Believing in the postal system

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

A WEEK ago I prepared the first batch of Christmas cards for family and friends back home. I want to mail early because I'm staying in North Carolina now and the cards will be sent to Cagayan de Oro, Manila, New Zealand and Cebu.

It was while I wrote the addresses of the recipients that I was struck with the thought that no matter how anarchic our mailing system is compared to the convenience offered by email, it is still dependable because it reaches the intended recipient.

Consider this---I have to send a Christmas card to Sterling Insurance at Don Apolinar Velez because this was where I used to hang out with my sister Betty Alombro who worked as a manager there before she migrated to New Zealand.

So I wrote the address “Sterling Insurance besides VIP hotel Velez Street.”

Next I addressed a Christmas card to former congressman Erasmo “Jun” Damasing at Puntod.

I didn't have the exact address so I just wrote it this way “Atty. Erasmo Damasing, Puntod, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines.” Then I wrote one Christmas card to Atty. Annabel Carmen Casino Baluran and addressed it to branch 17, Hall of Justice in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines.

Correct postal address

Then my husband Ronnie Dennis, who worked with the US Postal Office for 30 years, saw the address and told me “you couldn't do that, it should bear the zip code and complete address.” I didn't reply and just smiled.

I'm sending the mails even without the exact address so I knew the Christmas cards would reach the recipient. I don’t know how the post office would do it.

Ron Dennis surely knows the importance of a correct postal address.

But that's not how we Filipinos do it back home. The address is always written beside, the front, at the back, near or any description of the distance that a postman can understand.

There are mails that never reach the recipients but in fairness a majority of the mails are received due to the diligent efforts of the messengers.

Postmen are friends of the community, they reach the farthest barangay or village despite their meager travel allowance. I am reminded of the story of my grandfather who recounted that during his time, postmen can deliver mail simply by receiving verbal directions.

Correspondence

Here in the U.S, the postal addresses are specific. If it is 18605 Ruffner Driver- Apt 1-A Cornelius, NC 28031 it never changed. It also applies to one giving directions to other people.

The postal address enables the Global Positioning System (GPS) to locate people. In colonial times, correspondents depended on friends, merchants and native Americans to deliver messages between the colonies.

However, most correspondence ran between the colonists and England, their mother country. To handle the large volume of mail, the first postalservice was instituted in 1639.

The General Court of Massachusetts designated Richard Fairbanks' tavern in Boston as the official repository of mail brought from or sent overseas, in line with the practice in England and other nations to use coffee houses and taverns as mail drops.

Local authorities operated post routes within the colonies. Then, in 1673, Governor Francis Lovelace of New York set up a monthly post between New York and Boston.

Strong public support

The service was of short duration, but the post rider's trail became known as the Old Boston Post Road, part of today's U.S. Route 1.

William Penn established Pennsylvania's first post office in 1683. In the South, private messengers, usually slaves, connected the huge plantations; a hogs head of tobacco was the penalty for failing to relay mail to the next plantation.

But of course that is part of my readings about the U.S postal system- I still consider it superior despite looming news of proposals to close it due to budgetary concerns and the prevalence of email.

Still, there are Americans who would rather preserve the postal service due to its continuing historical value and functional relevance. 

It is this strong public support for the postal system that shores up my faith and belief that the Christmas cards I sent to my recipients, including Atty. Damasing would reach them. Damasing in particular is known by all postmen in Puntod.

(This article also appeared in Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro).

Thanksgiving Day in the Carolinas

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

“Give Thanks to the Lord; His love endures forever”
Psalm 107:1

I started off my Thanksgiving article with this Bible verse, a simple acknowledgement of the reason behind this most awaited celebration, perhaps even more so than Christmas.

Nov. 27, Thanksgiving Day, is a big celebration here in US. It’s an official holiday which means government and private offices are closed so families can celebrate it.  Apparently however, not everyone agrees as can be seen in this story.

When I was new in North Carolina, my initial impression was that Thanksgiving is like Christmas; so much food on the table that it’s enough to feed one village.

To me back then, it’s like the fiesta back home in the Philippines where you can move from house to house and eat and celebrate with friends and even friends of your friends.

