Archive for the ‘Philippines’ Category
Paperback Writer . . . Maybe. . . ?
I am a writer.
I love to write.
I retired from the United States Air Force after a career as a military photojournalist and editor. I have written many stories in my life.
Now, that I am retired, I enjoy my passion of writing on my blogs.
I haven’t written a novel. Perhaps, I never will. However, I do write short stories.
If you want to read any of my short stories, then, check my “Sam I Am Blog” on Word Press. You can check the blog often or type into your search engine : Samuel E. Warren Jr. Short Story.
Be advised that I am a writer who writes on a variety of topics. I am a Spiritual Man.
I am NOT a Religious Man. I am downright blasphemous. I am sacreligious. I am irreligious.
Thus, on the subject of The World’s Traditional Religions, I would be the man, who stands next to Satan and could enjoy a cigar and conversation in the Afterlife with Aleister Crowley.
In my lifetime, Islam has conducted a global campaign of violence and chaos, so I will never have anything nice to say about Islam or on the subject of Muslims.
I am a Texan. I am an American. I am a Scorpio. I am not now, nor, have I ever been “Politically Correct.”
The only other fact that you need to be aware of in my short stories is I use “Warren English.”
I violate the accepted “Rules Of American English” and, most definitely, “Her Majesty’s United Kingdom English.”
I write to communicate and for dramatic effect.
I watch my spelling.
I use the standard English format of subject, verb, and object. I toss in adjectives, adverbs and prepositional phrases where needed. I don’t worry about comma splices. I do not write to impress English professors or grammar teachers.
As a military journalist, I had to essentially memorize Strunk & White’s Rules Of Grammar. As an editor, I saw sections of The Associated Press Style Book and Libel Manual in my dreams.
Strunk & White are both dead. The Associated Press never sent me a paycheck. I’m retired. I write as I please.
I employ a “Journalistic Style” of writing, which means I usually don’t put more than two or three sentences in a paragraph.
The other factor of “Warren English” is I capitalize English words that are not always capitalized.
Life is important — you get one.
Death is important — you only want one.
War is important because it is Life and Death on a grand scale.
Thus, I routinely capitalize Death, Life and War.
The primary focus of my “Warren English” is communication and understanding.
I write for fun. I write for my readers. I would hope that I can inform, entertain, inspire and challenge your beliefs and awaken your imagination.
Look for a Samuel E. Warren Jr. Short Story coming soon to the Sam I Am Blog.
“Tomboy !”
by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
The English word, “Tomboy” has two completely different meanings at two different places on planet: Earth.
In the United States Of America, the word, “Tomboy”, means a girl or woman, who might choose to wear clothes associated with a boy or man. The girl or woman is not one, who is especially fond of the color: Pink. The girl or woman, probably, grew up on a farm or in a large family of brothers, so she can eaisly defend herself. The girl or woman, based on the issues, she has faced in her life might tend to “Problem Solve” issues more like a man than a woman. The girl or woman is always independent and knows her place in the world. The girl or woman isn’t fond of frilly dresses, but she can slip on an evening gown and be as attractive as any girl or woman, who prefers to always choose the traditional, global lifestyle of a woman. In the United States Of America, the word, “Tomboy”, never, ever suggests, implies, or indicates a sexuality lifestyle.
In the Republic Of The Philippines, the word, “Tomboy”, ALWAYS means a ‘Sexuality’ choice. The word, “Tomboy” is understood to mean, “A Lesbian who chooses to live, dress and act like a man.”
In the United States, the word, “Tomboy” is never, ever understood to indicate sexual preference. Many girls and women in the United States have grown up in remote, distant, rural and challenging geographical settings from the wilderness of Alaska, to the dense woods of the Missouri-Arkansas Ozarks and other challenging climate and terrain.
As a result of their childhoods, American Girls and American Women simply got in the habit of putting on denim jeans and work shirts to deal with the daily issues of life. The same girl or woman can slip on a bikini or an evening gown and be as sexy, attractive and sensual as any American woman, who grew up surrounded by a “Sea Of Pink” and all of the traditional frilly accessories.
In the Philippines, the word, “Tomboy” always refers to sexual preference and lifestyle because The Asian World classifies and categories people based on their obvious sexual choices and lifestyles.
In the United States Of America, in the 1970s, The American Women’s Liberation Movement demanded American Women be treated as “The Equals” to American Men. The Women’s Lib Movement scored major successes for “Equality.”
I was a college student as the American Women’s Lib Movement got up and running in the early 1970s. I was not born handsome. I was not born rich. My attempt to try and date an American Girl or a young American Woman in the early 1970s was “A Living Hell.” American girls and American women were determined to make a statement to The World For All Time, so American girls and American women shrugged off American boys and American men like unwanted dandruff.
At the time, an American Girl or an American Woman might tell you she had little or no interest in the Women’s Lib Moment, but, that did not mean that she did not have an opinion based on the events, which seemed to unfold daily.
This unique period of time in American history was one of those times when, “Every American had their own personal opinion.” Americans all had their opinions about The American Civil Rights Movement and America’s Involvement in The Vietnam War and those opinions would cross race, political, religious lines. The American Women’s Liberation Movement established “The Gender Line” and “ALL Men were considered ‘The Enemy.'”
American Women, who were raised, educated and married into Republican families seemed to be The Only American Women who did not see men as ‘The Enemy.’
Canadian Woman, Helen Reddy’s, “I Am Woman” became The Gender Anthem Of American Girls And Women. The emotional and political intensity of the period, it is a “Miracle” that the “Equal Rights Amendment” was not passed.
The Gender Intensity Of This Period Of American History was so intense as a young man, I really felt that “The Battle Of The Sexes” might actually resort to women taking up firearms, ammunitions and munitions and moving forward to actually achieve either domination or demand total gender equality across the board in every daily issue from government, politics, religion, sex and economics.
