Merry Christmas
and
Happy New Year
from
Steve and Marcia on the Rock
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The confession; Chistmas party
Kathy S. was Steve’s last manager as an employee at the State of Michigan. Recently Kathy sent us an email saying that she is retiring before the end of the year. This sparked Steve’s memories of the three years he worked for Kathy, and in particular, one incident which he has shared with no one except Marcia.
When he first worked for Kathy, Steve’s job was installing new servers at the three Lansing-area computer centers. They would arrive in large boxes from Dell and HP. He would unbox them, place them into preassigned racks, and hook up all of the wiring necessary to prepare them for the computer techs who loaded the software and put them online. The majority of the installations were done at one site, so Steve was given a computer and space to more-or-less set up an office in a room across the hall from his delivery storage room.
To understand “the rest of the story,” it will help to have some background. At the time we were very familiar with the Jerry Seinfeld Show. We’d seen the reruns often enough that, when talking with other Seinfeld fans, we could make one another laugh simply by mentioning an incident from one of the episodes, such as “calzones,” “serenity now,” or “toothbrush in the toilet.” Some of you readers know exactly what we’re talking about.
There was one particular episode in which Jerry had a man install new cabinets in his apartment. As it turned out, Jerry hated them and had them ripped out. However, George Costanza was inspired to have the handyman come to his office in Yankee stadium, where he was an executive – that in itself is laughable if you know George – and he had the man build a bed underneath (basically into) his desk. George spent his days sleeping right in his own office, and whenever anyone came to the office and didn’t find him there, would assumed he was hard at work someplace else. Eventually George was discovered in his hideout by the grandchildren of Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, but the kids kept their mouths shut and he did not get caught.
One day, after seeing this episode, Steve was in his tiny converted storeroom “office” and the thought occurred to him: would it be possible to set up a sleeping area right there? He was sitting at a desk like those that have become so popular, the ones where modular walls and cabinets and drawers and desks are set up in huge office spaces, creating mazes of virtually identical boring cubicles. However, in Steve’s case he had just enough pieces to hold up a desk with a cabinet above it, but not enough for an actual cubicle. To the left as he sat at the desk was the door, and beyond that another desk, also of modular design. The space under the second desk was empty except for the carpet. Because of all the trash created each time computer servers were unboxed, a large rolling trash box was also kept in the room. It was as tall as the desktop and slightly shorter.
So the idea hit him: if I could get under the desk and manage to pull the box up next to myself, I would have a perfect little hiding place. Now before we go any further, Steve just wants to assure Kathy and his fellow State workers that he had no intention of actually using this as a place to shirk his duties and take naps, but he just had to see if it would work – must have been that voice in everyone’s head that says, “Go ahead, see if you can do it.” So that’s what he did. It was winter, so Steve was wearing his cowboy boots and had his winter coat with him. He kept his boots on, since if someone came in and saw them ‘unoccupied’ he would know Steve must be very nearby. He took the coat, rolled it into a pillow, and crawled under the desk. He was able to roll the trash bin into place, and for a couple of minutes he lay there in semi-darkness just kind of laughing to himself, thinking that indeed this might work.
Moments later, just as he was about to get up, Steve heard Joe C., the computer room manager. Joe was talking in his usual loud voice, and he was obviously with someone. Steve could hear him say, “We’ll get Steve to help you.” Steve froze, thinking, “Oh, crap, now what?” Sure enough the door opened – Joe was one of the very few who had a key – and in walked Joe with someone whose voice Steve did not recognize. He thought, “What am I going to do if they spot me under the desk?” The box was a good foot shorter than the desk space, so his cowboy boots were visible past the end of the box. He couldn’t curl himself more tightly because any movement might have given him away. Fortunately his boots were against the far wall and Joe had no reason to go that far into the room. Steve could actually see Joe through a slit between the desk and the box. Steve held his breath as Joe said, “I just can’t understand it, Steve is usually here.” Then they left the room to look for him elsewhere in the data center. Steve quickly scrambled up, went quietly out of the room, and walked in the opposite direction from the one which they had taken, managing to soon be found by Joe and companion.
As you can imagine, Steve never again crawled under that desk. But it still makes him smile to think of himself hiding under there, hoping that Joe would not spot him, and wondering what he would have said if Joe had.
At least here on Corregidor, if Steve needs to hide from Marcia there are hundreds of caves where she’d never find him…but who knows what else might be hiding there?
We wish Kathy S. a very happy time in retirement, and hope that we can visit with her and some of the gang next summer. Our best wishes also to Al S., Steve’s good friend and co-worker, who also recently took advantage of a State of Michigan early-retirement offer.
In answer to last week’s question of how a beam of sunlight that passes through a round hole could project an apple-shape, two of our readers got the right answer. The wall on which the light fell is not smooth, but s
eamed and curved. If you look at the enclosed picture, “Parachute Dome,” you can see the exterior ribbing on the dome. Indented seams on the inside correspond with these ribs. Looking at the interior, each panel has a recessed spine which splits into curves going right and left at its lower portion. Thus the light has to travel further into the spine, and this causes the apple-shaped distortion in “Sunspot one.” In “Sunspot two” the sunlight is centered near one of the indented seams, so the sunspot shape is elongated at the top as it covers the curves of the two panels, resembling a shield in shape. So far,
no one has proposed a better word for the projected sunlight which we called a sunspot. 
Finally, last night was the annual all-island Christmas party. School is out, so many of the staff-members’ children are here. A good time was had by all, with plenty to eat and drink as well as games, music, and dancing, with some dances led by a professional instructor from Metro-Manila who came with our friend Beth. We’ve included a few pictures from the festivities.
When he first worked for Kathy, Steve’s job was installing new servers at the three Lansing-area computer centers. They would arrive in large boxes from Dell and HP. He would unbox them, place them into preassigned racks, and hook up all of the wiring necessary to prepare them for the computer techs who loaded the software and put them online. The majority of the installations were done at one site, so Steve was given a computer and space to more-or-less set up an office in a room across the hall from his delivery storage room.
