Happy and Sad News for February

By: Veronica Leighton

As many of us think of the month of February as the love month because of Valentine’s Day, we tend to overlook a big commemoration that honors the presidents of this land, the Presidents’ Day, February 20th, a very special day that must be celebrated with parades, programs and events in honoring those wonderful men who worked outstandingly and immensely in making this country a most powerful country in the world. But howcum there’s no fanfare? A blah holiday, except that government offices, banks, and schools are closed on this day, meaning no work or no school, and an extra time to finish some chores. This is one interesting topic to discuss in some occasions.

This national holiday, President’s Day, began as an official recognition of President George Washington’s birthday, that emphasizes the freedom of speech and freedom of the press by our Founding Fathers or Great American Thinkers (the rights that we must exercise freely to these days). One of President Washington’s favorite quotes says: “If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” Meaning that a free press is vital to a free nation.

This issue brings to you a mixture of happy and sad news that concerns some of our personal friends. Sad, for the passing of our friends Ricky Calma (Columnist Jovie Calma’s father, Ellen Tan, a community leader and former hall of famer in community leadership, and Edwin Yaneza, former CPRTV staff), whose commemorative and memorial pages you will find in the inside pages. Happy news brings to us the latest great news and developments on the accomplishments of our former hall of famers, which I will be mentioning below.

Speaking of hall of famers and Valentine features, let me acknowledge the love article contribution of our Valentine’s Couple 2017 in “Veronica’s Vibes,” page 5, Drs. Rupert and Amelita Mayuga and family, the recipients of CFAA Hall of Fame Model Family 2015 award. “A Primer on How to Celebrate Love,” written by Dr. Amy Mayuga, is a very interesting article written by a woman who gives us side tips on making the world go-’round and ‘round and never a dull moment with the loves of your life, referencing to some historical and current lovers. Interesting indeed! Amy is an amazing woman that has shown her enduring love for her husband and family, whose story as a dot-ing mother and wife must be emulated by many immigrants in this country, a woman of strong resolve to keep on being cheerful no matter what life brings her.

Not to be overlooked is Elsie Sy-Niebar’s Valentine’s Couple 2017, Drs. Remedios and Manny Escalona, who have been our community’s favorite couple for their love of life, parties and sharing wtih the other people that they meet. (Read story on pages 14-15, Notebook).

Your favorite Columnists Melody Dizon (Unchained Melody, page 29) and Rev. Nancy Abiera, talk about the “heart,” in a different level, with Melody about our heart health and Nancy about our spiritual heart.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, two outstanding past hall of fame inductees are currently making waves and creating news all over…They are Maria Victoria Smith, 2016 Woman of the Year of the Chicago Filipino Asian American Hall of Fame and the other one is A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D., the new president of DePaul University, the largest Catholic University in this country (Please read Veronica’s Vibes on page 5). Dr. Esteban will start serving as DePaul president in July.

Here’s Vicky Smith’s latest update that I love to share with our readers, direct from the horse’s mouth…”Firstly, it is my honor and privilege to be chosen and featured among the notable “Filipinos Around the World” by the Republic of the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs particularly as a Filipino-American writer.

Then, as if it were a day of pouring rain (and blessings!), my poem, “The Way We Are”, wins an “Honorable Mention” recognition in the 2016 Annual Crosswinds Poetry Journal contest. And may I say–not a bad one, since I had to compete with more than a thousand poems submitted to this contest from 47 U.S. States and 3 foreign countries! This honor is in addition to the journal choosing to publish this and another poem of mine, “My Rumpelstiltskin” (chosen as “Finalist”–which is to say my own poems were pitted against the others I also submitted and fared well!) in its next issue featuring the winners’ works.

Thank you all for your continued patronage and support. You inspire me to give my best to the written page always!”

Our featured cover this month is another inductee in the Chicago Filipino Asian American Hall of Fame 2016, Richie Gil, who was honored and awarded for Excellence in Entertainment. Richie is a licensed nurse practitioner but does his passion (djing) on the side, earning him the title of Party Master. Enjoy his story.##