The American Girl and The American Woman had reached their “Take No Prisoners” attitude and regardless, what happened with The ERA, American Society would be forever changed. The ERA stayed on the shelf and collected dust and storage.
American Society did change.
During the American Women’s Liberation Movement time period, some American English words changed their meanings through usage.
The American English word, “Gay”, before the 1970s, simply meant a person who was happy. During the 1970s, it was obvious, the word: Gay had changed to mean “Homosexual.”
The American English word, “Queer”, before the 1970s, simply meant someone who was “strange or different.” Often the usage of the word, “Queer” meant someone who was “Eccentric”, especially if the person was an older or elderly person. In the 1970s, the word, “Queer” became a definite derogatory term for a “homosexual person” or “homosexual persons.”
The American English word, “Tomboy” did not change.
Thus, American Women who wanted to indicate sexuality used the word, “Lesbian.”
‘The Heterosexual American Girls and American Women’, who grew up on farms and grew up fishing for food and a living, did not allow the word, “Tomboy” to change it’s meaning in the United States Of America.
I had many women relatives in the United States in the 1970s, who had grown up on farms and had worked alongside their dads, granddads, uncles and brothers in corn fields and sugar cane fields and these ladies did not stand for the word, “Tomboy” to take on a “Sexuality” or “Lifestyle Choice” meaning or definition. Obviously, my American Women relatives weren’t the only American Women who did not allow the meaning of the word, “Tomboy” to change.
By the time, I was stationed in the Pacific in the 1980s: it was obvious, the English word, “Tomboy” has a completely different meaning in Asia. In the various countries of Asia, which I have lived in and, definitely, in the Republic Of The Philippines, the English word, “Tomboy” ALWAYS refers to “Sexuality” and a conscious “Lifestyle Choice.”
Thus, if a woman tells you she is a “Tomboy.” To be certain of her meaning, ask if she means, “In the American English sense of the word, ‘Tomboy'” or “in the Filipino English sense of the word, ‘Tomboy.'”
Samuel E. Warren Jr.
24th Wedding Anniversary
Editor’s Note — I wrote this editorial on my Wedding Anniversary for my wife. I had problems logging into my Word Press blog accounts on that day. Thus, the editorial stayed on my hard drive until I could get logged into publish the article.
Word Press seems to have updated their publish system, since my last editorial, so the format of this editorial may look different than previous posts.
Samuel E. Warren Jr.
_____________________________________________________
24th Wedding Anniversary
Today, Sunday, July 20, 2014, Christy Warren, my wife, celebrates her 24th Wedding Anniversary. Wait, a minute. . .my wife ? Holy Cow ! That means I’ve been married 24 years today also.
I need a minute.
Okay. The shock has passed.
I am surprised I am celebrating 24 years of marriage. I was a single man. I liked being a single man.
My first marriage was “Made In Hell.” Actually, I made the Supreme Mistake of walking down the alise of the neo-Gothic cathedral of The School Of The Ozarks at Point Lookout, Missouri, back in the late ’70s.
I made it a point to ‘Forget’ that so-called “Wedding Day.”
The Lesson Of My First Marriage was simple: I will Never, Ever get married again. Two-and-a-half miserable years of being “Locked” into “Holy Wedlock”, is the reason Why I Don’t Fear Hell. I spent everyday in Hell for two-and-a-half, long, miserable years. I dreaded sunrise each day.
Once my divorce was granted, I made myself “The Promise.”
The Promise was simple: “Never Again.”
At age 24, I won back my “Freedom.”
I never had any intention of ever getting married again.
I was “Free !” I was single, again.” I had a good job in the United States Air Force. Thanks to Uncle Sam, I do my job, salute smartly and I could travel the world. I did.
Again, I was a Single American. I was fortunately to be a Single American G.I. I loved my job in Public Affairs because I got to live my fantasy as “The Reporter.”
I lived to write. My mentor Master Sergeant took the time to really “Teach” me how to use a camera to take news photographs for the newspaper. I worked at it and became a photojournalist. I wrote the stories and shot the photos, which ended up in print in a base newspaper. My Life was complete. I was Whole. I was Happy.
The day came when Uncle Sam handed me a set of orders for duty in the Pacific. Hallelujah !
The Ozarks country boy ends up at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. I had heard my father’s stories about World War II in the Pacific. I had heard other veterans War stories about duty in the Pacific. I did some interviews and published some of those stories. When Uncle Sam gave me the orders, I had my camera bag packed before my duffel bag and I was ready to catch the aircraft on the runway.
While stationed on Okinawa, I noticed and met some of the Most Beautiful Women On Planet Earth.
I met Koreans and Filipinas. I got a temporary duty assignment to the Kingdom Of Thailand, so I met beautiful Thais, Cambodian and Laotian women.
I was in my 20s and 30s, so I was as “Handsome” as I was ever going to be. Fortunately, the striking blue uniform and my Battle Dress Uniform made even an average looking guy like me appear like a handsome Hollywood heart throb.
Still, I had “No Intention Of Never, Ever Getting Married Again.”
At Clark Air Base, Republic of the Philippines, I fell in love with the tropical climate, the country, the base, and my job. I was a Single American G.I., whose blood flowed and his heart pounded, so I naturally noticed I was “Ground Zero” in the Pacific version of Heaven. Everywhere I looked — Filipinas.
A Single Man In Paradise surrounded by beautiful women realizes Life is more fun and meaningful when it is shared.
One Filipina caught my eye. Christy had a Farah Fawcett-Majors shag haircut. Her eyes sparkled. Her smile was diamond bright sunshine.