To understand “the rest of the story,” it will help to have some background. At the time we were very familiar with the Jerry Seinfeld Show. We’d seen the reruns often enough that, when talking with other Seinfeld fans, we could make one another laugh simply by mentioning an incident from one of the episodes, such as “calzones,” “serenity now,” or “toothbrush in the toilet.” Some of you readers know exactly what we’re talking about.
There was one particular episode in which Jerry had a man install new cabinets in his apartment. As it turned out, Jerry hated them and had them ripped out. However, George Costanza was inspired to have the handyman come to his office in Yankee stadium, where he was an executive – that in itself is laughable if you know George – and he had the man build a bed underneath (basically into) his desk. George spent his days sleeping right in his own office, and whenever anyone came to the office and didn’t find him there, would assumed he was hard at work someplace else. Eventually George was discovered in his hideout by the grandchildren of Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, but the kids kept their mouths shut and he did not get caught.
One day, after seeing this episode, Steve was in his tiny converted storeroom “office” and the thought occurred to him: would it be possible to set up a sleeping area right there? He was sitting at a desk like those that have become so popular, the ones where modular walls and cabinets and drawers and desks are set up in huge office spaces, creating mazes of virtually identical boring cubicles. However, in Steve’s case he had just enough pieces to hold up a desk with a cabinet above it, but not enough for an actual cubicle. To the left as he sat at the desk was the door, and beyond that another desk, also of modular design. The space under the second desk was empty except for the carpet. Because of all the trash created each time computer servers were unboxed, a large rolling trash box was also kept in the room. It was as tall as the desktop and slightly shorter.
So the idea hit him: if I could get under the desk and manage to pull the box up next to myself, I would have a perfect little hiding place. Now before we go any further, Steve just wants to assure Kathy and his fellow State workers that he had no intention of actually using this as a place to shirk his duties and take naps, but he just had to see if it would work – must have been that voice in everyone’s head that says, “Go ahead, see if you can do it.” So that’s what he did. It was winter, so Steve was wearing his cowboy boots and had his winter coat with him. He kept his boots on, since if someone came in and saw them ‘unoccupied’ he would know Steve must be very nearby. He took the coat, rolled it into a pillow, and crawled under the desk. He was able to roll the trash bin into place, and for a couple of minutes he lay there in semi-darkness just kind of laughing to himself, thinking that indeed this might work.
Moments later, just as he was about to get up, Steve heard Joe C., the computer room manager. Joe was talking in his usual loud voice, and he was obviously with someone. Steve could hear him say, “We’ll get Steve to help you.” Steve froze, thinking, “Oh, crap, now what?” Sure enough the door opened – Joe was one of the very few who had a key – and in walked Joe with someone whose voice Steve did not recognize. He thought, “What am I going to do if they spot me under the desk?” The box was a good foot shorter than the desk space, so his cowboy boots were visible past the end of the box. He couldn’t curl himself more tightly because any movement might have given him away. Fortunately his boots were against the far wall and Joe had no reason to go that far into the room. Steve could actually see Joe through a slit between the desk and the box. Steve held his breath as Joe said, “I just can’t understand it, Steve is usually here.” Then they left the room to look for him elsewhere in the data center. Steve quickly scrambled up, went quietly out of the room, and walked in the opposite direction from the one which they had taken, managing to soon be found by Joe and companion.
As you can imagine, Steve never again crawled under that desk. But it still makes him smile to think of himself hiding under there, hoping that Joe would not spot him, and wondering what he would have said if Joe had.
At least here on Corregidor, if Steve needs to hide from Marcia there are hundreds of caves where she’d never find him…but who knows what else might be hiding there?
We wish Kathy S. a very happy time in retirement, and hope that we can visit with her and some of the gang next summer. Our best wishes also to Al S., Steve’s good friend and co-worker, who also recently took advantage of a State of Michigan early-retirement offer.
In answer to last week’s question of how a beam of sunlight that passes through a round hole could project an apple-shape, two of our readers got the right answer. The wall on which the light fell is not smooth, but s
eamed and curved. If you look at the enclosed picture, “Parachute Dome,” you can see the exterior ribbing on the dome. Indented seams on the inside correspond with these ribs. Looking at the interior, each panel has a recessed spine which splits into curves going right and left at its lower portion. Thus the light has to travel further into the spine, and this causes the apple-shaped distortion in “Sunspot one.” In “Sunspot two” the sunlight is centered near one of the indented seams, so the sunspot shape is elongated at the top as it covers the curves of the two panels, resembling a shield in shape. So far,
no one has proposed a better word for the projected sunlight which we called a sunspot. 
Finally, last night was the annual all-island Christmas party. School is out, so many of the staff-members’ children are here. A good time was had by all, with plenty to eat and drink as well as games, music, and dancing, with some dances led by a professional instructor from Metro-Manila who came with our friend Beth. We’ve included a few pictures from the festivities.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
More exploring and tour guiding
Last Sunday Julia Holz, about whom we wrote in our last newsletter, returned with her friend Jill for one last 2010 trek on Corregidor. We had met Jill briefly last year, and she is another Corregidor hiker of many years’ experience. Since they planned to walk a familiar section of trail, one we had never explored, they invited us to join them. The plan was to walk the path which starts just before the War Memorial Zone archway and heads around the southern end of the “head” of the island. Since they were not planning to stay overnight, the decision about which upcoming fork in the road to take would be determined by our progress.
They wanted to start their day with a pancake breakfast, so we met Julia and Jill at the Corregidor Inn at 10:30. That left us more than three hours to hike, plenty on a warm, very humid day in early December. At first the trail was through an area of heavy vines that remotely resemble kudzu. This type of vine is taking over parts of the island, climbing up into nearby trees and completely draping some places. Since we were on the south side of the island, wherever the trail was open to sun it was overgrown with vines, tall grass, or small trees, but in shaded spots there was almost no growth at ground level. Just past an old pump house, we had to very carefully climb down from an old bridge and up the other side of a ravine. It took some hacking with the bolo to once again find the trail. Then we had mostly clear sailing along an old trail that had been cut into the side of the steep hill. Quite often pre-war sidewalk was partially visible.
