This book is an interesting introduction into the customs and everyday life of Filipinos both before and during WWII. Using the Filipino language along with English in greetings, small talk and foods adds to the authenticity of their life. Explaining many of the customs also adds to the charm and educates the reader about the culture. The description of the land creates a clear picture of the Philippines and the way the people were able to hide from the Japanese. Those descriptions also remind the reader that communication between towns was non-existent. The author writes clearly of the fears and suffering of the people under occupation during the war. Their love of Americans and Gen. MacArthur shines through her words. The maps, appendix and bibliography add to the reader’s experience of the story. The story educates while it charms the reader with the love story in the background of war. –
There are book challenges that I have joined on Goodreads, but it’s not working for me, so in 2023, I did not enter any. I read whatever interested me and enjoyed them rather than attempting to reach a certain number of books and rushing to meet the quantity of books for my challenge. I want to enjoy every book I read, which I did except one – The Revolution According to Raymundo Mata by Gina Apostol. This particular book has lengthy footnotes on every page that distract the flow of the story. Some pages have one sentence or a short paragraph; the rest are all footnotes in small print. I could not get the hang of it. I read it early on and quit. Then I started again, and I’m now on p. 120 out of 342 pages, and I gave up again. I don’t know if I want to continue. I never gave up on any book, but with this one, I had it. If I could read War and Peace, all 1461 pages, I could deal with any book, but I could not stand those lengthy footnotes in this book. And the storyline is not at all interesting.
One factor of my book challenge this year is that I joined a book club, so I must read the book club choices, which often are not books I will choose to read. I like historical fiction and WWII books about the Pacific Theater. I’m starting to catch up on classics, so I read War and Peace this year.
Since 2010, I’ve been keeping track of how many books I read. I am not a fast reader and spend my days doing all sorts of projects, too. I write most of the time, and when I take a break, I either work in the garden or read. Besides, I also do some voluntary work and walk my son’s dog while my son is at work. So, my days are full of fun activities that I enjoy.
Looking at the chart, I realized I did more reading after my husband was diagnosed with Late Stage Kidney Disease in 2015, and I quit my volunteer work one by one. As his illness progressed and he needed more care, my reading slowly dropped, starting in 2018 when I had to give him two peritoneal dialyzes a day. After he passed away in 2020, I was so stricken with grief that I could not do much reading. Then, with the help of some friends, I went back to writing and devoted much of my time to writing late in 2020 and the whole of 2021.
Here are my statistics:
Below are the titles of the 18 books, their authors, and the number of pages I have read in 2023. I probably could have read more, except I read War and Peace, the longest book I have ever read. It’s a big accomplishment for me to do that. It took me 80 days to finish the book. I read between 16-20 pages daily, depending on how much my eyes could handle. They are small print, too, and it was hard on my eyes, but I persevered. It was an excellent book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Name of the Book
Author/Editor
Number of Pages
Barely Legal
Stuart Woods
368
A History of Wild Places
Shea Ernshaw
354
Demon Copperhead
Barbara Kingsolver
560
The Ghost Bride
Yangsze Choo
368
The Quest
Nelson DeMille
458
Linderhof Palace: Official Guide
Gerhard Hojer
62
The Greek Myths: Stories of the Greek Gods and Heroes Vividly Retold
Robin Waterfield
320
Running with the Giants: What the Old Testament Heroes Want You to Know About Life and Leadership
John C. Maxwell
160
Lessons in Chemistry
Bonnie Garmus
390
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women
Lisa See
368
Winning is a Habit: Vince Lombardi on Winning, Success, and the Pursuit of Excellence
Vince Lombardi, Gary George
160
War and Peace – Inner Sanctum Edition
Leo Tolstoy
1461
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Gail Honeyman
325
The Zigzag Road: A World War II Story of Love, Faith, Courage and Survival
Rosalinda Rosales Morgan
316
Someone Else’s Shoes
Jojo Moyes
438
Treasury of Christmas Stories
Ann McGovern (Editor), David Lockhart (Illustrator)
151
A Christmas Carol
Trina Schart Hyman
118
The Vintage Caper
Peter Mayle
229
My goal in 2024 is to read 15 books, which is doable in spite of what I have in store for me next year. I still want to read Story of Civilization by Will Durant, an 11-volume series of lengthy tome. That would be a monumental task! My husband did it with a goal of one book a year. He usually read three books simultaneously. I have so many books on my shelf that I want to read, and I will pick up some for this year’s reading. I want to revisit Shogun so that it will be my first choice for 2024.
