A day of Cherokee Indian culture

Me, Ronnie and my daughter GG make a stopover

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

As my husband Ronnie, daughter GG and I headed to Cherokee, North Carolina from Tennessee, my thoughts wandered to what I've heard about the place.

Cherokee, North Carolina not only houses a casino but is actually inhabited by the Cherokee, a native Indian tribe. When we arrived there, we saw signs around town printed in English and Cherokee. 

The city itself is anchored by the Harrah's Cherokee Casino. We decided on a side-trip not to the casino but for a quick study of culture and heritage of Cherokee culture.

I've been interested in learning more about Cherokee culture after reading a true story written by Forrest Carter called ”The Education of a Little Tree” that talks about the Cherokee people. 

It is an interesting read, especially about the mountains and nature. 

So while we were at Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Ronnie, GG and me crisscrossed to Cherokee, North Carolina passing through Smokey Mountain, the mountain ranges and valleys over tunnels and rich abundant greens.

After breakfast at the hotel we went to Pigeon Forge, the next town after Gatlinburg since gas prices there were lower compared to Gatlinburg and every penny counts to dear Ronnie. 

From Pigeon Forge, which Ron described as a city that looks like a beach without the ocean, we passed through the entrance of the great Smokey Mountain National Park.

The entrance is accessible between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. The great Smokey Mountain is one of the most pristine natural areas in the eastern US and I think it is a world heritage site.

The long drive is very good, there were no bumps because the roads were smooth, though a bit curvy as we followed a long line of the cars and trucks ahead. 

I saw all kinds of trees and wild flowers and it was a breathtaking view especially if you stop by the Overlook. 

There you see for yourself nature's magnificent beauty magnified and maintain by humanity.

There were also small mountains covered with white smoke while traffic signs were abundant and clear for both drivers and passengers. The road was only two lanes going up and down, which slowed us down for sometime. 

In addition to the mountains and rich valleys there are crystal clear waters gushing out of creeks and brooks. It looked cool and inviting, with floating leaves and branches. 

There were old and young trees, both competing to blanket the surrounding environment with their green blanket of leaves and branches. We passed three tunnels and reached Cherokee after an hour and several minutes.

We immediately went to the welcome center to find what’s going on there on a Saturday. 

There's something about heritage that I appreciate and draws me to. 

The book “The Education of Little Tree” mentioned about Grandma who told the central character Little Tree “If ye don’t know the past, then you will not have a future.” 

With that in mind, we went to the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. I saw a big statue of an Indian and I had my picture taken with it. We saw all manner of crafts outside the museum that tell the history of the Cherokee Indians.

In one of the booths, an Indian trader was generous enough to write my name in Cherokee for free which is quite a treat.

I was really amazed seeing all the Cherokee Indian artifacts. We headed to another booth where we danced with Cherokee Indians and had our picture taken  for a fee of course. 

Just between you and me—when I was a kid growing up in Tagoloan town in Misamis Oriental province, northern Mindanao in the Philippines, the only way I can make my siblings go to sleep early was to tell them that there were Indians coming.

After spending the whole of Saturday, June 29, at a Cherokee Indian museum, I learned a lot more and appreciated the rich history and culture of one of many native American Indian tribes.

I wish to learn more as well as spend more time soaking in the place and the clean fresh air there in the immediate future.

I close this article by sharing with you again Grandma's line from “The Education of Little Tree.” “If ye don’t where your people have been, then ye won’t know where your people are going.”

For more information about the Museum of the Cherokee Indian please click on this link.  http://www.cherokeesmokies.com/history_culture.html.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. This page will serve as a venue for news and discussion on Filipino communities in the Carolinas. Visit and read her website at www.susanpalmes-dennis.simplesite.com. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.

You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

An unplanned Gatlinburg getaway

Me with my daughter GG

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

I’M not quite sure how to describe the city of Gatlinburg, Tennessee other than a town that took my breathe away.  I spent one weekend recently in Gatlinburg with husband Ronnie and daughter GG. It was actually an unplanned getaway.

When Ronnie asked where I wanted to go, I mumbled Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Next thing I knew we already loaded our bags and personal stuff on the car and headed to the town where I said I wanted to go to. 

I could not describe the city like a poet but one thing I'm sure of is that it's  charming and lovely.  If Gatlinburg is a woman then it is exotic. Gatlinburg exemplifies the simple goodness of small town life. 

Gatlinburg is where we gather together and stand in awe of nature’s glory. 