We went past a trail that led down toward several of the old searchlight positions. Maybe someday when we are again looking for adventure we will try to see if it is possible to follow it. Eventually we came to a sharp turn back up the hill. When we got to the fork in the trail that would either take us to Battery Ramsey or Battery Geary, we decided to take the shorter path to Ramsey. Soon we ran into a massive growth of bamboo. We were not exactly sure where the trail was, all traces having been obscured. Steve hacked at the bamboo for a while, got completely tuckered out, and decided to try to crawl through it instead. After working his way maybe 50 feet, he still couldn’t pick up the trail. In the meantime, the ladies were all trying to find an alternate way through or around the bamboo thicket.
Steve crawled back out – but not before taking one wrong turn and getting really entangled. At this point we decided to try the trail up toward Geary. We walked a few hundred feet and gave up, having encountered another area of heavy overgrowth. We decided that we had best turn around and retrace our original path to make sure that Julia and Jill could make it back on time for the ferry. Since they were under time constraint and we were not, and since Steve was pretty exhausted from all
the bolo work, Julia and Jill went on ahead while we took our time. It was frustrating. We knew that we had been close to picking up the trail, from which point we would have had a relatively short, uphill walk to Battery Ramsey, which is only across Middleside Parade Ground from our house.
Soon Julia and Jill were beyond hearing range, and the two of us meandered along the trail. We were happy to hear that they’d gotten back with enough time to shower b
efore getting onto the boat. By the time we reached Bottomside, drenched in sweat, the ferry was preparing to pull away from the dock. We stopped at Mac’s Café for a late lunch/early dinner, especially enjoying some cold Coca Cola. In spite of the frustration, it was an enjoyable day, good time spent with friends, an introduction to a new-to-us section of trail, and well-earned rest at the end.
On Tuesday Steve led an alu
mni tour for the 1956 class of Ateneo High School, at that time a boy’s college-prep school in Manila. Our friend Ray Ong was a member of that class. He said that class-members gather as often as four times a year, sometimes in the Philippines and other times in the States. A total of eight classmates came for the tour, as did one spouse.
Then on Wednesday Steve guided for recently commissioned 2nd Lieutenants from the Philippine
Marines. We included a few pictures taken during their tour. He really enjoys guiding for groups like the Ateneo alums and the Marines who have a special interest and appreciate his love of the war-time history.
While at topside during a recent tour, Steve was showing how the sun casts a sunspot – just what is the opposite of a sun shadow, anyway? – through the opening at the top of the
parachute dome. (The word for such an opening at the top of a dome is “oculus” for those of you who, like we do, enjoy unusual words.) He was telling the guests that the dome is designed for the sunspot to fully illuminate the surface of the circular altar beneath the dome at noon on May 6 every year to commemorate the anniversary of the Fall of Corregidor. Usually when you are under the dome on a sunny day you can see the spot somewhere. The hole is circular, and the sunspot on the ground is oval in shape except when the sun is directly overhead. But on this day and time, the spot was higher, on the parachute structure itself. To Steve’s amazement it was neither circular nor oval, but shaped like an apple, so he photographed it with his phone and the picture is included here as an attachment. It took a minute for the group to figure out why the spot had such an unusual shape. There is a logical explanation. Can you guess what it is?
They wanted to start their day with a pancake breakfast, so we met Julia and Jill at the Corregidor Inn at 10:30. That left us more than three hours to hike, plenty on a warm, very humid day in early December. At first the trail was through an area of heavy vines that remotely resemble kudzu. This type of vine is taking over parts of the island, climbing up into nearby trees and completely draping some places. Since we were on the south side of the island, wherever the trail was open to sun it was overgrown with vines, tall grass, or small trees, but in shaded spots there was almost no growth at ground level. Just past an old pump house, we had to very carefully climb down from an old bridge and up the other side of a ravine. It took some hacking with the bolo to once again find the trail. Then we had mostly clear sailing along an old trail that had been cut into the side of the steep hill. Quite often pre-war sidewalk was partially visible.
We went past a trail that led down toward several of the old searchlight positions. Maybe someday when we are again looking for adventure we will try to see if it is possible to follow it. Eventually we came to a sharp turn back up the hill. When we got to the fork in the trail that would either take us to Battery Ramsey or Battery Geary, we decided to take the shorter path to Ramsey. Soon we ran into a massive growth of bamboo. We were not exactly sure where the trail was, all traces having been obscured. Steve hacked at the bamboo for a while, got completely tuckered out, and decided to try to crawl through it instead. After working his way maybe 50 feet, he still couldn’t pick up the trail. In the meantime, the ladies were all trying to find an alternate way through or around the bamboo thicket.
