I think letter-writing is more personal. The joy of finding the right stationery, the right words to express how you feel and the painstaking process of writing in longhand all your thoughts is an emotional process no e-mail or text message can replicate.
Recently, I received two letters from the mail – one from Fharende Ferolin of Iloilo City and the other from Milagros Cano-Sicam of Pasig City. Both are kind readers of this column. (Thank you!)
Here are parts of the two letters that I’d like to share with you:
Dear Mr. Abunda,
I would like to thank you for featuring Tiffany in your column last Feb. 2. I liked it very much! Can you also feature Deborah Gibson in your column? I would really appreciate it if you can grant my request for I am one of their loyal fans.
Sincerely yours,
Fharende Ferolin (signed)
Well, Fharende, the reason why Deborah Gibson (a.k.a. Debbie Gibson) has not been very visible in the recording scene lately is because she has returned to her theatrical roots.
Deborah took a star turn in the Broadway production of Les Miserables as Eponine and then broke box-office records in the London West End production of Grease as Sandy. She then took the stage in the US Broadway Tours of Grease and Funny Girl playing Rizzo and Fanny Brice, respectively.
Then, Deborah returned to Broadway as Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, followed by her critically-acclaimed performance as Gypsy Rose Lee to Betty Buckley’s Mama Rose in Gypsy at the Paper Mill Playhouse.
In February 2000, Deborah starred as The Narrator in the national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Then in December 2001, Deborah starred in a three-month engagement as Cinderella in the national production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella to Eartha Kitt’s Fairy Godmother.
In October 2002, Deborah graced the stage as Velma Kelly in Boston’s
North Shore Theater’s production of Chicago, a role which she did again at the Lyric Theater in Oklahoma City in July of 2003.
In February 2003, Deborah returned to Broadway for a four-month stint as the saucy, sexy Sally Bowles at Studio 54 in Cabaret.
Adding to her accomplishments, Deborah is also the composer and lyricist of her own Broadway musical, Skirts.
In the recording scene, Deborah just released her newest single, Naked.
Also posted on the Internet in one of her websites is an official announcement from Playboy (yes, the men’s magazine!) that "the original pop princess–Deborah Gibson– leaves behind her teen idol image and embraces her grown-up, glamorous side in a stunningly sexy, eight-page nude pictorial in Playboy’s March 2005 issue." The said statement also says that Deborah will be featured in the annual Sex and Music issue, which hit newsstands last February.
The second letter from Ms. Milagros Cano-Sicam is about the feature I did on how Sandy Andolong was miraculously healed from five different ailments – thanks to her unwavering faith in the Lord and the "healing gift" of Fr. Joey Faller of the Grotto of Healing and Purification of the Kamay ni Hesus Healing Miracle in Lucban, Quezon.
Here’s the letter:
Dear Mr. Abunda,
Kudos to you on your article about Mrs. Andolong’s leap of faith. I had cancer of the colon in 1996; something like two feet of it was removed by Dr. Augusto Sarmiento of Medical City. I also did Chemotherapy upon the insistence of family and friends, which is part and parcel of cancer management.
In my heart of hearts, I knew I was healed by our good Lord Jesus Christ by my daily reception of His Body and Blood in Holy Communion before.
In 2002, I had a freak accident. I slid on the kitchen floor which broke the lumbar third of my spine. CT Scans taken at Cardinal Santos Medical Center also showed compression (fractures) of the rest of the lumbar spines. Presently, I walk alone, briskly at that. I can kneel for a half hour to one hour straight.
Amazing is God’s love. Jesus Christ is the greatest healer. Love heals. God is love. Love is God.
Mila Cano-Sicam (signed)
Thank you for sharing your empowering experience with us. And thanks to both of you for taking the time to write me.