But I leave the job of describing the place to the city's official website.  

It is a really elegant area according to my friend Dolly Wheeler who said  Gatlinburg” is a lovely and fun place to be.” 

Dolly and her husband kept visiting Gatlinburg  all these years and were still amazed by its natural beauty. 

From Cornelius,North Carolina it was a three and a half-hour trip to Gatlinburg. It was not a boring trip because it was a sightseeing treat passing through so many places on the way to our destination.

Not to count the food we ate every time we made a pitstop to use the bathroom. My favorite of course was peanuts and chitcharon (fried pork rinds).

One can really notice the green trees that were planted along the roads and beyond;  from part of  North Carolina up to part of Asheville, NC where we have to bypass going to Tennessee. 

I also noticed the rocks along the way which by the way don't pose any danger to motorists because the side of the mountain is covered with a net to catch the rocks should they fall. 

We passed by a town which Ronnie called Black Mountain. 

I wondered why it's called Black Mountain when the ranges I saw were all green. 

It turned out that the town is called Black Mountain which is part of Asheville, NC. 

The town is named for the old train stop at the Black Mountain Depot and is located at the southern end of the Black Mountain range of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Southern Appalachians.

It was raining when we arrived at downtown Gatlinburg and we settled in a hotel facing the Smokey Mountain. We lost no time going out for a walk after a few minutes of rest. If I may add Gatlinburg is like Baguio City or Bukidnon province.

It's a town that houses the guests headed to Smokey Mountain or were about to visit the next town of Pigeon Forge.

At the time we visited, it was a crowded afternoon with visitors and guests walking and stopping along gift shops or listening to music by street performers. The weather was very cooperative since it wasn't too warm or cold. 

The buildings were sized just right and painted with lively colors and some are old or have a semblance of antiquity. 

Gift shops were also abundant and affordable. 

There were also old time pictures in which people would wear costumes of the 18th century and have their picture taken.

The food is great. We ate the best hotdogs at the Five Guys restaurant along the road. This restaurant offers free peanuts. They placed the peanuts in sacks and it is up to the customer to get as much as he or she wants. 

Mind you it was so good and the salt was just perfect.  We ended the first night early and spent time in the hotel, looking at the mountain.

True enough, the following day I knew why it was called Smokey Moutain because one can see the white smoke from the mountain spreading throughout the range and as far as your eyes can see.

We had breakfast at the hotel which offered a splendid view of the mountain. I had this recent fascination about mountains, it almost felt like they were talking to me. 

After breakfast, we braved the lcool summer wind and started our way to Cherokee, the details of which I promise to tell you in my next post. 

Taken from www.gatlinburg.com

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. This page will serve as a venue for news and discussion on Filipino communities in the Carolinas. Visit and read her website at www.susanpalmes-dennis.simplesite.com. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.

You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

Random thoughts on my love of books and reading

Me at the main Charlotte Mecklenburg Library at North Tryon in Charlotte, North Carolina

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

I’ve been reading all kinds of books as far as I can remember in my life.

I always carry a book anywhere I go. Whether it's to eat out, an appointment with the doctor and yes, even to the bathroom. I don't mind about the book's weight even if it's heavier than a hair brush or a bottle of cologne.

I was asked once if it bothers me to carry a book to which I answered “no, not at all.”  In the blogs I've written I mentioned about how my family's poverty drove me to reading books. 

It was the only luxury my mother or ”nanay” can afford to give me when I was little. I've loved reading ever since I learned how to do it and it's become a passion, a favorite hobby.

A little throwback is in order I think. I was the eldest in a family of seven. Nanay and Tatay (father) worked at Del Monte Corp. and shared the same work schedule  and so whenever we were left to the care of Nay Doring (my grandfather's wife) I would spend the night reading.

I remember burning the candles reading and I persisted until our home got electricity.  When I put my younger sisters or brother in a hammock for a nap in the afternoon or night time I read a book while swinging them to sleep. 

It isn't easy reading a book while swinging the hammock with my foot. Also I was envious at first hearing the noise of boys and girls at play in the backyard. I do remember shedding a tear or two.

Back then, I started reading magazines like Bisaya and Liwayway and I read them not just for the comics but the short stories of fantasy writer Mars Ravelo.

I recall the Philippine Free Press and the Graphic that my mother would bring home every week because she subscribed to Ms. Poping Villegas (I remember that the Villegas house with its grill fence fronted the old market then).