Steve crawled back out – but not before taking one wrong turn and getting really entangled. At this point we decided to try the trail up toward Geary. We walked a few hundred feet and gave up, having encountered another area of heavy overgrowth. We decided that we had best turn around and retrace our original path to make sure that Julia and Jill could make it back on time for the ferry. Since they were under time constraint and we were not, and since Steve was pretty exhausted from all
the bolo work, Julia and Jill went on ahead while we took our time. It was frustrating. We knew that we had been close to picking up the trail, from which point we would have had a relatively short, uphill walk to Battery Ramsey, which is only across Middleside Parade Ground from our house.Soon Julia and Jill were beyond hearing range, and the two of us meandered along the trail. We were happy to hear that they’d gotten back with enough time to shower b
efore getting onto the boat. By the time we reached Bottomside, drenched in sweat, the ferry was preparing to pull away from the dock. We stopped at Mac’s Café for a late lunch/early dinner, especially enjoying some cold Coca Cola. In spite of the frustration, it was an enjoyable day, good time spent with friends, an introduction to a new-to-us section of trail, and well-earned rest at the end.On Tuesday Steve led an alu
mni tour for the 1956 class of Ateneo High School, at that time a boy’s college-prep school in Manila. Our friend Ray Ong was a member of that class. He said that class-members gather as often as four times a year, sometimes in the Philippines and other times in the States. A total of eight classmates came for the tour, as did one spouse.Then on Wednesday Steve guided for recently commissioned 2nd Lieutenants from the Philippine
Marines. We included a few pictures taken during their tour. He really enjoys guiding for groups like the Ateneo alums and the Marines who have a special interest and appreciate his love of the war-time history.While at topside during a recent tour, Steve was showing how the sun casts a sunspot – just what is the opposite of a sun shadow, anyway? – through the opening at the top of the
parachute dome. (The word for such an opening at the top of a dome is “oculus” for those of you who, like we do, enjoy unusual words.) He was telling the guests that the dome is designed for the sunspot to fully illuminate the surface of the circular altar beneath the dome at noon on May 6 every year to commemorate the anniversary of the Fall of Corregidor. Usually when you are under the dome on a sunny day you can see the spot somewhere. The hole is circular, and the sunspot on the ground is oval in shape except when the sun is directly overhead. But on this day and time, the spot was higher, on the parachute structure itself. To Steve’s amazement it was neither circular nor oval, but shaped like an apple, so he photographed it with his phone and the picture is included here as an attachment. It took a minute for the group to figure out why the spot had such an unusual shape. There is a logical explanation. Can you guess what it is?Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Corregidor's Number One female explorer
This past weekend, Julia Holz stopped at our house one afternoon to ask us about the conditions of some of the longer trails. After talking to her for a few minutes, we came to realize that Julia quite possibly knows the out-of-the-way trails of Corregidor better than any other woman in the world. She says that she has been to the island about 100 times, and is almost 
always off the beaten path. Julia had just walked from Battery Smith to Battery Way, and told us that along the way she had lost her snipping shears. We have found that in many instances shears are more effective, easier to carry, and definitely safer, than bolos for clearing paths along known trails. She had mentioned her lost shears to the island staffer at Battery Way, hoping that he might have time to back-trace her route and find the shears. We made plans to meet the next morning to walk to a couple tunnels and the command post, all near Battery Wheeler.
Julia’s plans changed a little overnight, after she decided to do the sunrise activities led by the Corregidor Inn staff. When she arrived at our house, she asked what we thought about retracing her trek from the previous day to look for the shears. Since we had intended to walk that trail soon in any case, we gladly accompanied Julia. We walked from our house to Battery Way, then began the long descent from there to the fork which leads to Smith in one direction and James Ravine in the other. We were glad to find that the trail is in pretty good shape, although there are a few trees which block the trail as a result of recent typhoons. When we got to the fork, we continued on towards Smith. Julia had only been using the shears when absolutely necessary, and it had fallen through a hole in her plastic bag.
As Julia began thinking we must be beyond the point where the shears had dropped, we came to a rattan patch that she had apparently pushed aside with her hiking stick the previous day. About 20 feet beyond it Marcia spotted the shears lying smack dab in the middle of the trail. If Julia had only decided to cut through that rattan patch she would have missed her shears and gone back for them. In any case, she was thrilled to recover them.
We then had three choices for our return. The longest was to go on to Smith. We decided to turn around and to try the path to James Ravine instead of going back to Battery Way. We were glad we did. We discovered that this trail is in good shape except for two things: wherever bamboo is growing it is reclaiming the trail, and a rockslide has buried one short section, requiring careful navigation through the rocks to avoid falling or sliding down the hill. But after that it was fine, and we finished by climbing out of James Ravine and taking the old road back to our house. Julia joined us at Mac’s Café to rest while we had lunch before her return to Manila.
On Tuesday we went to the Corregidor Inn to meet Lynn LaFever for the third year in a row. As we reported in our newsletters the past two Decembers, Lynn comes every year
to bring Christmas presents to the children – and now, grandchildren – of island workers. We arrived during the distribution of gifts and were unprepared to take pictures, so we made do with a cell phone camera. We apologize for the poor picture quality. In one of the photos you can see Bing, one of the hotel waiters, receiving gifts for his children from Lynn. On another, you can see Lynn with Vicky.
Vicky was the last elementary school teacher on the island. She came straight from college to teaching here. Corregidor was the very first place that an American school was established in the Philippines, shortly after Admiral George Dewey won the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898. When Vicky started the school in 1985 most of the children here had no schooling. So she was teaching 6 to 12-year-olds their first lessons in a literal “one room school house.” Vicky says that at first it was very difficult. The older children were mostly undisciplined and knew absolutely nothing about most of the s
ubject matters. Initially classes were held in the old Corregidor Inn, then moved to the recreation building at Bottomside, then to a very small building at the stockade level (which is between Bottomside and Middleside) and finally to a larger building nearby, which most recently was operated as the “Sea Calm Inn.”
Beginning in 1997, a second teacher was hired for grades 1-3, and Vicky continued teaching grades 4-6. In 2002 an executive decision was made to close the school, and the order went out that all school-age children must attend mainland schools. The children were completing sixth-grade educations on the island, but very few had gone on to graduate from high school. So to this day, island workers with children must have them enrolled in school, which is hard on the families but absolutely essential to the children’s future prospects. Vicky says that several of her students did very well at schools on the mainland, and we know that some have gone on to college. Our helper, Roy, was one of her students and is a high school graduate. Vicky remains on the island, working as an administrative secretary for the Corregidor Foundation, Inc.
