while back during our regular pilgrimage to our Lady of Manaoag. “What’s so special…

Nanay Alud By Al S. Mendoza SALUD F. Juvida is also known as Soledad F. Juvida. She was Sally during her younger years. They call her Nanay Alud now. Nanay Alud will turn 96 today, Dec. 2.  Happy birthday Nanay Alud! She is lucid.  Except for an age-abetted hearing defect,…

Bird bath, ‘alsung’ By Al S. Mendoza I WATCH birds come and go. Literally. That’s because I have a bird bath in my backyard.  It’s been there for ten years. I can see it from my bedroom window.  I can see it from my meal table. I can see it…

What is happiness? By Al S. Mendoza HAPPINESS, if not love, is one of the most elusive commodities on planet Earth. You just can’t have it at the flick of a finger. You can’t even buy it, if you know what I mean. Many wealthy politicians in the recent national…

Applaud for Guv Spines?   By Al S. Mendoza GUV Spines has said: “No P500,000 for me. I will meet the media people from hereon.” Will you and I applaud? If you ask me, I will not. In fact, I am sad that our Guv Spines was not able to…

Lauriat in Tokyo with Rene So By Al S. Mendoza GUESS what Rene So and I did only a while back? We had dinner in Tokyo together with, among others, Danny “Sir John” Isla and Elijah Sue Marcial. It was held on October 23 in a plush hotel where only…

Living, leaving By Al S. Mendoza MY WIFE’S TWO SISTERS have arrived from America. Ofel J. Magturo had flown in from Los Angeles, California, Ching J. Fernandez Phoenix, Arizona. The reason for the sudden homeward trip is, well, their mother. No, their mother isn’t sick.  She herself keeps saying, “No,…

On to Tokyo By Al S. Mendoza BY THE WILL OF GOD, I’ll be in Japan when you are reading this.  I wrote this piece two days (Thursday, Oct. 18) before I boarded a Northwest Airlines jet bound for Nagoya on Saturday, Oct. 20.  Minutes after my arrival in Nagoya,…

Pacquiao faced one ready to lose By Al S. Mendoza I SAID HERE the last time that Manny Pacquiao will decide who will win in his fight with Marco Antonio Barrera. He did decide to win and would proceed to score a unanimous decision victory. With the win, Pacquiao proved…

Pacquiao decides who will win By Al S. Mendoza WHILE you are reading this, either the Pacquiao-Barrera fight is over or just about to begin. Whatever, read on.  I wrote this column in advance, exactly two days before today’s fight in Las Vegas, Nevada. As usual, before the fight, I…