I have a big writing project that I’m working on, and my schedule will be pretty tight. Of course, I’m also refiguring out my garden, which is time-consuming. I edit two newsletters every quarter, so my time is packed with things to do.
So there we go. I’ll continue writing and reading and then stop and smell the roses!
People make New Year’s Resolutions every year on New Year’s Day. However,
very few people can stick with their New Year’s resolutions. This year, take a
different approach, take the pressure off, and learn how to improve your life
by simply doing less.
Making New Year’s Resolutions seems like a great idea as the New Year
starts. It’s something to do, and we look forward to improving our lives, but
it requires a lot of energy in our world that’s already chaotic with too much
demand on our lives. In spite of our best intentions, the average New Year’s
resolution lasts only three to four months, with only 6% managing to stick with
it beyond 12 months, according to Forbes Health’s recent poll.
This quote from Lao Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching, is something to think
about as you contemplate on making a New Year’s Resolutions.
Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men!
To commemorate the 78th anniversary of the end of WWII on Aug. 15, 1945, I’m publishing my book, “The Zigzag Road” the same day. Weaving historical events from the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the “Second Pearl Harbor” in the Philippines, “The Zigzag Road” chronicles my father’s journey on foot from Baguio through the treacherous Zigzag Road of the Mountain Province to the war-stricken city of Manila and on to reach home in Batangas while trying to avoid the Japanese who were landing everywhere. It is a memoir of a member of the Greatest Generation during WWII that reads like historical fiction.
Finally, on August 14, it was announced that Emperor Hirohito would surrender under Allied terms. The Japanese Supreme War Council decided that the time had come to surrender. The Emperor’s radio broadcast did not take place till the following day. Fanatics still resisted and were now retreating to the mountains.
Great rejoicing could be heard everywhere. The American soldiers were now marching openly on the streets. However, folks everywhere were not optimistic that the Japanese would ever surrender.
The next day, August 15, 1945, the Japanese Emperor accepted the demands of the Allies, and for the first time, the emperor himself went on the radio and announced to his people that the war was over. The Japanese government formally signed the articles of surrender two weeks later, on Sept. 2, 1945, on the American battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Afterward, by order of Emperor Hirohito, 6,983,000 Japanese soldiers laid down their arms peacefully. Only the emperor, whom the military considered a god, could have received obeisance to such an order.
The whole country was euphoric, and there were festivities everywhere. Everybody was cheering for the GIs. People were singing and dancing on the streets that the Second World War was over.
On my recent trip to the Philippines, I paid my respects to members of the armed forces buried in the American National Cemetery in Manila. It was a moving and humbling experience.
The American National Cemetery and Memorial are located in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig, just outside Manila proper, within the boundaries of the former Fort William McKinley.
We drove from Batangas with the sole purpose of seeing the cemetery and then I had lunch with an old friend afterward at Shangrila-La Hotel. It could be an easy drive if we went through Ayala Avenue in Makati and followed the direction on their website. But coming from the other direction, we made several turns and could not find the entrance. There were too many one-way streets and no left turns. Their website showed that if we went from Ayala Avenue in Makati, we could reach it via Epifaño de los…
Bayville Haunted St. Patrick’s has 3 Haunted Houses. A St. Patrick’s themed house, St. Patrick’s at the Asylum, and the Leprechaun Fun House. The St. Patrick’s themed house has a secret Bar (separate admission).