She wasn’t tall. Still, she caught my eye and I could see her as a “Playboy” or “Penthouse” centerfold in my mind.
Christy might have known two words in English. Language was definitely the barrier. I learned broken Tagalog and she busted through the barrier and learned English quickly.
One of the things I noticed about my future wife was her independence and sense of style. In the Asian culture, women usually are shy and taught to stay in the background. Christy was one of the few Asian women I had ever met, who did not do the cultural “Docile Routine.”
When it came to style, Christy had the eye of a fashion designer. She knew how to mix and match colors that caught my eye and made other men turn their heads.
We began to date. I suddenly realized, “Jackpot !”
I knew “If” I didn’t marry Christy I would always regret the decision. I wanted someone I could “Love” and share my Life with.
Women came and Women went. I was a single man. I knew, Christy was “The Woman!” I didn’t want to see her, “Go.”
I proposed.
She made me wait.
I kept at the job and wondered “If” she would take me up on my offer.
She did.
Friday, July 20, Nineteen Eighty Nine, the presses rolled. “The Philippine Flyer” came “Hot Off The Press !”
In the best tradition of American Newspaper Editors And Reporters, I had told Christy, “The newspaper comes first !”
My Wedding Day was scheduled to happen — after “The Philippine Flyer” came off the presses. Show Time was 10 a.m., at the Justice Of The Peace office at The Main Gate of Clark Air Base. I and everyone of my witnesses and people from my office were in position.
The only thing missing ? The Bride.
Christy was having “Second Thoughts.”
The clock ticks. Time passes.
I smiled a lot.
The smiles helped to hide my nervousness.
I remembered the stories about being “Left At The Altar.” I remembered Dustin Hoffman in the movie, “The Graduate.”
The witnesses were getting restless. The Justice Of The Peace did some more paperwork to pass the time.
I got restless.
At 1 p.m., my “Bride” walked through the door. Heaven retired an “Archangel” that day. Christy was a heavenly vision. She wore a simple white dress with the traditional Filipina “Imelda Marcos Filipina sleeves”, which rise an inch or two at the shoulder seam.
Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos made the dress style internationally famous, so, at least, Military Americans got in the habit of describing the dress as “The Imelda Dress” or a Filipino dress with “Imelda sleeves.”
Christy wore her long hair up to create a bun at the back described as Chinese style. I describe her holding mechanism as “Chopsticks”, for lack of a better descriptive term.
Christy was “Perfect.”
24 Years Later — My Bride, Christy is still “Perfect.”
The only thing my bride lacked was “Wings.” I looked at her and my mind’s eye supplied the feathery, ivory angelic wings to match her dress.
“I do.” The two most important words I ever uttered in my life, I spoke that day.
When I die, I doubt I go to Heaven. I don’t care. I’m a redneck Texan. I grew up in the Hillbilly Ozarks. I am an arrogant American. I love my country and my flag.
The Texan Warrens and The Missouri Ozarks’ DeLongs taught me the most important thing in Life is to Live It and Love Your Family.
The Day I Step Out Of This Life and stand before God or Satan and am expected to make a statement about my life, I already know, what I will say:
“Sir, with all due respect, I enjoyed every second of my Life. I had the Best Mother any Son or Daughter could ever ask for.”
” I am grateful for my father. I hit the celestial jackpot of aunts and uncles when it came to DeLongs and Warrens. The Universe hit me hard at times in Life.”
“I am not a religious man. However, I got The Best Wife that any man, in the past, present or future, could ever imagine or ask for. Christy Saldana Warren might not have been an archangel, but, she has always been, My Goddess. My wife has always been my strength, my heart and my soul.”
“If this is Judgement Day; so be it ! I ain’t askin’ for ‘Squat.’ I just want The Universe, Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah, The Christian God and whatever other deities, real or imagined, which live in The Universe to realize I loved Christy Warren with my heart and blackened soul. I thank The Universe for my son, Samuel Ranilo Warren. I thank The Universe for my daughter, Donna Junea Warren.”
“My children have ‘The Best’ of their beautiful Filipina mother. I truly hope, my children have inherited some of the redneck arrogance, cynicism, skepticism, independence, stubbornness,and courage of their American Warren and DeLong ancestors and their ‘Hell-raising’ father, so they will achieve their own personal greatness in their lives.”
“Therefore, God, Satan, with all due respect,my Life is better than I could of ever hoped for. Faith, Hope, Beauty, Joy, Happiness — I had it all.”
“If you gentlemen dieties wanted me to suffer — you messed up ! I found ‘My Wife.’ I found ‘My Life.’ Christy Saldana Warren. I lived on the planet Earth. But, I Never really Lived until I woke up each morning and looked into Christy’s face.”
“My world. My Life. My Soul. I lived as a man. My wife completed me. No silly reward or No eternal punishment can ever separate my from The Love Of My Wife Christy On Earth.”
“Send Me To Heaven ! Send Me To Hell ! Cast My Atoms To The Far Reaches Of The Universe ! I will have the last smile. I had ‘The Best Mother Of Mankind.’ No Eternal Punishment Will Ever Torture My Sinner’s Soul because I had ‘The Best Wife Of Mankind’ — Christy Saldana Warren.”
In the United States, it is never easy to find the Love of another person.
In the Republic Of The Philippines, Love might be totally ignored because people are taught to believe in a God creature or his underling, rather than open their eyes and search for the soul that adds to or completes their Life.
My Life has taught me that Love is The Soul Who Completes You.
Christy has not always agreed with me. Christy, at times, has definitely disagreed with me. We have had our loud shouting matches at each other. However, I would never want to imagine My Life Without Her.
Thus, God or Satan — real or not — does not worry me. None of the deities of Mankind frighten me. Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah, The Christian God can all take a bus to Brooklyn and drown themselves in The Atlantic Ocean. I do not “NEED” or “WANT” any of the silly religious fantasies and mythologies of The World’s Old Tired Organized Religions.