The envy eventually vanished when I became engrossed with reading the adventures of Oliver Twist and Don Quixote and his sidekick or David Copperfield characters  and many more. I became part of their adventures. I played only when I had the time to do so. 

No matter how loud my neighbors Onyot Rollenas or Nong Bobot Casino or my own brother Ramon or my good friend Roy Paduganan played, I didn't care anymore. 

Except if Cherie Pacheco would plan for a swim at the river and I saw the ripe fruit from the camachile tree. 

I guess I inherited my love of reading from my parents who read magazines frequently. Mother read stories on housekeeping while father focused on politics. I've acquired a taste for reading both topics.

My five-year-old ward Zayne Mojica reading a coloring book

I positively devoured books on history, and literature and my love for these two subjects hasn't waned with time. 

Every now and then I try to jot down my thoughts and I wanted to share some of them with you today.

I would love to hear reading tips from you. Unfortunately, I haven't passed my passion for reading to my children. 

Janice tried to read books but after finishing three pages she would stop.

But it's amazing how she memorized lines from the “Tale of Two Cities” written by Charles Dickens a few years back. She could have read them when I wasn't around.

The other day here at Charlotte, North Carolina my youngest daughter GG accompanied me to the North County Regional Library and I was surprised to see her choice of books to read.

Her reading list included “The Education of a Little Tree” by Forrest Carter, “The Grapes of Wrath” by Joseph Conrad and the “Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway.

Wow, not only am I surprised, I am impressed. I started talking to her about my favorite portions in “The Education of a Little Tree”, but she stopped me by saying she was too absorbed reading the book.

Surprises indeed. Well, I couldn't blame her for her enthusiasm, seeing a young version of myself as she read the book. Maybe I did succeed in passing my love of reading to my children.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. This page will serve as a venue for news and discussion on Filipino communities in the Carolinas. Visit and read her website at www.susanpalmes-dennis.simplesite.com. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.

You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

Sex and procreation for some Filipino-American women

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

WHAT do you expect when you see girls and women meet and engage in deep conversation? What do you think are they talking about especially if you know they’re married?

It would be safe to say they’re talking about family most of the time especially about their husbands and their marriages.

I would like to share with you the stories of four women but out of respect for their privacy I will withhold their names and other details that may identify them including places. 

My story is not of course about feminism, porn or any other topic but the enigma and the dilemma of women’s emotions and wants which until now are suppressed because of how society views it. 

For now, let’s call them W1, W2, W3 and W4. During a group conversation, I started with a soft question directed at W1: How many kids do you have? 

Natural contraception

W1 said she has two and she immediately muttered that her husband wants another child.  She told us she doesn’t want a child anymore since it is hard to hire a nanny in the US and she would end up hiring another nanny to care for her children. 

Source: WN.com

“Good if we are still in the Philippines,” she said to which W2, W3 and W4 agreed. W1 then began mentioning that her husband still wants sex and so she uses contraception. 

When I asked what kind of contraception she uses, she said she uses natural contraception. 

I clarified, “does that mean you aren’t into safe sex?” W1 said  “No..I put the two kids in the middle of the bed.” “

Are you kidding me? Would that work?,” I asked to which she replied yes, that’s what she is doing right now. 

Lock the door

Responding to W1’s story, W2—without anyone asking her—shared that she locks herself up in the toilet whenever she showers or bathes.

I asked why, are you not secured in your house? Are you cold? “Oh, he likes to see me taking showers and he wants another kid too. So the doors are locked,” W2 said.

Is that okay with him, I ask. “It doesn’t matter because I take a shower or bath when he’s at work,” W2 said. What if he is around, I ask. She answered “then I have to lock the door and secure it,” she replied. 

Source: foxnews.com

I admit that I was surprised by that one. Not to be outdone, W3 shared that she is a fulltime mother and at the end of the day, she is just exhausted from working at home. All she wanted to do is watch TV and sleep.

W3 admitted that when her husband wants to make love, she would pass. W3 also said she has been faking her orgasms, which caught me by surprise since I know her to some extent.

Liberal world

W4 was the most satisfied of the four women, I think because she was comfortable with her husband and talked about what they do for foreplay. We then talked these things over. 

I realize that even in an increasingly liberal world, there are still people or women who wouldn’t discuss openly about sex in or outside marriage especially Filipino women who are raised as conservative Catholics.

Because of their religious upbringing, Filipino women believe in a shared responsibility between them and their husbands and they want to talk about how many children they want to have.