Thanksgiving is also that time when malls and stores offer all kinds of sales- clearance, Thanksgiving, early Christmas with rates from 25 to 75 percent. To non-Americans, this is called the “Black Friday” sale where buyers would line up outside stores as early as 12 a.m.

Tradition
It is the time of the year also when all turkeys would run away if they knew what would happen to them or so Grea Tulio-Penilla, a fellow Kagay-anon would like to imagine. “I’m glad that I am not a turkey,” she would quip.

I have asked some Fil-American friends how they spend Thanksgiving and I share this with you since we don’t have this holiday back home.

Lydia Empil Arnett of Thomasville, North Carolina said it’s been a tradition for her family to spend 4-5 days at the coast of Carolinas. “Thursday the 28th is Turkey day, an event to thank the Lord for His grace and for the sacrifice made by the pilgrims in heading to the New World,” she said.

Friday and Saturday are spent relaxing at the Fort Fisher war museum and Kure Beach arcade, Arnett said.

Gina Cohold of Charlotte marks Thanksgiving Day with traditional cooking such as turkey, green beans, mashed potato with gravy, grandma’s stuffing (Jim's mother recipe), etc.

Shopping
Jim's mother usually comes into town from Florida. “After eating we watch the Macy’s parade and karaoke,” Cohold said.

Elizabeth Ruthermund of Salisbury has this to say about her Thanksgiving: “Keven always cooks the bird then we help with the rest of the cooking. This year’s celebration is spent with his brother and sister,” she said.

For Ghing Voght, Thanksgiving is spent by her family with a visit to her sister-in-law for lunch. “Then we come home for a little nap, then in the evening will go out for Black Friday shopping with friend,” Ghing said.

For her part NC Knighngalez said she would cook a full meal for her family and spent the celebration at home.

Two Fil-Americans who used to travel on Thanksgiving and spend the days with the in-laws broke with tradition by deciding to spend the holiday here at North Carolina.

Blessings
According to Maria Rexy Weezorak, her family used to drive to Rochester New York to celebrate with in-laws. But they got tired of driving all the way up there so they stayed and cooked turkey, apple pie, potato pie, cauliflower and cheese and mashed potatoes.

Another Fil-Am, Dorena Reynolds whose husband Dexter is originally from Georga, stayed home and cooked traditional American food especially smoked meat and collared greens. Filipino dishes like adobo and pancit were also available in her menu.

Maria Corazon Ducusin Benrokiya also hasted to add that Thanksgiving is also the only time that she cooks all American dishes and “invite families to join her family” in the celebration.

Many years ago, US President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation in 1863 asking that "all Americans ask God to "commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife" that is the US Civil War and to "heal the wounds of the nation."

He declared the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. With that thought in mind, Thanksgiving Day means we are not only grateful on this day but for everyday that we get to spend life on this planet and partake of the blessings that God gave us.

Of MRI exams and 'haplacious' oil

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

Since I'm a technology novice, my first Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) exam was a scary experience that I had to undergo out of necessity after I felt pain in my left shoulder.

My primary doctor feared that I may have injured the rotator cuff on my shoulder and his diagnosis merely made official the existence of persistent pain in my left shoulder for the past two years which I blame on aging (haha).

The doctor initially gave me pain relievers, specifically anti-inflammatory medicine. A month of taking the medicine didn't ease the pain and I was afraid that my condition was worsening.

So it was back to my primary doctor and he gave me a shot and recommended that I see an orthopedist. I began with physical therapy and it was admittedly difficult, as the left shoulder simply froze on me.

Hence the MRI exam which, according to Wikipedia, is a test that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to take pictures of organs inside the body. 

Futuristic chamber
The MRI can show pictures that cannot be produced by other imaging methods like X-ray, ultrasound, computed tomography or CT scan. Since it's magnetic, no metals whatsoever is allowed (duh).

I was placed inside a white cylindrical scanner that to me looked like a spaceship; I laid my head on a small pillow and was told not to move while the scanner took photos. Think of it as a futuristic photo booth without the Kodak film, I guess.

Photo taken from "howstuffworks.com."

My arm was under my butt and I was provided earphones to listen to music, thus reinforcing my belief that I'm inside a phone or photo booth. I choose Tchaikovsky to soothe my nerves. 