I stood at “Ground Zero”, the day that Super Typhoon Yolanda, came to my barangay in the Philippines. I heard the winds howl. I saw the intense white light around the door frame. The door busts open three times. Three times I rushed put my shoulder to the door and closed it.
None of the phony Gods Of Mankind had ‘The Power’ to take me.
I love my wife and family. The phony Gods didn’t get me and they had their chance.
Super Typhoon Yolanda didn’t take me and I gave her three chances when I grabbed the door and shut it.
Thus, “If” I ever do stand before one of the false Gods Of Mankind or Satan, I will be respectful: I was born a Texan and “Respect” is ingrained in my DNA.
I will not “Fear” because I was raised in the Ozarks by a proud “hillbilly” mother, who taught me “Love IS Family” and “Family IS Always Love.” Relatives who betray you; aren’t family — they are just biological lifeforms who have a lot of the shared RNA and DNA.
Marriage can and does “Create A Special Mystical Strand Of RNA and DNA”, which flows through the blood and enhances the organs to evolve a human into a special, unique human, who lives for his or her family.
In the final analysis, I have, no doubt, I could look God or Satan in the eyes and present my final statements.
“My wife,Christy made me welcome each sunrise. Everyday with Christy was an adventure. We had our ups. We had our downs. We always had ‘The Love.’ Christy gave me two beautiful children, Samuel Ranilo Warren and Donna Junea Warren. The Universe knows ‘My Goddess’ is Christy Warren — my heart, my soul, and my Life.”
Thank You, Christy for 24 Wonderful Years Of Married Life. Thank You, Christy for 24 Years Of Life. Christy, You are “My Goddess.”
I love you, Christy.
Sam
Isolation
Isolation
by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
Isolation is one of the dumbest ideas of the human race.
You have those times in Life where you think you "Want" to be "Isolated" from your fellow humans.
You don’t.
What you want is time to step back, take a breather, refocus your mind and "Get Back In Your Life."
Isolation is not possible in "Your Life" on a day to day local basis or even in your day to day role as a Citizen Of Planet Earth.
Once you emerge from the womb, You give up "The Isolation Of Your Life."
However, even the isolation in the womb is a fantasy because the emerging child is "Connected" to the mother. Once you emerge from the womb, You are truly "Connected" to the world.
I find the comments of news stories humorous whenever they suggest that the United States should be "Isolated" or revert to the old policies of "Isolationism" because the idea "NEVER WORKS."
As a person, you can find ways to "Shut Yourself Away From The World" for a few hours or a few days.
If you dare, you can shut off your cellphone.
I have had my moments of "Privacy."
Once I even took a few days military leave just to take a "Breather" from the Normal Daily Human Rat Race. I stocked up on coffee and cigarettes. I was in my artistic phase and wanted the time to work on my own comic book idea.
I had my white, bond paper, my Number 2 lead pencils, ruler, protractor and my imagination. I sat in my off base apartment and "drawed" for a couple of weeks. I had a roommate, so I wasn’t completely alone. However, he had a job, so he was gone, during the days.
After a few days, I began to experience "Cabin Fever." I had separated myself from the world. Yet, it seemed like the world was closing in on me.
I had become a monastic monk in Bossier City, Louisiana and wasn’t even watching TV or the evening news.
In ’82, we humans still had a "Caveman Culture" because computers were still several hundred dollars for the "Game Geeks" and the aspiring bureaucratic administrators of the world.
Telephones were still devices that sat on a piece of furniture. In movies, you see rich characters out in LA, who have their "Car Phones", but most of the telephones were in homes, phone booths and office buildings around the planet.
The Grandparents Of The Cellphone, Facebook And Twitter Generations were usually ham radio station operators or truckers, who loved their "Citizen’s Band radio." America’s truckers, who roll the 18-wheel semi tractor trailers across the nation from coast to coast had their "CBs."
The fad spread and the "Good Ole Boys Of America" would hang a CB beneath their dash in their farm pickups and their hunting pickups and CBs were "The Rage" until the car phones evolved and ended the market.
Isolation, as a person was easier to carry out in ’82.
However, the idea of "Isolation" is stupid because you should never "Unplug From Your Life", regardless of the reason. Life is "Too Precious." Life is "Too Short."
Throughout US History, Americans tend to "Freak Out" and call for the United States to revert to the stupid policy of "Isolationism."
In World War I, Americans sat on the continent, while the "World Burned." Once the oceanliner"Luisitania" was sunk at sea; Americans realized, "You Can Not Hide From War." War will find you.
In World War II, Americans sat on the real estate. The World Bleeds And Burns. Egomaniac Emperor Hirohito Of Japan crossed the line — "He Stabbed America In The Back."
Pearl Harbor was "An Act Of Cowardice Carried Out On The Orders Of A Half-Blind, Runt Madman." It happened on a Sunday, when that era of Americans would be in church.
America’s World War I policy of "Isolationism" failed. The end result is America had to play "Catch Up" and people had to make sacrifices to attempt to enjoy their day to day lives.
America’s World War II policy of "Isolationism" failed. The end result was Americans were really behind the power curve and had to play "Catch Up" to hope they would survive the War.
For those Americans who are naive enough to believe "The United States Of America Can Ever Be ’Isolated’ From International Affairs", here, is a piece of advice: "Wise Up."
The United States land mass is too large to be overlooked. America has always been a "Nation Of Immigrants", so to believe that immigrant Americans are going to turn their backs while their former homelands are in flames is just silly.
Even Americans, who emerge from the womb on a real estate location in the United States cannot afford to ignore International Affairs. Granted, the old Cold War rhetoric of a Chinese tank rolling through San Francisco may not seem logical in the 21st Century.