With sadness we bid adieu to the men of Unicorn Security who have served well on Corregidor for the past eight years. Their commander, Dion Montenegro, always has the most wonderful smile. The new contract has been awarded to Ground Zero Security, and we trust that they will become friends as well. Dion and the other guards will be missed. Good luck to the Unicorn guys in the future.
always off the beaten path. Julia had just walked from Battery Smith to Battery Way, and told us that along the way she had lost her snipping shears. We have found that in many instances shears are more effective, easier to carry, and definitely safer, than bolos for clearing paths along known trails. She had mentioned her lost shears to the island staffer at Battery Way, hoping that he might have time to back-trace her route and find the shears. We made plans to meet the next morning to walk to a couple tunnels and the command post, all near Battery Wheeler.Julia’s plans changed a little overnight, after she decided to do the sunrise activities led by the Corregidor Inn staff. When she arrived at our house, she asked what we thought about retracing her trek from the previous day to look for the shears. Since we had intended to walk that trail soon in any case, we gladly accompanied Julia. We walked from our house to Battery Way, then began the long descent from there to the fork which leads to Smith in one direction and James Ravine in the other. We were glad to find that the trail is in pretty good shape, although there are a few trees which block the trail as a result of recent typhoons. When we got to the fork, we continued on towards Smith. Julia had only been using the shears when absolutely necessary, and it had fallen through a hole in her plastic bag.
As Julia began thinking we must be beyond the point where the shears had dropped, we came to a rattan patch that she had apparently pushed aside with her hiking stick the previous day. About 20 feet beyond it Marcia spotted the shears lying smack dab in the middle of the trail. If Julia had only decided to cut through that rattan patch she would have missed her shears and gone back for them. In any case, she was thrilled to recover them.
We then had three choices for our return. The longest was to go on to Smith. We decided to turn around and to try the path to James Ravine instead of going back to Battery Way. We were glad we did. We discovered that this trail is in good shape except for two things: wherever bamboo is growing it is reclaiming the trail, and a rockslide has buried one short section, requiring careful navigation through the rocks to avoid falling or sliding down the hill. But after that it was fine, and we finished by climbing out of James Ravine and taking the old road back to our house. Julia joined us at Mac’s Café to rest while we had lunch before her return to Manila.
On Tuesday we went to the Corregidor Inn to meet Lynn LaFever for the third year in a row. As we reported in our newsletters the past two Decembers, Lynn comes every year
to bring Christmas presents to the children – and now, grandchildren – of island workers. We arrived during the distribution of gifts and were unprepared to take pictures, so we made do with a cell phone camera. We apologize for the poor picture quality. In one of the photos you can see Bing, one of the hotel waiters, receiving gifts for his children from Lynn. On another, you can see Lynn with Vicky.
Vicky was the last elementary school teacher on the island. She came straight from college to teaching here. Corregidor was the very first place that an American school was established in the Philippines, shortly after Admiral George Dewey won the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898. When Vicky started the school in 1985 most of the children here had no schooling. So she was teaching 6 to 12-year-olds their first lessons in a literal “one room school house.” Vicky says that at first it was very difficult. The older children were mostly undisciplined and knew absolutely nothing about most of the s
ubject matters. Initially classes were held in the old Corregidor Inn, then moved to the recreation building at Bottomside, then to a very small building at the stockade level (which is between Bottomside and Middleside) and finally to a larger building nearby, which most recently was operated as the “Sea Calm Inn.”Beginning in 1997, a second teacher was hired for grades 1-3, and Vicky continued teaching grades 4-6. In 2002 an executive decision was made to close the school, and the order went out that all school-age children must attend mainland schools. The children were completing sixth-grade educations on the island, but very few had gone on to graduate from high school. So to this day, island workers with children must have them enrolled in school, which is hard on the families but absolutely essential to the children’s future prospects. Vicky says that several of her students did very well at schools on the mainland, and we know that some have gone on to college. Our helper, Roy, was one of her students and is a high school graduate. Vicky remains on the island, working as an administrative secretary for the Corregidor Foundation, Inc.
With sadness we bid adieu to the men of Unicorn Security who have served well on Corregidor for the past eight years. Their commander, Dion Montenegro, always has the most wonderful smile. The new contract has been awarded to Ground Zero Security, and we trust that they will become friends as well. Dion and the other guards will be missed. Good luck to the Unicorn guys in the future.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Minnesotans come to Corregidor
We have spent most of our lives in the upper Midwest. We both grew up in Minnesota, Steve “up north” in Duluth and the Iron Range, and Marcia in areas that are now southern suburbs of Minneapolis. Later we lived in Wisconsin where Steve graduated from college after service at the Duluth Air Force Base. For 28 years we lived in the Lansing, Michigan area. It should come as no surprise that we are always happy to run into people from those areas. You just don’t expect to run into many, when living on the other side of the world on a remote island. Every once in a while, we are pleasantly surprised. During our early years of marriage we also lived briefly in Texas - San Antonio and Austin, in South Dakota, and in Rochester and West St. Paul, Minnesota.
Some of our encounters: While at Battery Way, Steve spotted a man wearing a University of Michigan cap. It turned out that the man is from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was even familiar with Eaton Rapids, where his uncle had once owned a small restaurant a mile south of town. It had to be Robin’s Nest, where we occasionally joined friends for Sunday brunch. By pure chance one day, Steve was asked to guide for a bus that included a U.S. Embassy attorney who had earned her law degree in Minneapolis. We have become friends. She said that her favorite place to eat in the Twin Cities was Q-Cumber in Edina. When we attended our nephew’s wedding rehearsal dinner this past summer we parked right outside Q-Cumber’s, which is just a short distance from Steve’s sister and brother-in-law’s condominium. And of course there have been others from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, including veterans of WWII and their relatives who have accompanied us on tours.
Just in the past two weeks we have been pleased to meet several Minnesotans. First, Steve happened to notice a couple of “American-looking” women while he was driving down the hill to get onto the internet. Later he again spotted them in the museum and introduced himself. At first the ladies, a mother and daughter, seemed a little reserved, but Steve found out that they were from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. He invited them to stop at the house on their way down the hill. To our great delight they stopped by. Laura, the daughter, had just finished a 27-month hitch with Peace Corps in the Philippines. Her mother Holly joined her and the two of them were touring areas in the Philippines on their own before returning to Minnesota. We ended up sharing soft drinks at our house, and then Steve gave them a personal tour of the Malinta Tunnel laterals before taking them to a banca for a ride to Cabcaben, Bataan. We recently heard from Holly, inviting us to join them at their home next summer. We’re hoping to do that.