It was okay the first few minutes and after a while I got tired despite listening to Tchaikovsky. It felt like I was in a long train ride with no end in sight. No, make that a long boat ride due to the “chug, chug” sounds I heard on the background.

It reminded me of the sawmills in my native village of Natumolan, Tagoloan town in Misamis Oriental, northern Mindanao in the Philippines. A few more minutes and I no longer cared if I rode on a boat or train. I didn't even care that the sounds turned into something like loud, clicking stones.

Bad air
I became anxious and and I opened my eyes thinking that the technician left to take lunch and forgot about me. 

I saw white everywhere, my lips and tongue are so dried.  I couldn't breathe, my chest was so heavy it felt like someone dumped a sack of rice on me.

Tchaikovsky lost its appeal. Then I began praying the “Our Father” and ”Jesus crucified, cover me with your precious blood” many times. It calmed the nerves but not the impatience that was building in me.

After what seemed to be an eternity and just as I was about to press what I felt like a button, the nurse droned “we are done.”

I was lowered down and a breath of fresh air nearly overwhelmed me as they opened the “chamber.” It was scary for me. The official MRI result: bursitis and osteoarthritis (yup it's aging). 

I'm taking different medications now. The orthopedist explained to me that bursitis is the inflammation of the bursa, a fluid sac that lies between a tendon and one's skin. 

While the medications really help, the Filipino in me cannot discard the folk belief that that the shoulder pain, like all the kinds of pain I feel due to my aging, is caused by the “bad air” between the joints and ligaments.  

And the bad air, according to my parents, can only be removed by a simple swipe of the “haplacios (rubbing) oil” or the “efficascent oil” sold in Elsa's store. What do you think?

Collecting oddities

Some samples of Bill Dennis's thimble collection

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

A collection as defined by Merriam Webster online is a group of interesting or beautiful objects brought together by a person or group of persons in order to show or study them or as a hobby.

The reasons are plenty; one collects things and objects to satisfy a want or a longing. We look and search; we sometimes barter and buy to complete a set. It could also be a process of sorting and research to amass that “big collection. “

For boys, it could mean collecting those rare baseball, basketball and football cards, vintage comic books and lately, retro video game cartridges and video game machines.

The ancient saying “one person's garbage is another person's treasure” comes to mind whenever we gather stuff or items that other people consider as disposable or, yes, garbage.

We remember Bert of Sesame Street proudly showing off his bottle cap or paper clip collection to his bored flatmate Ernie and while a lot of people can relate to Ernie, not a few can also connect with Bert's love and pride for his collection, eclectic though it may be.

Everybody collects at one time or another. Remember those high school days when we collect stamps and coins as an assignment given by the teacher? Books, shirts, shoes, tags, matches, thimbles, cups and caps, all about anything to be collected and can be collected.

It was a fad in the past and still continues now. I can share my collection of books and handcrafted figurine angels now housed at Tagoloan town in Misamis Oriental, the Philippines.

My first collection were books. It is easy to acquire, and I usually spend my allowance on books at National Book Store or at book stores.

Yes, one can borrow from the library but if you want to take those books home, you buy and collect them in a library which you can pass on to your loved ones.

Collecting figurine angels gives me a sense of serenity. Now that I'm in the US, these garage and yard sales and flea markets revived that inner spark of buying and collecting something for oneself.

One collector whom I knew is my brother-in– law William “Bill” Dennis of Hamlet, North Carolina. He has this 30-year-old home collection of of more than 2,000 thimbles which his wife Cheryle helps maintain in pristine condition.

A thimble protects one's finger from being pierced during sewing. Some of the thimbles came from all over the US and around the world.

Some of the thimble designs include a doll, cup or cap, flower, toy and a Santa Claus. A lot of them are souvenirs from some states. Corporations, organizations and groups also manufactured and designed thimbles as giveaways.

There are even election campaign thimbles in all sizes, shapes and colors. Bill's brothers and friends contributed to raising his thimble collection during their travels abroad.

To Bill, me and other collectors, a collection is a tangible, beautiful reminder of the past and I could only wholeheartedly agree to sustaining it as a hobby.