My dad passed away in 1996. He had a lot of stories to tell! After he left the Philippines at the tender age of 15 (stowed away on a boat) he made it to Hawaii, then on to San Francisco where he had an uncle. He fought in a boxing match and won $750 and gave it to his uncle to hold for him–he never got it back. Anyway, he traveled around and got jobs here and there, fishing up in Nova Scotia, did something in South America where he caught malaria, did something in Europe, and then got the job as cook on the ship going to the Philippines. He met my mom, who was American, through a mutual friend and they eloped at some point. He even worked in private service for President Osmena in the States at one point.

He still didn’t settle down until I came along several years later and one year after I was born he got a job at the Embassy and stayed there until he retired. Unfortunately, when daddy would tell me these stories I didn’t write them down and so much is now forgotten.

on an aside… ugh, I can’t eat blood porridge either. or balut. just too much for me! and thanks for subscribing! give heads up for links from your end and I’ll be reading em!

Thanks for the kind words about Daddy’s photos. I really miss him. He was a great dad and before he married my mom and settled down at the Embassy, he was a cook on a boat that went from the US to the Philippines. He learned about cooking and was an incredible cook. He would make dinuguang (takes two days to make). He would have to go all the way to New York for the blood because they didn’t sell it anywhere in DC. Truthfully, I could not eat it–sorry, born in the States there were a lot of things my father ate that I could not. Anyway, thanks again. I’ve subscribed to your blog.