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6/1/2011

Vicky and I were not in San Diego this weekend (Vix was in San Felipe on, like, her and Pedro's third honeymoon [yeah-- um, we'll get to that in a different post]; and I was with Tenoch and Nala picnicking [and sporting our yellow ribbons!!!] in San Francisco's Presidio for Memorial Day). So, we weren't around to snag our own copies of the front-page article The Filipino Press ran on Dad in its "Memorial Day Edition" :( Luckily... our godbrother Gene spotted his ninong smiling up at him from a paper on Saturday, and grabbed an extra copy for Vix; and Tenoch's tia, Ceci, grabbed us four or five (thanks, guys!) :)

So, yeah... we realize that we should explain. The blog's been quiet for the past couple of months, but Vix and I have been busier than ever. We're determined to bring you all to-speed; so, in the next few days you can expect us to tell you all about:

Why Dad's on the cover of the paper
Why Vicky and Pedro are honeymooning
What Nala's been up to with the veterans
What we've been up to with our Congressman and the Veterans' Administration's Office of the Inspector General (VAOIG)
What Tenoch did on the anniversary of Mom's death
One more reason you could say I'm like Obama
Why I suddenly have a bit more time to work on the blog

For those of you who don't know us personally but wanted to learn more about Dad: Thanks for visiting, and please come back soon because we're also going to be posting a new page on the site to let folks who are interested learn how you can help us stop M from pulling the wool over the eyes of our VA and military dependents' services, while vets and their real families are still fighting for what they need and deserve in return for the true sacrifices they make to keep us safe. In the meanwhile, there's lots here that you can read, if you just want to find out more details about what we're fighting for.

See everyone again soon-- we promise!

1 Comment

Gene

6/8/2011 01:53:54 am

Well, not literally 'smiling', as the picture I saw is one of his more "distinguished" poses, where the obvious intention is not to 'smile' (Maybe that's where I got that from? Ev and Vix should know what I mean, but for everyone else, I don't often smile in photographs.).

I was having lunch with my gf, her son, and her mom at Goldilock's and her mom was reading the paper (the way old people hold their newspapers up right in front of their faces). I looked over because I caught the paper out of the corner of my eye, and there he was, as if to say "surprise!". I almost jumped out of my seat. Looking back on it, I acted like a little boy who just saw an airplane flying overhead, or a fire engine driving down the street.

I always knew ninong was famous. I mean, he's already been on TV, so I'm not surprised at all that he's front page in a story about helping veterans. Reading the article, I was overcome with a sense of pride,and as I read, I thought, "this writing style seems somehow familiar, like I've read something like this and heard speeches like this before". Then my pride was intensified when I looked back to the front page and learned the author of the article. Then I thought, "of course, totally makes sense now". She may be "Evelyn Ibatan Rodriguez, PhD" to the world, but she's Ate' Evelyn to me. I only grabbed 3 copies (one for myself, Vix, and my dad) because the lolos and lolas were already looking at me funny, like "who is the white guy getting all excited about the Filipino Press?". I didn't say it, but I was thinking it, "read the freakin' article and find out for yourself!". Great article Ev, love you both!

About

Here, we share what happened when we tried to bring our father's body home from the Philippines. We also update you on the ongoing battle to ensure that Dad's life is honored properly, and to hopefully, prevent what happened to us from ever happening to another grieving family.

Authors

Evelyn, Dad's panganay (eldest), & Vicky, the bunso (youngest)

*Cast of Characters

* We've tried to protect most names

"Nala" - our puppy
"Tito/ Uncle P" - Dad's youngest brother
"That woman/ bitch/ M" - Dad's Filipina partner; the person who stole Dad's remains
"Tita N" - Rodriguez family elder; a state diplomat
"Jac" - Vicky's best friend
"Kar" - Vicky's sister-in-law
"Em" - Vicky's best friend; a military lawyer
"Jas" - our contact at the Manila US Embassy
"Tito Julio" - Dad's brother
"Tita Sevilla" - Dad's sister
Ate Jo & Kuya W - funeral home staff
"Aunt T" - Tito P's wife
"Lilibeth" - Ibatan cousin

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