The old Cold War rhetoric of Soviet troops from Moscow parachuting into pastures in Stone County, Missouri may not seem that realistic in the 21st Century.
The reality is technology has made the planet smaller.
The irony is people don’t really "Talk" or communicate with one another anymore because the blurbs encouraged by social media plays on people’s busy schedules and the cliche mentality of people.
We "Talk" or "Text" on cellphones, but those communications are more like "Slogan Slinging" and not real conversations.
The Facebook and Twitter "blurbs" are essentially "Sophisticated Cave Man Grunts" that allow us to pretend we are "Connected" with the people around us and our world.
In the ’50s,60s,70s, and 80s, people would sit at kitchen tables, in their living rooms or at a bar and cuss and discuss the affairs of the world. Usually the conversations would pass time and provide an exchange of ideas. Sometimes the conversations might get "emotional" or "heated", but you always came away with an outlook, a viewpoint and a feeling that other people also cared about life on the planet.
Now, people "Slogan Sling" cliches on facebook, twitter and "Pretend" they are communicating with one another.
As a Citizen Of Planet Earth, you can look forward to "Future Isolation" in a graveyard plot with a headstone. Then, again, since you might be buried next to someone else — you can not even expect "Isolation" in the graveyard.
As a Citizen Of Planet Earth, forget the "Isolation" silliness and enjoy your life.
As a Citizen Of Planet Earth, realize that it is "Stupid" to believe that international affairs going on in The Capitols Of The World each morning have an effect on your life, directly or indirectly.
The History Of The Nations Of The World point out that "War Is The Way Of The World." Sooner or later, a nation or nations resort to War.
Don’t kid yourself. War isn’t going away.
You can whine that the United States Government should not care about the state of War in Syria. You might have a valid point. However, the inevitable outcome of the Syrian Civil War will affect the international affairs of the United States.
You can get upset that the United States Government has taken a position on Crimea and the Ukraine, but the actions by Russia will affect American policy, which always manages to translate into domestic events that can impact the economy in a positive or negative way.
The US Government is not going to step away from international affairs because paranoid Americans want to believe that stepping back from global affairs will improve the local economy.
Uncle Sam refuses to do "Isolation" because nations that become "Isolated", eventually become the real estate of another country.
Pay attention to the news each day, so that when the time comes that War is the reality, you will be prepared to survive.
Isolation does not work.
Isolation does not work for nations.
Isolation will not work for You. Go ahead, take the risk: Enjoy your life.
Shame Email
Editor’s Note: Facebook Family and Friends, I got an email from a reporter friend about an article that will seize your emotions. If you have an iota of humanity, compassion or kids — then, you SHOULD read the email that I posted on my "Sam I Am Blog" because it looks at what a Filipina reporter witnesses as the differences in two cultures in response to a National Tragedy. The focus of the article begins with the sinking of the South Korean ferry and the "teenage lives" lost in the tragedy.
Editor-In-Chief
Samuel E. Warren Jr.
Shame
SKETCHES By Ana Marie Pamintuan (The Philippine Star) | Updated May 2, 2014 – 12:00am
A day after a ferry carrying hundreds of high school students sank on its way to a resort island in South Korea, my lunch meeting with a Korean expat was canceled.
Earlier this week a Korean told me why: their entire nation is mourning for the dead and missing in the sinking of the ferry Sewol, and people consider it inappropriate to enjoy fine meals or entertain in restaurants. Concerts and other fun activities have also been canceled.
While business is down in South Korea as a result, the situation is expected to persist as the retrieval of bodies moves slowly. Retrieval has been difficult, I was told, because of an unusually rapid tidal current or stream at the site that can move at around 20 kilometers per hour, compounded by stormy weather and icy waters.
The Koreans are considering raising the ferry from the seabed, but the logistics are daunting particularly because of that rapid stream, even for a nation that is home to three of the world’s largest shipbuilding companies (Hyundai, Samsung and Hanjin heavy industries).
“We are so ashamed,” a Korean expat lamented to me recently, citing the behavior of the ship crew, their government’s response and the regulatory failure that contributed to the tragedy. The expat said it is a painful learning experience for Koreans.
For a number of Pinoys, on the other hand, the Korean government’s response is impressive enough along with the nationwide mourning and public expressions of remorse and shame over one maritime accident.
South Korea’s prime minister apologized and resigned over the disaster, while the vice principal of the students’ high school, who was rescued from the ferry, was found hanging with his belt from a tree near the school gym.
The fisheries minister and coastguard chief spent an entire night with angry parents in a tent on the beach explaining their agencies’ responses to the disaster. The deputy coastguard chief was also taken to the tent from his temporary office by irate relatives of the victims.
President Park Geun-hye herself, her popularity sagging in the wake of the accident, has publicly apologized for her government’s “insufficient first response” and failure to curb the regulatory “evils” that contributed to the disaster.
Some reports said the addition of cabins on several decks to accommodate more passengers made the 20-year-old ferry unstable in the powerful current. The ship, which carried 476 people, was reportedly overloaded.
The ferry captain – among the first to be rescued by responding coastguard personnel – and 14 of his crew have been arrested. The billionaire owner of the company that operated the ship is under investigation. The offices of his company and its affiliates were raided and documents confiscated as a probe got underway on the group’s finances.
Maritime regulators are also under investigation not only for administrative lapses but also for possible corruption. There is suspicion that regulators colluded with the company for the modifications that made the vessel top-heavy and unstable.
Compare this with what happens when a ferry sinks in our country. When the ferry Doña Paz collided with the oil tanker Vector off Marinduque on Dec. 20, 1987, it took 16 hours for rescuers to arrive, by which time most of the passengers and crew had drowned, died in the explosion and fire from the cargo of gasoline and other petroleum products on the Vector, or devoured by sharks in Tablas Strait.
