250303 laundry

250303_X_v4 I sat in my yard with a glass of cold water that also contained squeased kalimansi and three ice cubes. No sugar. Though a warm day, it was breezy. Our Guava tree vigorously swayed, at ayun na ka sampay filled with that breeze as though beings were inside those dresses, shirts and trousers.

250226_Followers of the Seasons

"But the cost to the Filipino People was much more expensive and expansive. It went beyond the one to two million dead. What it did to the Filipino people was astronomically and atrociously more costly, the vestiges of which are still evident up to this day: self-hate, colonial mentality, obliterated achievements, suppressed and supplanted history, bereft sources of pride, manacled intellects, omissions, distortions, out right lies, and, of course, the loss of sovereignty and self-determination." Oscar Penaranda. Oscar Penaranda's grandfather was Colonel Florentino Penaranda “who was reputedly the last of Aguinaldo’s officers to lay down his arms.” The Prisoner of Bilangiga is a tribute to the Colonel Penaranda and his Waray history, as well as bridge with American culture in the prisoner Tennessee Ernie Stokes, a captured Buffalo soldier. “…Oscar is a Bridge into our depths, our deep consciousness as Filipinos…”_Tony Robles “…the Filipino American experience narrative has recently felt curated,…Oscar Penaranda’s Follower of the Seasons adds that extra spice.”_Dr Anthony Albuencia Santa Ana Dr. Anthony Abluenca Santa Ana, Phd concludes in the preface, "...is not meant to be read in one sitting, it is meant to be read in varied times and spaces of comfort. So let's begin..." This remark reflects of fine art photography books, monographs. We celebrate a fine art photographer's work yet there are always favorite photographs, and these favorites often change as we grow in our own perceptions. Learning is not always linear Oscar's bodies of work span several publications, but the essence is universal. There is something the writer is trying to say, illustrate, teach, through example, and most often trying to break form, push cosciousness. It is the wealth of reading books as pointed out by the riddle by NVM Gonzales. It is Al Robles who said "all the zen monks are agains writing, but they all write!" The Tao is indeed " is what's happening when you're busy making plans." “Penaranda weaves through time and landscapes with nuanced characters, exploring interiors, vernaculars, memory, and shared history, to bring us closer to kapwa: “Pakiramdam yan, Kutuban. “_Aileen Cassinetto. This accomblished writer's brief Introduction put into words the challege of decribing the plethora, vast range of thoughts covered in Follower Of The Seasons. This idea of 'closer to the kapwa" is on mark. When the essence of it, the descarte, becomes difficult to describe is a good thing. One steps back and see's a larger picture and the silenece can be profound,the meaning of what we read. So many twists, not unlike the "Rashoman effect," Our perception of Bayani's suicide, The Believers, The Mechanic For A Second Season, The Hijacking of America. Like his grandfather Colonel Florentino Penaranda, Oscar Penaranda carries the tradition as a relentless teacher, inviting us to read, think, and evolve. As Dr. Anthony Albuenca Santa has requested "...shall we begin?"