The problem comes when either husband or wife wants another child and the other doesn’t for a host of reasons like in W1’s case. By using her kids as a shield or “natural conception”, she’s denying her husband and maybe herself as well.

Source: www.ucg.org

W2 clearly doesn’t want another kid and as to how long she can keep the bathroom door locked I don’t know. 

As to W3, I find it most difficult and surprising because I don’t know how she was unable to achieve orgasm despite having children. 

So I guess it isn’t correct for me and others to assume that a woman achieves full womanhood because she has children, based on the accounts of the three women. I can only congratulate W4 because she appears to be contented.

I only advised W3 to talk to her husband and doctor. She is doing a disservice to herself if she would continue faking orgasms or simply agreeing to sex only to please the husband.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. This page will serve as a venue for news and discussion on Filipino communities in the Carolinas. Visit and read her website at www.susanpalmes-dennis.simplesite.com. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.

You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

My father's story

My father and I at a gathering

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

These past few days I’m up by 5 am because I am required to report to school at 6:45 a.m. Wait—this isn’t about my work schedule. This article is about my father since the annual Father’s Day celebration is just around the corner on June 15.

The other day, while at bed, I heard my name called and I answered yes.  My husband Ron who stirred also asked if someone called me. Then it dawned on me that it must have been my father.

I got up and checked on my email and Facebook page and thank God there was no unusual message from my daughter.  You see, my 84-year-old father Simeon Barros Naelga has been in and out of the hospitals the past few months.

He had tricked the Grim Reaper so many times I lost count myself. When I do visit him at the hospital, he was sitting upright in bed, smiling at me.

According to my baby sister Aida Naelga Pacana, “Tatay (Father) is weak as a baby. His kidney is affected and he’s losing his eyesight.” I told her over the phone that she shouldn’t worry.

Prized possessions

“He might be weak as a baby but I bet his grip is still strong,” I told her. My father, who turned 84 last April, refused to surrender when times were really bad such as when he was unemployed.

I am honored to introduce him to friends. My father Simeon Barros Naelga  is the son of Felix “Ingge” Quilang Naelga and Concolacion Barros.  Born and raised in Tagoloan town, Misamis Oriental, he completed sixth grade and reached first year at St. Mary’s High school, now St. Mary’s Academy.

He told us his children that he was a man of all trades and I agreed. He fished, drove and did carpentry. He loves music and music embraced him (his version of All of Me and Hello Dolly are the best) and his singing is still music to my ears.

He can play guitar, ukulele, banjo and harmonica and he can sing classics or a lullaby he made up himself. All these musical instruments are still in the house and aged like him and remain his prized possessions along with his children and grandchildren.

He is funny and can draw laughter out of everything good or bad. Politics is his forte and economics second. I am amazed how a first year high school student like him can talk and absorb the news.

Simple life

I was told that Grade Six graduates before World War 2 can teach.  It was a different time then. Like his friends and contemporaries, he drinks from time to time, maybe more.

He’s drunk during Saturdays with his friends, most of whom are now in heaven. On weekends,  he is a vocalist in the neighborhood band or the “Tumba baso (drinking spree)” at Evangelista Street.

He plays the guitar along with Nato Sanches in the banjo, Iyo Mading Abellanosa and others whom I forgot. Iyo Andres Sanchez hung around but wasn’t part of their band. It was a simple life then and my father hung around the store of Iya Puring Pacheco a lot.

But he is still the best father even if his children fail him at times or if he failed due to his imperfections. I love him and miss him. How I wish I am with him these days.

Now he is wrinkled and withering like a dying plant. I reckon that was all those years of hard work.  He has been unwell for years and he’s having prostate woes. 

Listener

I had the privilege of taking care of him since I went back to live with him for two years before leaving for US.

He is blessed to still be living even if his prognosis wasn't good (A miracle). I told him there must be a reason for that. It was in recent years that we became closer; no more fear between father and child but between two equals.

No more arguments; I was more of a listener of his long litany about life and recollection of what Tagoloan town in Misamis Oriental, northern Mindanao, Philippines was then.

World War I1 remains fresh to him; he was eight years old when the war broke out and the rich river of Tagoloan town played a role on his young age.

The names of Rev. Father Peter Wang, and priests like Fr. Moji and other names run forth from his mouth, their names remembered like street names in Tagoloan. 