During the weekend Steve guided a tour for some members of the American Women’s Club of the Philippines. The woman who organized the tour grew up in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. One of the husbands who had joined the tour had grown up in Coleraine, Minnesota, and is about our age. When Steve mentioned that he thought the best high school hockey player he ever saw was from Greenway High School in Coleraine, the man said, “Mike Antonovich. We were neighbors.” They had a good time talking hockey and also basketball, since Steve’s cousin Stan Krebs was one of the all-time great Minnesota players from that same 60’s -70’s era. Stan led Eveleth, a town rich in hockey history, to its first state basketball tournament.
As you know, we went to Manila for the Veterans Day ceremony. Upon our return Friday morning, we noticed two people s
tanding on the dock talking with island manager Ron Benadero. We suspected that they might be waiting for us, and sure enough, Ron had told them that we were from Minnesota and were coming on the ferry. They had also spotted our jeep with its Minnesota license plate which belonged to Steve’s dad, Walter, and seen the plaque which tells his story at battery Way. (It wasn’t until years later that we realized that the date on that license plate is May, 1988, the same month and year that Walter passed away.) David and Carol are Baptist missionaries living in St. Paul, having worked in Japan for a number of years. It was fun to share stories over lunch.
Then, just the other day, Steve was guiding for a group of staff and children from an orphanage in Cavite, the province just south of Corregidor – technically Corregidor is part of Cavite, even though the post office is in
Bataan. Two of the young workers were from near Grand Marais, which is in extreme northeastern Minnesota. They were quite excited to meet someone here who has ties to their frozen-north homeland.
We have a very old acacia (monkeypod) tree near our house. Since moving into the house here we have been concerned about the effect of the very large vines that climb up the tree; whether their weight might someday contribute to the tree’s demise. Since it is one of only a few trees on the island that definitely survived WWII, we really want it to survive as long
as possible. So we had our helper Roy cut the vines at the ground and up the tree about four feet, thinking that soon they would be dead. Well, we had another think coming! Despite having their roots cut at least a month ago, a
nd seeing a few leaves turn yellow in response, the vines now seem to be thriving. It turns out that they have fine sucker roots sunk into the acacia, obviously stealing water from the tree, and also firmly securing themselves. For all we know they are continuing to spread. We can only wait to see if the vines will wither and die during dry season. So much for our simple solution!
Some of our encounters: While at Battery Way, Steve spotted a man wearing a University of Michigan cap. It turned out that the man is from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was even familiar with Eaton Rapids, where his uncle had once owned a small restaurant a mile south of town. It had to be Robin’s Nest, where we occasionally joined friends for Sunday brunch. By pure chance one day, Steve was asked to guide for a bus that included a U.S. Embassy attorney who had earned her law degree in Minneapolis. We have become friends. She said that her favorite place to eat in the Twin Cities was Q-Cumber in Edina. When we attended our nephew’s wedding rehearsal dinner this past summer we parked right outside Q-Cumber’s, which is just a short distance from Steve’s sister and brother-in-law’s condominium. And of course there have been others from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, including veterans of WWII and their relatives who have accompanied us on tours.
Just in the past two weeks we have been pleased to meet several Minnesotans. First, Steve happened to notice a couple of “American-looking” women while he was driving down the hill to get onto the internet. Later he again spotted them in the museum and introduced himself. At first the ladies, a mother and daughter, seemed a little reserved, but Steve found out that they were from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. He invited them to stop at the house on their way down the hill. To our great delight they stopped by. Laura, the daughter, had just finished a 27-month hitch with Peace Corps in the Philippines. Her mother Holly joined her and the two of them were touring areas in the Philippines on their own before returning to Minnesota. We ended up sharing soft drinks at our house, and then Steve gave them a personal tour of the Malinta Tunnel laterals before taking them to a banca for a ride to Cabcaben, Bataan. We recently heard from Holly, inviting us to join them at their home next summer. We’re hoping to do that.
During the weekend Steve guided a tour for some members of the American Women’s Club of the Philippines. The woman who organized the tour grew up in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. One of the husbands who had joined the tour had grown up in Coleraine, Minnesota, and is about our age. When Steve mentioned that he thought the best high school hockey player he ever saw was from Greenway High School in Coleraine, the man said, “Mike Antonovich. We were neighbors.” They had a good time talking hockey and also basketball, since Steve’s cousin Stan Krebs was one of the all-time great Minnesota players from that same 60’s -70’s era. Stan led Eveleth, a town rich in hockey history, to its first state basketball tournament.
