PASTELS FOR DINNER (OR WHERE HAVE ALL THE LANZONES GONE?)

It was the week of Camiguin's annual Lanzones Festival.

And there were no lanzones in sight.

Except giant lanzones crafts festooned on lamp posts.

Not much seafood either (where have all the fish gone too!).

But we have our cameras, and there was the Gui-ob church ruins in Catarman.

The pastels were sweet but nothing beats early morning photography.

MAMA BUTCH, INA NG LAGING SAKLOLO

Ang naaalala ko kay Mama ay ang mga uwi niyang buto ng hamon tuwing magbabakasyon siya sa Maynila.

'Tsaka 'yung kinilaw niyang talaba na nagbunsod ng karera sa amin nina Amor at Kata kung sino ang unang makakarating sa napakalaking banyo ng Joenga. Every 2 minutes.

'Tsaka 'yung maliit niyang kabinet na madalas naming hiraman ng t-shirt kahit di kami nagpapaalam sa kanya.

'Tsaka 'yung pag-coach niya kay Dada kung ano ang dapat gawin sa mga date nila ni Gaspar.

'Tsaka 'yung abutan namin siya ni Willy na maglilinis sa napakalawak na sibuyasan with all the colorful kurkurantings.

'Tsaka 'nung isinama niya kami nina Utol at Blance sa Pansol para maligo sa hot spring at kumain ng sinigang na kanduli.

'Tsaka 'yung konsepto niya ng ideal man na bangulbangolan at naglalangis katulad ni Al Carasco.

Madami pang ibang ala-ala. Nakakatuwa. Nakaka-miss.

Pero para sa madami sa amin, siya ang ina ng laging saklolo na takbuhan sa oras ng krisis. 

Katulad ng biglang pagsulpot ng magaling na kapatid kong kolehiyala para humingi ng allowance na magpapatsuktsak din pala kaya hindi na nakatapos. 

Ayaw niya ng mga malulungkot na eksena kaya n'ung farewell party niya bago mag-migrate sa US ay bigla na lang siyang naglaho.

Amerikano na siya nang muli naming makita at ipagluto kami ng mechado. 

At pinadalhan pa kami pagkatapos ng isang napakalaking package na pamasko kasama ang mga ni-request na x-rated video. 

Nagkita ulit kami sa LA after 5 years at d'un ko natuklasan na Butchoy pala ang nickname niya (pinanggalingan ng Butch?) at puede na niyang labanan sa karera si Schumacher (ni ayaw niyang umangkas so motorsiklo noon!) at isa na siyang accomplished nurse (di ba takot siya sa karayom dati?).

Walang nagbago. Siya pa din ang aming Mama Burch na Ina ng Laging Saklolo...

MGA LARAWAN: [1] Si Ruel ang unang photographer na nanggaling sa Nueva Ecija Branch at kuha niya ang unang larawan sa itaas halos 2 dekada na ang nakakaraan, na na-download ko sa Facebook account ni Tatang. [2] Ang pangalawang larawan naman ay mga kuha ko kay Mama Butch habang ipinapasyal niya ako sa LA area. [3] Ang pangatlong larawan ay kuha sa museum ng Mission San Buenaventura. 

JIMMY CARTER AND HOW THE GIPPER CAME INTO OUR LIVES

Once upon a time, old man Pepito wrote the president of the United States. I never knew what was in that letter but it got a package from President Jimmy Carter himself which included a letter signed by him and a coffee table book about them in the White House.

I would later read from the Bulletin that President Carter lost his reelection bid to a man called Ronald Reagan (handsome and dashing in the news photo). The last image we saw of him is a man in overcoat(?) waving to his supporters as the Iran hostages were being brought back to the United States.

I did not care much about President Ronald Reagan at that time. It would only be later from documentaries in the Discovery Channel (or was it National Geographic) that I would realize how he came to be known as the Great Communicator. I particularly like that speech in Germany ("Mr. Gorbachev brought this wall down!") and a presidential candidates' debate ("I promised not to make age an issue and so I will never question the relative inexperience of my young opponent!" or something like that).

So when Mama Butch asked me to choose between the J. Paul Getty Museum (where I can shoot the Cathedral of Angels along the way as suggested by climate change talks colleague Albert Magalang) and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, I went for the latter because I thought he was more of a real person to me.

The library at the scenic Simi Valley was recently refurbished and Mama Butch became an instant member. It was a surreal moment for me as the story of the man I read in the Bulletin who beat Jimmy Carter unfolded in video footages, blown up photos, and relics of his presidency while I munch on complimentary jelly beans.

It was a fitting finale to my 4-day sojourn in Los Angeles, so here's one for The Gipper.

PHOTOS EXPLAINED (from top to bottom):
The last 3 photos above shows [1] the statues of the late president and former First Lady Nancy Reagan at the entrance to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library; [2] the Boeing 707 Air Force One that was in service from 1973 until 2001 and spanned the presidencies of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George Bush the Elder, Bill Clinton, and George Bush the Younger; and [3] former president Ronald Reagan's tomb.