He has spoken about riding a”balsa”(a raft made of bamboo) from Tabok (Sta Cruz to Tagoloan town) with his father Lolo (Grandpa) Ingee  piloting it and him as the assistant.

Jungle philosopher

My father mentioned about his teacher the late Gonzala Lim Chaves who called him a ”jungle philosopher.” He didn't elaborate why he was called that but I had the feeling why.

Dr. Hernando “Nandy” Emano was his classmate; when I became alumni president of St. Mary’s High school, Dr. Nandy spoke well of my Tatay.

He never tires of telling one story after another from sunrise to sundown and I remembered a saying that the mark of one’s old age is when he or she talks too much. From what I can recollect, this is his life story:

He was employed with the Philippine Packing Corp. now Del Monte as a hauler driver. It was during this time that my awareness of “Capri” Giants came to.

He recalled that that his truck was kicked by a tall man near Mangima Canyon. 

The story made an impression on me. A strike at the PPC that he joined ended with him jobless and he refused help from Mrs. Bibanco despite the prodding of mother.

Like carpentry

He started farming and harvested cabbage, tomatoes and some camote (sweet potatoes). He told me he never regretted joining the labor strike; he said a man should stand by what he believed was right.

He toiled every day always doing something with his hands. He said a man’s honesty is measured by the calluses on his hands. I agree.

He debates with passion and only loses if the opponent is my mother. He mentioned once that his favorite cousin was Tio Cosme Ejem at Mojon.

He is very good in numbers; actually he was my first teacher in Arithmetic (Apologies to Ray Abejo). I first learned the multiplication table by heart and I also learned from him that life, like carpentry, should be measured twice and cut once.

He is good in math and evidence of that, he claims, is his weekly winnings  in “masiao”  a local numbers game.

Lessons

When I worked in a local broadcast station, he always asked the station employees if they had any “hearing” about the latest number combinations and he would tabulate these and place his numbered bets at the lottery office.

True enough, he won. Don’t ask me if he won the Philippine lottery, it would prolong my tribute (lol).

Now that he is alone and I am far from him, I missed our talks. I remembered him saying he doesn’t want to be buried beside my mother should his time come.

When asked why, he said he wants peace and silence and knowing my mother I know his reasons for wanting so.

It is with fondness that I remember my father ahead of Father’s Day because I am away from him. I remembered when he was so sick that he doesn’t want to close his eyes.

He is poor but he’s rich in character and spirit; he taught us, his children, that one’s life journey may be replete with trials but that we should hang on and overcome. As his daughter, I thank him for his lessons.

My father with his trusty guitar and the family

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. This page will serve as a venue for news and discussion on Filipino communities in the Carolinas. Visit and read her website at www.susanpalmes-dennis.simplesite.com. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.

You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

Remembering our veterans on Memorial Day

                                     Rommel Olarte leading the singing of the Philippine anthem

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

In the US, we remember the men and women who died while serving in the US Armed Forces.

It's called Memorial Day and it is a federal holiday which means no work and for most Americans, an extended vacation.

Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave even to those unknown to them.

Over the years Memorial Day also included those who were retired and those who are still in the service. A lot of times my husband Ronnie, who served in the US Army for five years and US Air Force reserve two years would be asked: Did you serve in the military sir?

He would answer yes, then the person asking the question would say “Thank you for serving the country.” Often times the one asking the question would engage Ronnie in a long conversation about grandfathers and brothers serving in the military as well.

Freebies are also given to retired military personnel. And I am awed by this patriotic gesture. I guess I am nationalistic then and am always reminded of the soldiers and cops who died in the service.

Me and my daughter waving the American flag

The singing of the American national anthem during these times when they honor the men and women in uniform give me goosebumps.

I don’t have a family member back in the Philippines who served in the military but I‘ve got friends who have family and friends who do and did and I am proud of them.

I thought and wondered; if the living veterans were forgotten, how much more those that went ahead in this life? We all have this sense of nationalism that gets roused from time to time. For me, it's looking at the veterans and hearing the national anthem, both Philippine and American.

My sense of nationalism was awakened when I heard Rommel Olarte leading the Pambansang Awit in the recent Flores de Mayo celebration here in Charlotte.

Rommel Olarte is a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy who loves singing. His rendition of the Philippine national anthem reminded me of how we Filipinos treat our soldiers back home.

Rommel graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1994 (a military school built by the US in 1905). As a cadet, he was in charge of the band, Men in Grey (MIG).