As you know, we went to Manila for the Veterans Day ceremony. Upon our return Friday morning, we noticed two people s
tanding on the dock talking with island manager Ron Benadero. We suspected that they might be waiting for us, and sure enough, Ron had told them that we were from Minnesota and were coming on the ferry. They had also spotted our jeep with its Minnesota license plate which belonged to Steve’s dad, Walter, and seen the plaque which tells his story at battery Way. (It wasn’t until years later that we realized that the date on that license plate is May, 1988, the same month and year that Walter passed away.) David and Carol are Baptist missionaries living in St. Paul, having worked in Japan for a number of years. It was fun to share stories over lunch.Then, just the other day, Steve was guiding for a group of staff and children from an orphanage in Cavite, the province just south of Corregidor – technically Corregidor is part of Cavite, even though the post office is in
Bataan. Two of the young workers were from near Grand Marais, which is in extreme northeastern Minnesota. They were quite excited to meet someone here who has ties to their frozen-north homeland.We have a very old acacia (monkeypod) tree near our house. Since moving into the house here we have been concerned about the effect of the very large vines that climb up the tree; whether their weight might someday contribute to the tree’s demise. Since it is one of only a few trees on the island that definitely survived WWII, we really want it to survive as long
as possible. So we had our helper Roy cut the vines at the ground and up the tree about four feet, thinking that soon they would be dead. Well, we had another think coming! Despite having their roots cut at least a month ago, a
nd seeing a few leaves turn yellow in response, the vines now seem to be thriving. It turns out that they have fine sucker roots sunk into the acacia, obviously stealing water from the tree, and also firmly securing themselves. For all we know they are continuing to spread. We can only wait to see if the vines will wither and die during dry season. So much for our simple solution!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Veterans Day at the American Cemetery in Manila
We never would have gu
essed how difficult a task it was when we included a picture of a semi-circular red object in our newsletter and asked our readers to identify it. Only two people were able to come up with the correct answer without hints. Joe was one of Steve’s best friends growing up in Duluth, Minnesota. Earl was a high school classmate of Steve’s at St. John’s Prep in Collegeville, Minnesota
. Both recognized the picture as a single tile from a roof, common in the southwest U.S. and other warm areas of Spanish influence. We’ve included the original photo from which the close-up was obtained.
Recently we had two tour groups visit the island, having prearranged for Steve as guide. One group included our friends Marie and Gus, three of Gus’ siblings visiting for a family reunion, and a friend of one of the siblings, Colleen. We had a good day together, with cooperative weather and good conversation mixed with the history of Corregidor. The second group was made up of five members of the American Women’s Club of the Philippines, with most of their husbands accompanying them. Some stayed overnight, so we were able to have dinner together at the MacArthur Café just before thundershowers rolled over the island.
Earlier today we attended the Veterans Day ceremonies at the American Cemetery in Manila. We took lots of pictures and are letting them tell the story. Guest speakers were U. S. Ambassador Harry Thomas, Jr. and retired Philippine Lt. Gen. Ernesto Carolina.
essed how difficult a task it was when we included a picture of a semi-circular red object in our newsletter and asked our readers to identify it. Only two people were able to come up with the correct answer without hints. Joe was one of Steve’s best friends growing up in Duluth, Minnesota. Earl was a high school classmate of Steve’s at St. John’s Prep in Collegeville, Minnesota
. Both recognized the picture as a single tile from a roof, common in the southwest U.S. and other warm areas of Spanish influence. We’ve included the original photo from which the close-up was obtained.Recently we had two tour groups visit the island, having prearranged for Steve as guide. One group included our friends Marie and Gus, three of Gus’ siblings visiting for a family reunion, and a friend of one of the siblings, Colleen. We had a good day together, with cooperative weather and good conversation mixed with the history of Corregidor. The second group was made up of five members of the American Women’s Club of the Philippines, with most of their husbands accompanying them. Some stayed overnight, so we were able to have dinner together at the MacArthur Café just before thundershowers rolled over the island.
Earlier today we attended the Veterans Day ceremonies at the American Cemetery in Manila. We took lots of pictures and are letting them tell the story. Guest speakers were U. S. Ambassador Harry Thomas, Jr. and retired Philippine Lt. Gen. Ernesto Carolina.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
We meet Ray and Esther Ong
Last week we made a trip to Manila for the first time in two months. We were invited to stay with Ray and Esther Ong, whom we had talked with only via emails, thanks to a mutual acquaintance, Paul Whitman, of www.corregidor.org.
Ray is a retired Philippine
Army general, while Esther is a retired nurse. They spend about half their time in the Philippines and half in the U.S., where they have a bachelor son and a married daughter. Although Esther was born in the Philippines, she grew up in America and is much more comfortable with English than Tagalog. She is an American citizen. Her father was a sergeant at West Point, which is where and why she met Ray. After nursing school, she worked in a New York City hospital, where she says that, among other things, she personally administered shots in the butts of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961. With their troubles apparently “behind them,” Maris went on to break Babe Ruth’s single season homerun record that year, with Mantle a close second. Esther says that she even had an autographed baseball bat which included their two names, which meant nothing particularly to her at the time, so she left it in a basement when they relocated. Wonder what that bat would be worth today!
Ray, who is a dual Filipino-American citizen, graduated high school from prestigious Ateneo in Manila at the age of 15. After three years at the University of the Philippines, he was awarded a place at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. At that time, one Filipino was given an appointment each year. Twelve years earlier that scholarship had gone to Fidel Ramos, later President of the Philippines (1992-98), and someone we now also consider to be a friend. The scholarship program ended when the U.S. military left the Philippines in 1991.
We spent our first evening mostly talking about West Point. Ray has a book that lists every students from the academy’s first year, 1802, through 2000. It was interesting to look up such men as George Pickett and George Custer, both of whom finished last in their respective graduating classes. But it must be pointed out that about one third of all entrants never graduate, and that all of those selected were outstanding candidates or they would never have been admitted in the first place. Robert E. Lee finished second in his class. Douglas MacArthur, later the West Point superintendent from 1919-’22, was number one in 1903 and had the highest accumulated point total (academics, athletics, and leadership) in 25 years. Ray said that Wesley Clarke, who finished number one in 1966, was a freshman when he was a senior. Ray finished in the top 25%, a great tribute to his preparation at Ateneo and UP, and most of all to his own hard work.
Ray served in the Philippine Army for over 30 years, attaining the rank of brigadier general. He was involved with, among other things, Special Forces, and taught such subjects as calculus and engineering. Esther was a nurse in the United States for many years. As is common in so many Filipino families, they were physically separated for many years due to their careers.
The Ongs treated us very well, and one of their special treats was several great meals. They tend toward more American-style cuisine, so we enjoyed spaghetti and grilled chicken and steaks. Esther made some scrumptious deserts, something we seldom get on Corregidor. In fact, having desserts after meals may very well be one of our definitions of “civilization.” Our waistlines are benefitting from having desserts as a rare event, so our “simple living” on Corregidor is a good thing.
