Subject: BAKASYON NAMIN SA PI
From: ZYHV34A JUAN DEL PRADO

In november 1993, our dad turned 93 years old. My sisters Juanita and Maria had never been to the Philippines, so I asked them if they would like to come along with me, since our dad ordered me to tell them that he was very old, and he wanted to see them while he was still alive. My brother Max, who had just arrived from the Philippines, wanted to come along too, since we had not seen our sisters Juanita and Maria for a very long time. So, we decided it was a good idea to have a Family reunion. Our oldest sister, Juanita, prepared our tickets to the Phiippines, and we were scheduled on the 24th of November for two weeks. My brother and I were to fly from Kodiak to Anchorage to meet Juanita in Palmer. From Palmer we flew to Seattle, Washington to meet our second oldest sister Maria, as planned. And from Washington we flew 18 hours to the Philippines. It was a long trip. When we arrive at Manila, our brother Ray came to the airport to pick us up. Oh, how happy I was to see him! Then, from Manila we rode on a bus to our province of Quirino. It took us eight hours to get there, but when we arrived; our dad was waiting in front of the house. I was amazed to see how strong he was. We all hugged each other and we cried with joy. We partied, we chatted every night till 12:00, we took a lot of pictures of our dad. We had a good time. We all talked about the past with our dad, and it was a great feeling to recall all those lonely, happy, fun, and exciting times. All too soon, our two weeks were up, so we all had to say goodbye to each other, and I felt like I didn't want to leave yet, because I would miss them so much. But, I had to go, because my family was waiting for me in Alaska. It was a great Family reunion in which we were able to honor our dad while he is still with us. It's amazing that he is still active, and I think there will be a second family reunion. Who know's? It could happen. Anyway, this was our most exciting family celebration, and I hope you enjoyed hearing about it.

I was 19 years old when I got separated from my parents and had to live on my own. Since we were in the Philippines, I had to fly back to the United States to start looking for jobs. The first job I had was the worst. I started in the field cutting asparagus and picking grapes. My friends and I used to work in that desert from sunrise to sunset, where the sun was burning hot, dust blew all over you, and sometimes there were rattle snakes too. I saw people crying in the middle of the field, because of the hard work they were battling. I got tired working in the field, so I decided to come to kodiak, Alaska, along with my friends, and work in the cannery. When we put in applications at King Crab Inc., we got hired right away and went to work next day. We had a contract for four months, and I was assigned to work at the fish house. We thought we were so lucky to get the job so quickly, until they made us put on raingear and boots and brought us to the slimming table. There I was, early in the morning, grabbing my first fish to clean. Oh, it was wet, slimmy, cold, and I had to do this for eighteen hours a day.It was miserable. After years of struggling and trying to survive, I'm glad that I am still in good health and have one more chance to finish college and find a job where I can put on my best suit and look good.(note: Quirino was part of Nueva Vizcaya before)
 

Update: Johnny graduated from Kodiak College in Alaska.  His computer multi media talent is reflected on his stellar website. For more info check the guest book #8.  Great webmaster!

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