Mila had been the secretary of Bruce for many years, and then married him. My sister Rita had been the secretary of Jim Orem for many years, and then married him!
Jim had left his four children a good supply of stock in Exxon. He had said to them: "Do not sell these stocks, ever! If Exxon goes down, the world will go down with it." Bruce confirmed this. Three quarters of the Exxon empire is outside of the United States, through all the nations of the world.
I was interested in their conversation, because Exxon began as the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. Their main plant was in Rahway, a little town just outside the city where I was born – Elizabeth, New Jersey. At one time a Standard Oil tank blew up, and the conflagration was ghastly. There was a crepe on almost every door in our neighborhood. This meant that someone in their family was dead, and the wake was going on in their home.
At that time I was in high school, and working as a clerk, after school and on Saturdays, in the A and P – the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, a chain store. It was the first time we were allowed to give credit to our regular customers.
It reminded Susan that before Jim Orem died, he told them all that he wanted his ashes to be spread around the tree that he had planted in front of her home in the mountains of Northern New York. He died in Florida. When Rita was preparing to carry the ashes up north, she put them in her hand-carry.
At the airport, the hand-carry went through the X-ray. the guard, watching the monitor, noticed the urn. He said to Rita: "What do you have in that bag?" Rita said: "My husband". The guard gulped, took the bag, and gave it to her at once.
Jim Orem Jr., my nephew, liked to walk alone through the streets of Manila, "Just to see how the regular people live." He is an early riser. On the first morning after his arrival he was walking alone and bought a cup of coffee from a wayside stand. He had no Filipino money at that time, so he gave a dollar for the coffee. I said: "Jim, you don’t pay that much for a cup of coffee." He said: "It was worth it. I liked the coffee. And the guy was very happy with the dollar."
On another walk alone, a woman followed him. He was not sure what she wanted, but he could not shake her off. He even went into a mall through the main door and come out a distant side door, to escape her. But there she was, at the side door, waiting for him! He gave her P500 and said: "Go away! Shoo! Go away!" She was happy with the P500, and went away smiling.
He was wasting money, but he did not regret it. He liked the people. He means to retire here. By profession he is a scuba diver. He teaches scuba diving. But after years of teaching he was beginning to have trouble with his ears. He was going down into deep waters, for long stretches of time, three times a day. So he specialized in osteo-therapy. He is a masseur, but his massage does more than get the blood moving. It is medicinal. It heals. He wants to retire here because he still loves scuba diving and the Philippine waters are the best in the world for scuba diving. Also, he thinks that Buko Pie is the best pie he ever tasted. And the people are the most lovable that he has ever met.
Saint Paul University of Manila had all of us for Mass and breakfast, and then presented a beautiful little program. Originally, the whole family was supposed to live with them, in their Hotel and Restaurant Managing Center. But school has not yet begun, and the H.R.M. was not yet functioning, so the Sisters booked them in the hotel next door, the Tropicana Hotel. They could walk to Mass each morning.
In the program, they presented the Jota Moncadena. The whole family admired the grace of the dancers, and the beauty of the costumes. But most of all, they were touched by the warmth and affection of the Sisters, the faculty, the students and the guests. What they noticed was not only the affection shown to them, as visitors, but the obvious love they all had for each other. The President, Wynna Medina, knew every member of the faculty by their first names!
Each member of the family was given a copy of the book "Legacy". Their first attraction to it were the pictures. They pored over it, because many of the pictures they themselves had never seen. Susan at the age of two, on the shoulders of my father. Molly Mullin, my Irish grandmother. Nancy, when she was the amateur champion of the United States, figure skating, on roller skates, with her partner, Billy Reid, whom she almost married.
It was during their visit that I discovered that the book was conceived, assembled and published by only three members of my ancient, medieval, original Ateneo Alumni Glee Club – Ben Nuñez, Totit Olivares and Rey Guevarra. And these three, also, conceived the idea of inviting my family, and finding the funds for it.
When Susan started to read the book she could not put it down. She read it for three hours, lying on a beach in Batangas.
It is 700 pages, hard bound, selling at P1,000. There is a de luxe edition, bound in leather, at P1,500. It is available at:
The National Office of Mass Media
2307 Pedro Gil, Santa Ana
1009 Manila
Phone: 5644518 or 5637319, local 135
Telefax: 5637316
E-mail: nomm@surshop.net.ph
There is a love song that was popular when I was in high school, from 1930 to 1934. It keeps coming back to me, these days. I wanted to sing it for my family, while they were here. But Sister Sarah, who accompanies the Ateneo Alumni Glee Club, would not let me. She felt that it was too sad.
For all we know
We may never meet again . . .
Before we go
Make this moment sweet again.
We won’t say goodbye
Until the last minute . . .
I’ll hold out my hand
And my heart will be in it.
For all we know
This may only be a dream . . .
We come and go
Like the ripples on a stream.
So love me tonight!
Tomorrow was made for some . . .
Tomorrow may never come . . .
For all we know.
Personally, I plan to stay around until I’m 104. And even after that we will be together for all eternity. Still, the beautiful words in that song are reason enough to say "Thank you" to all of you who were so kind to my family, and to all of you who have been so kind to me through the long, long years.
Thank you!
You can reach it on Globe by texting: "Reuter@2978".
You can reach it on Smart by texting: "Reuter@326".