The 64 Memorable Moments in Susan’s Life

Sweet Memories Are Made Of These — And Much More! When I get older, losing my hair
Many years from now,
Will you still be sending me
A Valentine, birthday greetings,
Bottle of wine?
If I’d been out ‘till quarter to three,
Would you lock the door?
Will you still need me,
Will you still feed me,
When I’m sixty-four?
You’ll be older, too, aah
And if you say the word,
I could stay with you.
I could be handy, mending a fuse,
When your lights have gone.
You can knit a sweater by the fireside,
Sunday mornings, go for a ride.
Doing the garden, digging the weeds,
Who could ask for more?
Will you still need me,
Will you still feed me,
When I’m sixty-four?
Every summer we can rent
A cottage in the Isle of Wightif;
It’s not so dear, we can scrimp and save.
Ah, grandchildren on your knee,
Vera, Chuck and Dave.
Send me a postcard, drop me a line
Stating point of view.
Indicate precisely what you mean to say,
Yours sincerely wasting away.
Give me your answer, fill in a form,
Mine forevermore,
Will you still need me,
Will you still feed me,
When I’m sixty-four?

And what relevance does this Beatles song, When I’m 64, have to today’s Conversation piece? None, really. The song simply entered this Beatlemaniac’s mind as Susan Roces, still The Face That Refreshes (especially during these dark days in our country’s history), turned 64 last July 28.

Now, will we still need her when she’s 64? Of course, we will... we do! Susan Roces is the calming element in this time of grave crisis, the rallying force of everyone who believes in the beauty of the soul and the purity of the spirit, in the undying light (at the end of the tunnel?) and in the unfading hope (against hope?) for truth and justice.

To celebrate the birthday of this remarkable lady, Conversations requested her to make a list of The 64 Memorable Moments in her life and she wrote them in her own handwriting on a lined, yellow pad paper. Three pages all in all.

At the end of the list, she wrote:

Dear Ricky,

Sorry it took me a while to do the list. As you will notice, I prefer to remember the happy events in my life...The sad ones I set aside, except the recent chapter in my life.

The current events in our country are an eye-opener to many of us. I feel so sad to note that it is not just our currency that has been devalued; the morals and love for country are fluctuating, too.

At 64, my wish is for honesty, peace, prosperity and good health for all Filipinos.

Love,

SUSAN

Yes, sweet memories are made of these...
1. My first birthday cake – puto (rice cake) with one candle – during the Japanese Occupation.
2. My mother’s breast, my main source of nourishment.
3. A Japanese officer carrying and hugging me because (he said) I reminded him of his daughter back in Japan who was my age.
4. Being in an air-raid shelter, filled with the smell of rotting hay.
5. The confusion and sounds of war.
6. The end of war, with (us) kids playing with Japanese money.
7. Life in a proper and comfortable home after the war.
8. My first day in school.
9. Watching from my balcony ballet dancers having lessons, wishing I was one of them.
10. Attending classes in a tent in Baguio.
11. My Igorot school seatmate in his

g-string.
12. Hiking underneath tall trees on my way to school in the Lepanto Mines in Baguio.
13. Experiencing how it was inside the tunnel of the gold mines in Lepanto.
14. Sliding down, seated on a cardboard box, on the slope in our backyard in Lepanto.
15. My playmate David’s blue eyes, freckles and blonde hair.
16. David and burying our toys, promising to see each other when we grew up.
17. Playing Tarzan in the forest next to our house in Baguio.
18. My first Holy Communion given by Fr. Ohmar, a missionary priest in Baguio.
19. My daddy attending to an accident victim on New Year’s Eve, with the poor victim’s brain exposed. I watched the gory scene holding on to a walnut.
20. My first attempt to bake a cake.
21. My first time to do the marketing; I spent everything on fruits.
22. Moving to different places and transferring homes and schools as I grew up.
23. Sitting on my sister’s lap while riding a jeep so we could save on fare on our way to school.
24. Moving to our first real home which Dad and Mom built in Bacood, Sta. Mesa, Manila.
25. My first vegetable patch.
26. Roses in bloom in our garden.
27. Putting up a show with my sister Bennett, with the sofa as our stage, in our living room.
28. Playing grown-up with Mom’s high-heeled shoes, makeup and veil.
29. Memories of my high school friends.
30. In my mind’s eye...Beautiful beaches, forests, sugarlands, sunrise, sunset and mountains with wild flowers in bloom.
31. Bus rides up and down the zigzag roads in Baguio.
32. My first dance during the junior-senior prom in Bacolod City (Where she studied, at La Consolacion College. – RFL).
33. My first love. (Guess who? – RFL)
34. My first kiss. (With guess who? – RFL)
35. June 6, 1956. That was the day I signed a contract with Sampaguita Pictures.
36. My screen test.
37. Seeing Elvis Presley in person and having my picture taken beside him. (That was when she and Eddie Gutierrez shot a Sampaguita Pictures movie, Romansa sa World’s Fair, in the US. – RFL)

38. Touring Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the US with my friends Pempe (Rodrigo) and Rita (Gomez).
39. My teenage days with Marichu (Perez-Maceda) and Pempe and my Sampaguita family.
40. Coronation day (As Miss Philippine Movies.–RFL) at the Araneta Coliseum with my fans.
41. Accepting my first and second FAMAS awards (For Maligno and Gumising Ka Maruja in 1977 and 1978 respectively. – RFL)
42. Attaining financial independence with my family as my inspiration.
43. Meeting Ronnie, being courted by him, eloping with him and then marrying him.
44. Our wedding day on Christmas Day (Dec. 25, 1968).
45. Our honeymoon in Japan.
46. Moving to the house Ronnie built for me...our home up to now.
47. Ronnie cooking for our daughter Grace and me.
48. Ronnie repainting and redecorating our home to welcome Grace and me from a trip abroad.
49. Ronnie and I attending Mass with the family.
50. Ronnie busy preparing family reunions at home.
51. This time of the year (Her birthday week. – RFL), with Ronnie busy trying to figure out what to surprise me with on my birthday.
52. Memories of my daughter Grace’s wedding day (To Neil Llamanzares. – RFL).
53. Seeing my grandson Brian for the first time at birth.
54. When Ronnie declared his candidacy for President.
55. The Presidential campaign.
56. Monitoring the election returns.
57. Witnessing the disgusting manner the presidential canvass was done in Congress.
58. Seeing Ronnie being tear-gassed by policemen he defended and honored in his movies and hoped to serve well if he won.
59. Ronnie taking his protest to PET (Presidential Electoral Tribunal) which accepted but never heard it.
60. The last time I had coffee with Ronnie, kissed and hugged him goodbye.
61. Getting a phone call that Ronnie was rushed to the hospital...Seeing him at the ICU (of St. Luke’s Medical Center)...His struggle to live...His last breath...His final farewell.
62. The sight of my beloved (Ronnie) in his coffin, my protector and defender, my partner and best friend, my lover.
63. Feeling my life being sucked out of me, yet I had to be strong to continue Ronnie’s quest for justice.
64. Relatives, friends and fans, and total strangers mourning Ronnie’s passing. I had mixed emotions. Through it all, I had to take hold of myself, to keep being strong.

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