Because of the inaccurate ship manifest, there is still no verified number of the dead and missing, estimated at 4,386.
It took more than a decade for the official probe to be completed, with Doña Paz owner Sulpicio Lines and Caltex Philippines, which chartered the Vector, absolved of liability. The Vector was found at fault and ordered to indemnify the victims.
I don’t remember anyone, however, being arrested, tried in court or publicly apologizing for the tragedy, considered the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster. No maritime or regulatory official was punished, suspended or fired. No one resigned, much less committed suicide.
We can argue that Korean society is different, but this is not only a cultural thing. Our problem is also systemic. The Doña Paz disaster failed to result in dramatic reforms in our maritime industry. After the collision, we still saw deadly maritime accidents almost every year, in fair weather or foul, with several of the ships also owned by Sulpicio Lines.
The deep sense of shame can be found in other societies. Yesterday in California, for example, Mike D’Antoni quit as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers after two seasons of unimpressive performance by the team.
In our country, those in charge of sports development have clung to their posts through many years of unimpressive performance by Philippines athletes, including their worst ever in the Southeast Asian Games.
All natural disasters here are dismissed as acts of God, with no one taking responsibility for failing to mitigate the impact, such as by preventing illegal logging.
In any disaster, the immediate response is to pass the buck, to deny responsibility. Remember what happened in the Rizal Park hostage mess. In the end it was an official who wasn’t even there during the fiasco, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, who had to apologize to Hong Kong for the deaths of their tourists.
Crooks in government, even when presented with incontrovertible evidence of wrongdoing, will never admit it all the way to their grave, and will be sorry only that they got caught.
Suicide? Homicide is more likely; woe to whistle-blowers.
Shame? Not in this society. Some of the individuals accused of plunder (plus an ex-convict) and other high crimes even hobnobbed with US President Barack Obama at a pricey Malacañang dinner paid for by Pinoy taxpayers.
In our society, thieves and those responsible for public misery never say sorry or quit. They aspire for high office, and they often win.
Elson’s 15th Birthday Party by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
Elson’s 15th
Birthday Party
Junea Tanhale and Vanissa Saldana pose for a photo. Junea, Elson’s sister, and Vanissa, Elson’s cousin, looked after the smaller kids, while the cooking was going on in the kitchen. Photo by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
Elson Tanhale’s 15th Birthday Party, Saturday, April 6, 2013, was a celebration of family and friends.
Elson Tanhale The Birthday Boy
April is one of the summer months in the Philippines. It is hot. Since the weather is hot and humid, an activity like breakfast, lunch and dinner takes on a different meaning.
Esmeralda Tanhale prepares dinner, despite the Philippines’ summer temperatures.
If you are trying to prepare a meal in a kitchen with no air-conditioning you face the persistent challenge of nature’s heat. The act of cooking generates heat.
John John plays while supper cooks.
Aunt Juliet Tanhale joins other guests at the party.
The Philippines natural weather temperatures in April and the heat of cooking means the dishes prepared maybe among your favorites, but they will also be those you can prepare without running the risk of heat stroke.
Birthday dinner became chicken adobo, pancit bihon and chocolate rice cake.
Chrismar Mora and Ranilo Saldana visit by the roadside while dinner cooks.
The Extended Family Concept Of The Philippines means you do not have to worry about sending out birthday party invitations. You simply tell your family and expect aunts, uncles and cousins to arrive.
Romy Uy’s “Trike” motorbike becomes playground equipment of cousins waiting for Elson’s Birthday Dinner.
Entertainment for Elson’s Birthday Party involved DVDs in the DVD player, while the younger cousins kept themselves busy being kids by playing outside.
Sam
Elson’s Birthday Photos by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
Elson’s Birthday
Esmeralda Tanhale moves the cooked pot of rice cake to cool.
by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
Elson Tanhale celebrated his 15th Birthday, Saturday, April 6, 2013 at One Warren Way, Barangay Baras, Leyte, Republic of the Philippines.
Elson Tanhale
The Birthday Boy
Esmeralda Tanhale, Elson’s mother, cooked the chicken adobo. Crystabel Tanhale,one of Elson’s cousins, worked in the kitchen slicing up hot dogs for pancit bihon.
Crystabel Tanhale works in the kitchen slicing up hot dogs for the pancit bihon, while Esmeralda Tanhale prepares the bihon noodles for cooking.
Christy Warren cooked the pancit bihon. The pancit noodles are a tradition of Filipino birthday celebrations because tradition states the long noodles are a symbol of a long life.
Esmeralda Tanhale’s Chicken Adobo cooks on the stove.
Moron (pronounced Moh-roan) – chocolate rice cake wrapped in banana leaves was the birthday dessert.
The chocolate rice cake cooks in a pot in the backyard.
Filipina Did ‘Stop The Pope’
with one comment
by Samuel E. Warren Jr.
Glyzelle Palomar,12, a Filipina street child managed to “Stop The Pope” with one question.
For five days, Pope Francis I got treated like “God On Earth.”
“God On Earth”
The pope’s every whim was catered to. People rushed to be in the pope’s presence. Whether “He” opened his mouth to yawn or speak people rushed to hear every word. Every sentence he spoke was taken down and “Worshiped” as “Gospel” and “Holy Truth.”
The Pope didn’t sing one note like a rock star and, yet, the “Groupies” and “Faith Fools” lined the streets.
The Pope did not “Walk On Water” and had to wear a yellow poncho in the rain because raindrops still fell on his tall, fat, old body.
The Pope did not “Raise Anyone From The DEAD” — “No Lazarus Productions.” People in the Philippines still “Died” with “The Old Holy Faker” in country.