The Ong home is in Fort Bonifacio, not far from the American Cemetery. They are also near a large shopping center called Market Market, a multi-level mall with outdoor shops and kiosks as well. Marcia was able to get a high quality haircut – much needed! – and also found a wing with several fabric shops which will most certainly be revisited during future Manila excursions. Market Market has a number of shops selling used books, a favorite of ours, since there are very few lending libraries here. Steve looked for a CD player, the “Walkman” type, but had no success. They have apparently faded into history, replaced by the newer and smaller electronics such as iPods and cellphones.
The trip back to Corregidor on Saturday morning was fairly uneven
tful, although we did get the opportunity to talk to several Americans who were coming to the island for the day. Steve was not scheduled to be a guide, so we bid our adieus at the dock. Most of the boat had been filled with 122 members of the Nikon (pronounced NEE-kone by the locals) Club of the Philippines. They were obviously hoping for a good photo shooting day. Unfortunately they picked the wrong Saturday, as it was cloudy with rain from about two o’clock on. They stayed overnight, and Sunday’s weather was better, so it seems that their trip was at least somewhat a success.
We are finally having to run our diesel genset regularly. It is near the end of rainy season, although we are not getting heavy rain, and sunshine is significantly decreased and often filtered by thin cloud layers when not obscured by heavier overcast. The good
news is that the temperatures are more moderate. The bad news is that the humidity is up. Still, it is much more comfortable right now than it will be in a few months.
A few newsletters ago we included a picture of a red, semicircular object and asked if any of you could identify it. No one replied, meaning it was either too hard or so easy that no one bothered to tell us. So we are including it again and ask if you can guess what it is. We’d love to hear from you.
Ray is a retired Philippine
Army general, while Esther is a retired nurse. They spend about half their time in the Philippines and half in the U.S., where they have a bachelor son and a married daughter. Although Esther was born in the Philippines, she grew up in America and is much more comfortable with English than Tagalog. She is an American citizen. Her father was a sergeant at West Point, which is where and why she met Ray. After nursing school, she worked in a New York City hospital, where she says that, among other things, she personally administered shots in the butts of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961. With their troubles apparently “behind them,” Maris went on to break Babe Ruth’s single season homerun record that year, with Mantle a close second. Esther says that she even had an autographed baseball bat which included their two names, which meant nothing particularly to her at the time, so she left it in a basement when they relocated. Wonder what that bat would be worth today!Ray, who is a dual Filipino-American citizen, graduated high school from prestigious Ateneo in Manila at the age of 15. After three years at the University of the Philippines, he was awarded a place at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. At that time, one Filipino was given an appointment each year. Twelve years earlier that scholarship had gone to Fidel Ramos, later President of the Philippines (1992-98), and someone we now also consider to be a friend. The scholarship program ended when the U.S. military left the Philippines in 1991.
We spent our first evening mostly talking about West Point. Ray has a book that lists every students from the academy’s first year, 1802, through 2000. It was interesting to look up such men as George Pickett and George Custer, both of whom finished last in their respective graduating classes. But it must be pointed out that about one third of all entrants never graduate, and that all of those selected were outstanding candidates or they would never have been admitted in the first place. Robert E. Lee finished second in his class. Douglas MacArthur, later the West Point superintendent from 1919-’22, was number one in 1903 and had the highest accumulated point total (academics, athletics, and leadership) in 25 years. Ray said that Wesley Clarke, who finished number one in 1966, was a freshman when he was a senior. Ray finished in the top 25%, a great tribute to his preparation at Ateneo and UP, and most of all to his own hard work.
Ray served in the Philippine Army for over 30 years, attaining the rank of brigadier general. He was involved with, among other things, Special Forces, and taught such subjects as calculus and engineering. Esther was a nurse in the United States for many years. As is common in so many Filipino families, they were physically separated for many years due to their careers.
The Ongs treated us very well, and one of their special treats was several great meals. They tend toward more American-style cuisine, so we enjoyed spaghetti and grilled chicken and steaks. Esther made some scrumptious deserts, something we seldom get on Corregidor. In fact, having desserts after meals may very well be one of our definitions of “civilization.” Our waistlines are benefitting from having desserts as a rare event, so our “simple living” on Corregidor is a good thing.
The Ong home is in Fort Bonifacio, not far from the American Cemetery. They are also near a large shopping center called Market Market, a multi-level mall with outdoor shops and kiosks as well. Marcia was able to get a high quality haircut – much needed! – and also found a wing with several fabric shops which will most certainly be revisited during future Manila excursions. Market Market has a number of shops selling used books, a favorite of ours, since there are very few lending libraries here. Steve looked for a CD player, the “Walkman” type, but had no success. They have apparently faded into history, replaced by the newer and smaller electronics such as iPods and cellphones.
The trip back to Corregidor on Saturday morning was fairly uneven
tful, although we did get the opportunity to talk to several Americans who were coming to the island for the day. Steve was not scheduled to be a guide, so we bid our adieus at the dock. Most of the boat had been filled with 122 members of the Nikon (pronounced NEE-kone by the locals) Club of the Philippines. They were obviously hoping for a good photo shooting day. Unfortunately they picked the wrong Saturday, as it was cloudy with rain from about two o’clock on. They stayed overnight, and Sunday’s weather was better, so it seems that their trip was at least somewhat a success.We are finally having to run our diesel genset regularly. It is near the end of rainy season, although we are not getting heavy rain, and sunshine is significantly decreased and often filtered by thin cloud layers when not obscured by heavier overcast. The good
news is that the temperatures are more moderate. The bad news is that the humidity is up. Still, it is much more comfortable right now than it will be in a few months.A few newsletters ago we included a picture of a red, semicircular object and asked if any of you could identify it. No one replied, meaning it was either too hard or so easy that no one bothered to tell us. So we are including it again and ask if you can guess what it is. We’d love to hear from you.
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