His band of four years performed in different musical events such as Rock Against Drugs at the Baguio Convention Center in 1991. He was a member of the choir and glee club and performed at the televised Concert at the Park in Intramuros, Manila.

Rommel was also chosen as one of two Academy men to wax the multi-voice recordings for a documentary film. He was one of the lucky former soldiers who made a better life for himself in the US.

I have noticed old or retired soldiers roaming the streets of Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental in northern Mindanao, Philippines where I used to live and they seem faded and lacking in care and attention.

One veteran I saw in my mind wore a faded uniform. Nobody is taking care of them, let alone be interested in what they did for the country. I hope and pray that Filipinos, like the Americans, take care of their aging veterans and pay homage to what they did to liberate the country from oppression.

With my husband Ronnie, himself a war veteran

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. This page will serve as a venue for news and discussion on Filipino communities in the Carolinas. Visit and read her website at www.susanpalmes-dennis.simplesite.com. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.

You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)

The Flores de Mayo of my youth

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

As I watched the Flores de Mayo celebration at St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, North Carolina sponsored by the Fil-American Community of the Carolinas (FACC) last Saturday, my mind wandered down memory lane to my childhood spent commemorating the Flores de Mayo of my hometown.

Back home in Tagoloan town, Misamis Oriental in northern Mindanao, Philippines, the month of May means a full moon every night and a river of blue and green that beckons to everyone to swim in its pristine waters.

The children then would be herded to the church- there was no mall that time and the church was not only a place of worship but a place for the family to actually hang out.

There wasn’t Twitter or Facebook back then; whenever the parish priest announces Mass, everyone is expected to be informed about it a day beforehand.

Flores de Mayo is actually for the Blessed Virgin Mary or Mama Mary. To me, Flores de Mayo meant escape from the drudgery of household chores. To me, church was fun because I would attend Sunday School and know more friends.

My Flores de Mayo was inside the Catholic Church in Tagoloan town. It’s a time-honored festival when  the land is teeming with flowers and fine sunny weather. That was the time when everyone would wear “abanico”, big or small to fend off the heat or kill an insects.

To me Flores de Mayo and the time spent in Church instilled in me the love for Mass and the memories of the mysteries, the Hail Holy Queen and the litanies.

Festival

The Flores de Mayo is a month-long event that culminates in a religious-historical-cultural procession/parade and pageant called Santacruzan… where the winning beauty is crowned Reina Elena (Queen Elena).

The Santacruzan is that part of the festival that commemorates the discovery of the True Cross of Christ in Jerusalem in 321 AD by St. Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great.

Back home in Tagoloan, from 2 pm to 4 pm, my sisters, cousins, brothers and in fact the whole neighborhood would be gathered in church and learn the rosary. We recite the rosary and afterwards we offer flowers to Mary.

It was the time when all flowers—roses, bougainvillea, daisies, carnations, dahlia and others will be offered to the Virgin Mary. 

My siblings and I would get flowers, sometimes without permission, from friends and neighbors. Our favorite was the bougainvillea of the late Iya Puring Pacheco.

But she would know that somebody was getting flowers because the dogs were noisy and we have to run for our lives sometimes, leaving without the flowers and left with scars from thorns instead. Oh the things we do for the love of Mama Mary.

When flowers were scarce, the “marpagayo” and other greens was chopped and cut” as flowers. I think the church attendants there were having a grand time sweeping the floors after the catechism.

Good memories

Those who are always present would earn a stamp for the end of the month prizes that include rosaries, prayer book, and food.

I remember my teachers were Alde Mariano, Betty Sanches, Gilda Valdehuesa, Mrs. Factrura, and many more.

At the end of the month, there’s a ceremony for Mama Mary where all the girls would wear white clothes and veil and carry a basket filled with flowers.

The girls who were lucky enough to be picked by the teachers to play as angels would wear good shoes, socks and clothes to go along with their taped feather wings.

I remember one time I did wear wings, it was heavy on my back and I went to the back row to join the mortals. I did memorize the rosary without fail.

Those were good memories and I smiled as I remembered them while watching the Flores de Mayo at St. Matthew Church along with past FACC president Dr. Nini Bautista, Nena and Paul Amigo and the rest of the Fil-American community in Charlotte, North Carolina one fine afternoon last Saturday.

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who works as a nanny in North Carolina. This page will serve as a venue for news and discussion on Filipino communities in the Carolinas. Visit and read her website at www.susanpalmes-dennis.simplesite.com. Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.

You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)