 |
| Why yes, that's an Alexander McQueen scarf that I'm wearing! |
I left my country in January of 1975. And though I wasn't sure I really wanted to leave, inside me, I felt a certainty that I would never again come back as a full-time resident of my home country. I didn't know how that was going to happen but happen it did.
I have some pleasant memories of my country....very happy ones. Every time I look back, I long for my home though I know it doesn't exist anymore. Logistically, it's not easy to bring back parts of my home--not cheap either. So every time I had a chance, I would take a few items here and there to remind me of my home. My mother and aunts would also later bring me some of these treasures.
So.
To memorialize these small items, I am going to run a little inventory just in case something happens to me and before people start dumping my things into boxes to give away to Goodwill. Here are some of the things that mean a lot to me and I think they should be passed on and distributed to all those who feel an affinity for their Filipino mother, grandmother or whatever. These are the things that came from my home in Manila and later, in Quezon City. Some belong to my grandmother.
Below is a picture taken in August of the mid-1930s in front of the steps that lead to the 'balconaje' or the front balcony of her old Filipino-style house made of wood, nipa leaves and bamboo. I loved this wonderful house. It is built on stilts and most of the rooms had bamboo slats for floors. This meant that air would flow from the floors and the big windows and doors. In the summer, the house would cool itself and one can feel the breeze when you slept on the floor on woven mats as we did. Those were good times. In this picture is Inang holding my Auntie Nieva. Then my Tatang (Saturnino Veloira) behind my mother in the printed dress and Auntie Edith. Check out the village children milling about behind--typical of Filipino culture when children hang around their favorite teacher. Inang was an elementary school teacher. Note my Tatang's patrician features which showed some of his Spanish blood and my Inang had more Chinese. That was why all their children had very light complexion with Nieva having freaky light brown eyes for a Filipino and curly, brown hair.
This butter cover is also from Inang's--pronounced 'ee-NUHNG (Filipino word of endearment for "mother"--'Ina' pronounced ee-NUH--accent on 2nd syllable) glass cabinet. The actual butter dish is lost but my Auntie Nieva found another to replace it in an estate sale in upstate New York where she lives. I love this piece too. Well, what don't I love? These are tangible pieces of my history! And knowing that at one time, my grandmother used these things makes me tender when I touch them and connects me to her. I would wish that my children and so forth will feel the same connection.
This beautiful porcelain covered bowl/casserole dish with 14k gold detail came from my house in Quezon City, Philippines but it originally belonged to Inang as well. She bought it from a famous department store in Manila in the late 20s. Or rather, my Tatang (endearment for "Tatay" or "Itay" meaning 'father') bought it for her. (Tatang is pronounced TAH-tung accent on first syllable....Tatay is pronounced TAH-tie or TAH-tahy accent on first.) This department store was, as the old Filipinos would say, 'very high class' and was opened in July of 1921.You can see the name on the bottom of the dish. LR Aguinaldo. (Pronounced ah-ghee-NAL-doh accent on the 3rd) The LR stands for Leopoldo R. who was the president of commerce in the 30s, a very prominent politician and businessman. This set is very, very rare and MUST be handled with care. You cannot place this in the microwave for example. I am going to post below the old street from whence it came. You can see the letters L.R. of L.R. Aguinaldo Stores on the side of the building. And then I will post the same street as it looks now.
The photo above is the street called Calle Anloague where the Aguinaldo store used to be. The term 'anloague' comes from the Tagalog word anluwagi which means carpenter. Anloague is obviously the Latinized version/spelling. This street was named thus because many of the carpenters who built the stores and houses lived here. The buildings were called "Bahay na Bato" or house made of stone. Later, this street would be known as Calle Juan Luna named after the great patriot of the 1800s who was also a great artist. The painting in our dining room of the Maria Clara with her suitor standing and flirting on the balcony is a replica of one of his famous paintings. Below is the street as it now looks: the store is now a condo building. (Sob)
Well, I am getting a bit overwhelmed right now so I'm going to stop here. But I'll post more photos after a short break. (Laundry.)
*******************
OK I'm back. Below is a photo of Ellen's old stamp collection album. It is falling apart. She probably hasn't seen it since the early 70s but when I went home a few decades back, I saw it and decided to take it back with me. Confession time: I really loved her collection perhaps more than she did and was so fascinated by it. I studied each stamp with a magnifying glass over and over and I think I looked at this album every day while I was home from high school and college. Here's my dreaded confession--my Tatang also had a stamp collection. One day, I stole some of his stamps that were duplicates or triplicates. I think I did that a few times. I don't know where his collection is now but in a way I'm glad I did that because now I have some of his stuff too. I am posting a page or so below:
Above and below are curious stamps. These are two of the ones I 'borrowed' from my grandfather. Note the redactions. I believe that these stamps were issued at least around 1935 when The Philippines was a commonweath of the US. Then at the time when these particular stamps were used, it was probably after 1945 when we (theoretically) became an independent republic. Hence the redaction to its politically acceptable form. I believe these stamps are very rare and valuable. Too bad they are not on the original envelopes or they would fetch a tidy sum.