The Pope did a Mass for “The Super Typhoon Yolanda Dead” and all the “DEAD” bodies remained asleep in the earth. No one arose.
TV cameras were trained on the pope and the graves, so it would of been obvious if anyone began to dig their way out of their graves; they did not.
Alas, Lazarus was a “No Show” for “The Power Of The Pope.”
The Pope did not “Part The Pacific Ocean” to walk from Leyte back to Luzon and into Manila. Typhoon Amang actually cut “The Pope’s Visit” to Tacloban City short, so that he had to fly back to Manila.
The Pope who is “On The Record” as supporting “Exorcists” in “The Church” didn’t use any of his time to “Exorcise” a single evil entity in a nation were the culture is rich in stories of Satan and his legions of monsterous demons, devils and denizens.
The Pope did not “Exorcise” a single demon, devil or possessed person in the Philippines, during his visit.
I feel wonderful, incidentally, “Thank You” for asking.
For all Pope Dope’s prayers, “Signs Of The Cross” gestures, “Blessings,” communion wafers and passing out of “Holy Water”, I did experience some “Disgust “ that so many people could be so “Stupid” to believe in the old fool so completely.
However, now, that Pope Dope has flown his holy hind end back to Rome — I feel fine. “Thank you.”
The 21st Century Holy Men just are not as impressive as the “Old Fictional Holy Men Of The Holy Bible.”
Still, the phony Holy Men Of The 21st Century still have “The Personality Power” to turn large numbers of people : “Pope Dope Stupid.”
The Five Days In January 2015 In The Republic Of The Philippines became “The Longest Non-Stop Orgy Of Public Bureaucratic Religious Butt Kissing In World History.”
The International News Media — The Global Religious Cheerleaders — was as shallow, naive, and gullible as any patient in a mental asylum because like the superstitious minions they bowed down to kiss “The Old Holy Faker’s Feet” with every news dispatch, report and continuing television coverage of the pope.
The Last Time A Public Orgy Of Insanity was so widely accepted and venerated was during the reign of The Roman Empire’s Emperor Caligula.
Emperor Caligula had been a successful Roman general who came to power on “The Death Of Emperor Tiberius”, his great uncle and “Adopted” grandfather. History points out the first six months of Caligula’s reign as noble and moderate.
Of course, Catholicism and Christianity “Conquered” The Roman Republic through “Stupidity”, so, world history, now, refers to the rest of Emperor Caligula’s reign as sadistic and perverted.
Alas, Caligula didn’t have streaming video, social media, computers, cell phones, and global news networks to report his every perverted whim like the pope does.
Thus, Emperor Caligula is considered a “Bad Guy.” Pope Dope, of course, instead of being considered a perverted old religious dictator is considered a Holy Man.
Pope Francis I is tall, fat and old.
The World’s Number One Ranking Holy Man can “bamboozle” and “scam” anyone on the planet with a smile and a few, nice words.
Yet, a poor Filipina street child “Stopped The Old Holy Faker” in his tracks with a question.
Like the children’s story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” it was a child, who pointed out the obvious and made a fool of the emperor.
Glyzelle Palomar,12, a Filipina street child, “Made A Fool Of Pope Francis I,” because he did not answer a simple question.
The reported question was, “Why does God allow child prostitution ?”
The Pope did not answer. . .right away.
The news story claims that the pope quit speaking English, revered to Spanish for a few moments (perhaps, it is easier for ‘The Old Argentine Bar Bouncer Turned Holy Man’ to ‘cuss’ in Spanish.).
“Harry The Holy Man” —- Pope Francis I had began receiving “Broadway Red Carpet Headlines”, the instant he waved from the window on the airplane on the runway.
The pope had to come up with some type of answer for the child, which would play well with the World Media and “The Faith Fools”, so no one realizes the holy con artist was just in country to rip off wallets and purses and keep “The Faith Fools” as “zombies” to the phony faith headquartered in Rome.
“Yes, Glyzelle, God Does Allow Global Child Prostitution.”
The real answer is simple.
Pope Francis I is a religious man and he did not give the child “The Real Answer.”
“The Universal Religious Default”
Anytime, any place on Earth, a holy man or a holy woman is asked a religious question they cannot answer —- they go to “The Universal Religious Default” to “Pass The Buck To Dead Jesus Christ” or “Fictional God.”
The answer is “Always” a variation of “God Works In Strange And Mysterious Ways” or “God Has A ‘Master Plan.’”
The ‘Truth” is holy men and holy women have absolutely “No Idea What God’s Master Plan Is.
The Ancient Religious Fiction Writers Never Came Up With A Logical Happy Ending.
“The Laws Of Science”
God does not work in strange and mysterious ways because the universe and planet “Works” based on the logical laws of science. Once in a Blue Moon an “Exception” to a “Law Of Science” happens, but, it is rare, and, in time, it is discovered it was the understanding of the science that was incorrect and not the action.
Super Typhoon Yolanda “Killed”, at least, 6,300 Filipinos based on “The Laws Of Science In Action.”
Glyzelle, the pope did not answer your question because he did not want to tell you “The Truth.”
“Why does God allow child prostitution ?”
“Yes, Glyzelle, God Does Allow Global Child Prostitution.”
God is fiction.
There is “No Tangible, Real World Evidence Anywhere On Planet Earth That God Almighty Is Real And Alive.” People need the “Fictional Idea Of God” to give them Hope and Faith.
Glyzelle, the world is full of good people and bad people. The bad people do not care who they hurt as long as they get their way and their needs are met.
Bad people are willing to pay money to buy children to use as “Slaves” at home, in business, or for sexual entertainment.
God is fiction. God can’t stop bad people.
