My sisters and I were only children when we first learned about the baby boy in church. I was about 7-years old, Jackie was about 5 years old, and the twins were only toddlers. We were living in Cavite City, Philippines at the time. The baby boy in church wore elaborate and sequined gowns, … Continue reading Santo Nino, and Heaven Points.
She sat at her favorite spot in the library. She had the desk all to herself, although four people can actually fit on the rectangular table. Everyone who spends a great deal of time at the library knows that once a person occupies the entire table, it was off limits to everyone else. If a … Continue reading Penelope
A Letter On The Eve Of The 44th year My Dearest, I know that you would love to spend the day in bed wallowing in the simple truth that your 44th year is the last year of your early 40s. You are wondering how time is such an asshole for being a realistic and practical … Continue reading A Letter On The Eve Of The 44th year
The DelCastillo women are pretty ambitious when it comes to this life. My sister Jackie, who I've written about as my Storytexter, had two weeks to spend in San Diego for work. She's a Registered Nurse, and a Lieutenant in a military branch where female officers are still a small subset group serving their country. … Continue reading In Return.
“Let’s do a challenge while we’re in San Diego!” Jackie texted while I was in my office preparing a list of items that I needed to do before taking off for a short vacation. “Ok, we should eat Filipino food every night since we don’t do this often!” I texted back. “Yes! Let’s eat … Continue reading In Pursuit of a Quest.
Note: This essay was written in 2010 and centers on an event that brings forth different personas from who I am as a person. The Mother: October 28th, 2002—two days before the 29th birthday and 36 weeks 4 more to go to preserve the body growing within my own. Was it enough to make sure … Continue reading The Accidental Personas
Author's note: This is an excerpt from Chapter Three of "A Reason For Being" and this excerpt centers on my Great Aunt Esther (my grandmother's eldest sister). I remember when I first met Lola Esther (as how I called her), I was quite young. After I met her that first time, all I saw of … Continue reading The Great Aunt/Grandmother (excerpt from “A Reason For Being”): Lola Esther
Nowhere. Somewhere begins nowhere. It is nowhere that we find ourselves asking where to go next? Where to go from here? Our lives depend on where we are at the exact moment in time and it is where we define ourselves. My nowhere is here. At a pinnacle in my life that I find often … Continue reading Beginning.
Jackie is my check and balance, and she is also my Storytexter. What I mean by this centers on the idea of memory, and how such memories are different for each person. When we were growing up, the stories my Grandmother told us evolved throughout time. In fact, they evolved each night when my grandmother told us these stories. Jackie reminded me that when my grandmother wanted to imply a moral code, she would embed such morality into her storytelling.
Ask every immigrant what ‘port of entry’ meant and they will have a story to tell. These stories could be an anthology of the adventures that happened when they left their home country for their new one in America. A feeling of leaving everything behind and coming face to face with being reborn. The chance to create a new life.
