A flight to remember

In September 2004, Tess Santos was on her way to Los Angeles aboard a Southwest Airlines flight from San Francisco. By a stroke of serendipity, she found herself seated next to a good-looking, single American male.

She could not believe her luck and neither could her friends in Manila when she excitedly told them about that encounter with Dave Coffill, president of Memory Technologies Inc. David is an expert in memory-enhancement programs and gives seminars all over the USA on how to improve one’s memory.

One lady friend, a world traveler herself, joked that she had done close to a thousand flights and has always had the bad luck of getting seated next to men who smelled like onions or who looked like Mickey Mouse.

"And to think that I just forced myself to take that flight because I was a bit under the weather at the time," Tess said. "I wanted to postpone the trip but my girlfriend in LA would not hear of it as she had already planned some activities for us. Thank God I took the flight! "

There wasn’t a dull moment between Tess and her seatmate during the 55-minute flight. Dave impressed her with a few Tagalog phrases that he learned from his Filipino students during his memory-enhancement seminars. Tess could not believe that he was able to remember long phrases like "iniibig kita hanggang kamatayan." There was bit of flirtation and a lot of chemistry between them. Before they landed, they exchanged business cards.

They did not communicate with each other after that eventful flight. But as they say, when it is meant to be, there is no stopping fate. After a few months, Tess received an e-mail from Dave. She instantly replied and that started a formal correspondence via e-mail. The formalities turned into flirtatious e-mails, which soon turned into a cyber romance. In April 2005, Tess flew to San Francisco to visit her mother and brother Cesar.

When Dave got wind of her visit, he invited her to meet him in Las Vegas. Tess did it the Filipina way. "I went chaperoned by my mother. That gave Dave a glimpse of Filipino culture – we have to be courted with the approval of our parents." Under the approving eyes of mommy dearest, their romance bloomed and they became inseparable.

Because of her job, (she was the indispensable girl Friday of Philippine STAR chairman Max Soliven), Tess had to fly back to Manila in May. In June, Dave followed her to Manila. She took him around to see different resorts and organized memory-enhancement seminars here to keep him from getting bored. (Those who are interested may log on to his website at www. ultimaterecall.com.)

Dave fell in love with the Philippines, with the Filipino people and one special Filipina: Tess Santos. When asked what made him fall in love with Tess, he instantly replied, "I love her warmth, her passion for life (and for me!), and her loyalty!"

By September 2005, exactly one year after that memorable flight to LA, he bought her a heart-shaped engagement ring without her knowledge. They were in Huntsville, Alabama, for a week where he was doing a workshop and staying at the Marriott Hotel. It was almost sunset when he invited her to take a stroll in the gardens of the hotel. He found a romantic spot and all of a sudden he knelt down and blurted: "Will you marry me?" Tess was dumbfounded and could not answer. She gave him one big passionate kiss, which meant "yes." At that point, he slipped the diamond ring on her finger.

On May 25, 2006, Tess and Dave tied the knot in formal ceremonies at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas with 20 close friends and family members present. On Dec. 21, they decided to have a reception at the Tower Club, Makati, with 80 of their close friends in attendance.

As a special tribute to Max Soliven, for whom Tess worked for 27 years, a special video was shown during the reception. Then it was time for Dave to make his speech.

Dave thanked Tess for making him the happiest man on earth with her love and devotion. Just like the memory man that he is, Dave remembered to thank all the friends (by their complete names) who helped make his stay in Manila memorable, starting with his first visit.

Special friends like Tony Lopez, Zenda Cabangon and Sara Soliven de Guzman, who have known Tess for the longest time, gave their spiel on their many memorable moments with Tess. They will surely miss her.

It was such a joyful event and everyone wished Dave and Tess all the happiness in the world! The couple will make their home in San Francisco starting this year, but they promised to visit Manila often. To Tess and Dave, godspeed!