Above is a photo of a poor Scottish terrier in glass. It's just a useless kind of thing. But I've had this as far back as I can remember. As a young child, I used to 'cure' this poor dog with mercurochrome. I loved painting it 'red' with the mercurochrome wand. No one probably knows what mercurochrome is but I am going to post a photo below:
Anyway, this glass dog brings back those childhood memories and I was actually surprised to find this little old friend still around the last time I went home. So off it went with me. And now it's got a little spot on my kitchen window.
These two mother of pearls used to be displayed in our living room. They came from Maxine Grimm's pearl farm in the Philippines. I don't exactly know where. But they are very precious and remind me of how exotic and beautiful my country is. And yes, those are pearls.
These books which are incomplete sets belonged to my mother. She bought them from a missionary who was about to be released. I remember how happy she was when she got these. My mom read a lot. And she couldn't read enough books about the LDS church so when she bought these, we all felt her excitement. Although they are incomplete, these volumes are no longer in print. They are rather interesting to read and may contain some things that are hard to explain. I believe they are now referred to as "folk-doctrine". I find that to be inflammatory but I guess it's a very plain and simplistic way to explain modern revelation and the spiritual maturation of our early leaders. I won't go into any filibustering about my thoughts on this but I will in another forum. This doesn't shake me up in any way but rather, it gives me a fuller, more vivid and lateral vista of how God dispenses knowledge, understanding, clarification and light to all those who seek it. For the most part personal revelation can only be communicated in a spiritual way. And to try and articulate concepts that are beyond the scope of our understanding requires more than just words to encapsulate them. Another time.
These tomes did not come from my old house. BUT they are valuable to me and represent some of the magazines that we received. Note the years of issues of these magazines. In the 1964 volume, there is a very nice article about the church in the Philippines with pictures of my friends from Primary. 1965 is the year our family was baptized into the church. These magazines represent the first early months of membership. The Relief Society magazine was very dear to me because I read and re-read them and gazed at the covers which showed beautiful scenes from Utah. I thought Utah was just beautiful and longed to someday see it. I was all of 9 years old and I enjoyed this magazine more than the Improvement Era or The Friend.
This handpainted plate used to hang on the wall of our dining room in our house in Quezon City. I don't know where it came from but my mom loved it so much that when she left the Philippines to live here permanently, she brought it with her. So now I have it and it is displayed in our family room. It reminds me of all the great meals we had around our beautiful mother-of-pearl inlaid hand-carved mahogany dining room table that unfortunately, we could not bring to the US. All the chairs were hand-caned on the seats and backrests. And it had a beautiful lazy susan with beautiful mother-of-pearl inlaid floral patterns. Ahhh..... That was when we had at least 2 maid who cooked and cleaned after us. Our meals were always wonderful and hot. And in the afternoons, it was not unusual to have many friends from church and work milling around for food and refreshments. Those were idyllic times when friendships were not so complicated like here in the US.
Well, I am going to take another break and maybe have some dinner.
********************
The scarf below belongs to Inang as well. It doesn't look like it's in very good condition. But it's very intricate and made of fine silk. DO NOT try to use an iron to smooth the wrinkles as the silk will burn and melt. Place a pillowcase or kitchen towel over it to iron with medium heat. The workmanship is very delicate and the tassels are handmade. It's very special. The next picture shows in beautiful calligraphy, the name of my maternal grandmother, Leonora which was especially hand printed for her. It's a very beautiful name, I think.
The book below by Spencer W. Kimball is pretty worn but it has a rare treasure on the fly leaf.
This book was personally handed to my parents by the prophet himself during a visit to the Philippines. Below is what he wrote on the fly leaf of the book. Enrique and Priscila de Rama are of course, my parents. Papa Dick as my Papa is known by my sons, died in December of 1989 when Hannah was just over 8 months old. We were in Fremont, California in their home when he passed. He had been in hospice care for just a couple of weeks and just about 4 months after he was diagnosed with liver cancer. He knew we were all around him. When we sat just a few steps away from his bed, we were playing a board game. And then Ellen looked at him and he was no longer breathing. He slipped away when while we were having fun. That is so typical of him. I still miss him to this very day and get all tender at the memories that I have... or choose to remember. He was so talented and kind. I wish he had the chance to see my children grow up. But then again, it was necessary for him to pass.
No comments:
Post a Comment