The real people in government have to “Want” to stop “Child Prostitution” worldwide.
However, Glyzelle, authorities around the world look the other way and ignore the issue because “Sex For Money” is an ancient practice as old as the planet and “The Illegal Money From Sex — Prostitution” is as important as “The Legal Money From Sex — Marriage” to maintain “The World Economy.”
Glyzelle, “Good People Do Not ‘Buy’ Children To Use For Sex.”
There was another obvious reason the pope would not give you an “Honest Answer” to your question : “Pedophile Priests.”
“Pedophile Priests”
In the 1980s, people who had been “Sexually Abused” as children by priests, nuns, monsignors, bishops, archbishops, and cardinals went to the government and legal authorities around the planet and filed civil and criminal cases against “The Criminals Of The Cloth.”
All religions in the 1980s, “Lost A Lot Of Money” because many religious officials were “Convicted” as “Child Molesters.”
The Roman Catholic Church “Survived” because it is an ancient multinational religious corporation with the pope as “The Chief Executive Officer.” “The Church” quickly “Closed Ranks” and senior officials figured out ways to end, delay or stop investigations.
Since Catholicism is a strict, bureaucratic religion and government, it was fairly easy for “The Church” to “Shut Out” government officials.
Other religions like Baptists, Lutherans, Methodist, Pentecost, and Mormons do not have the financial power or organization to shut out governments, so sometimes the “suspected minister” or “suspected preacher” was sentenced to prison.
“The Criminals Of The Cloth”
“The Church” —- Catholicism —- always “Rescued” their priests and nuns by keeping them out of prison.
Glyzelle, the pope could not give you an “Honest Answer” because he would have to admit that “God Is Fiction” and that “The Church” is as “Guilty” of “Child Molestation” and “Child Prostitution” as any criminals on the planet.
“The Church” has spent millions of dollars and billions of pesos over the decades to protect their “Criminals Of The Cloth.”
Glyzelle, never loose your “Courage.” Glyzelle, never loose your “Curiosity In Life” and continue to ask difficult questions and search for answers.
Glyzelle learn to be “Careful” in whom you ask questions of.
Glyzelle,Your “Honest Question” embarassed the pope.
The pope would not and could not give you an “Honest Answer.”
An “Honest Answer” would suggest that “Religion Worldwide Is A Scam”, and it would remind people of “The Corruption Of Catholicism” which was rampant in the 1980s, when “Pedophile Priests” always seemed to be in the headlines.
One young “Doubting Thomas” in the Philippines “Stopped” The Planet’s Most Famous Old Religious Snake Charmer “dead in his tracks with a simple question.”
The Global Media Of Religious Cheerleaders down played the event and decided to ignore the child, for the most part, and put the lame religious response to the question.
“My Eternal Wish For The United States Of America Is Americans Never Become “Muslim Morons” Or “Pope Dope Stupid.”
— Samuel E. Warren Jr., American Writer
Humanity’s Evolution Towards Global Religious Slavery And Stupidity Remains On Course.
Look at “Today’s” World News Headlines “The Religious Wars” continue around the planet in 2015.
The World is in “World War III.”
People do not recognize “The War” because they still have a naive “Faith” in their “Cowardly Leaders” who have “Sold Out” their nations for wealth and phony economic promises of global stability.
The seriousness of “World War III” has not sunk in, yet, because the Islamic State, al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda In The Arab Pennisula (AQAP) or The Iranian military is not, yet, in a position to carry out definite,daily strategic and tactical attacks of Western citizens on the soil of Western nations.
The handwriting is on the wall; it is simply a matter of time.
In the first two “World Wars”, the United States was asleep at the wheel. The current World War is no different. This time, America has a “Coward” for president, who has no idea how to keep America’s borders safe.
President Barack Obama’s biography states that he spent some years growing up in Indonesia, a Muslim country, so Americans are naive to expect “Muslim Mikey” to have their best interest at heart when it comes to “The Prophet Mohammed” and “Allah.”
Obama’s Administration has continued to “Down-size The Military” while the Islamic State Threat is real in The Middle East and Global Terrorism continues to run rampant around the world.
“Wise Up, Americans,” Obama is “Benedict Arnold 2015 !” Obama’s interest in America isn’t patriotic.
You take a kid who got shipped from country to country in his childhood and you expect him to take “Roots” as a national leader ?
Work with your congressman and senators to “Take Back The White House.” Keep in mind, the next election is still several months away, so stay alert, read up on George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, and study up on personal self defense.
“The Survivalists Of The 1970s and The 1980s”, were wrong about “The Enemy”, but, not “The Fact” that “Freedom” is always “Threatened When You Let Your Guard Down.”
The aggressive effort to “Stop Americans’ 2nd Amendment” and take America’s guns is an important “Conquest” objective.
Look at World History, especially in the 20th Century, any time a dictator is on the rise, the “Peace Freaks” and “Jesus Freaks” arrive to tell you to lay down your weapons.
Any American Politician who is against you owning and using your gun is “A Traitor ! ”
Guts,Guns, Farmers, Fishermen, Blue Collar Workers, and G.I.s have always kept America Free !
All The World should ‘Stand Up Against Religious Stupidity And Slavery !”
Perhaps, people have become so “Stupid” they long to “Kiss The Pope’s Butt” and to put their faces in the dirt and their butts in the air for Allah.
I “Hope” children always remain intelligent enough to question old religious fools, who play on the emotions of people to get at the wallets, purses, real estate, and the minds of intelligent adults.
Sam
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Written by samwarren55
January 21, 2015 at 11:21 PM
Posted in Bloggers, Blogs, Business, Current Events, Editorial, Family, God, Leyte, Money, Opinion, Patriotism, Philippines, Soap Box Political Opinion, Soap Box Religious Opinion, Tropics
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