The parade begins on Forest Avenue north of Dosoris Lane, goes to Brewster Street, turns slightly left onto School Street, turns left onto Glen Street, and ends at the corner of Glen Street and Pulaski Street.
I saw this article on my Facebook feed from the 11th Airborne Division Association – “Angels” and I’m happy to share it with the fans of WWII history. Great story and a New Year’s Miracle indeed!
I was recently contacted by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the 11th Airborne Division who told me of an 11th Airborne ring that had been found by a metal detectorist at Delray Beach in Florida.
Looking through our records, I found that Alan Jack Saltzman served in Company A, 127th Airborne Engineers during World War II. I also found one article indicating that Jack may have provided vocals for the 11th Airborne Division Band, but I am still looking into that.
Trooper Saltzman died in 2010 of cancer and left his 11th AB ring to his son who was wearing it on the beach on December 31, 2022. While cleaning up their chairs, Jack’s son noticed that the ring was missing and was crushed to lose such a treasured heirloom.
The next day, Leonard Epstein was out with his metal detector and came upon the ring. He quickly contacted the 11th Airborne Division in Alaska who reached out to me and I was able to find Jack Saltzman’s last known contact information. Len cold called the number and Trooper Saltzman’s son nearly broke down in tears to hear that his father’s ring had been found and that Len was mailing it back to him. Miracles do happen and what a great way to kick off 2023.
On December 30, 1896, Jose Rizal was executed by firing squad on grounds of treason by the Spaniards, which ignited the fire for the Philippine revolution against the Spanish Regime. He wrote this poem before his execution.
Adiós, Patria adorada, región del sol querida, Perla del mar de oriente, nuestro perdido Edén! A darte voy alegre la triste mustia vida, Y fuera más brillante, más fresca, más florida, También por ti la diera, la diera por tu bien.
En campos de batalla, luchando con delirio, Otros te dan sus vidas sin dudas, sin pesar; El sitio nada importa, ciprés, laurel o lirio, Cadalso o campo abierto, combate o cruel martirio, Lo mismo es si lo piden la patria y el hogar.
Yo muero cuando veo que el cielo se colora Y al fin anuncia el día tras lóbrego capuz; si…
Happy Birthday, Mom, in heaven. If she were alive today, she’d be celebrating her 100th birthday.
Mom was born on December 16, 1922, and died on November 23, 2019, at age 96. She had a wonderful life!
She was six years old when her father died, leaving her mom with nine children to take care of. She was the youngest girl but not the youngest in the family. Two more boys came after her. She was very pretty as a young girl, and her brothers watched and guarded her around her suitors while growing up. After her father died, her mom found ways to become a successful businesswoman in the textile and jewelry industries and a landowner in her own right in a business world dominated by men. She was way ahead of her time. I think Mom got her strong character from my grandmother. All this is documented in my book called “The Iron Butterfly.”
Mom and Dad’s love story started with Mom’s photo published in a magazine, and Dad saw it and became smitten. He sent her letters and postcards nonstop until she finally got curious to find out who this guy was. The correspondence started, and Dad wanted to meet her in person, but she was elusive. It took Dad almost two years to finally meet her.
Their meeting was quite hilarious, and I loved it. Dad was able to find someone to show him where she lived. He knocked at her door, and her mom answered. He said he wanted to meet her daughter. Her mom thought he came for some business because he looked like a successful businessman, and her mom being in business, thought that was the case. Dad apparently made a good impression on Grandma, who told Dad to have a seat in the living room and would get my mom.
In the meantime, Dad saw all those pictures of him on the wall next to hers. When she finally appeared, he pretended to be busy scrutinizing the photos and asked her who was the man next to her picture. Mom lied and said he was a cousin of hers. Dad asked who had sent her the photos and the postcards. She said again it was a cousin of hers. Then he said it happened that he sent someone the same pictures and postcards and then looked at her. Mom stared at him and recognized him.
She said, “Mom told me you are from the next town and have a different name.”
“That is my real name and my real hometown. I live most part of the year in Baguio, where I have a store.”
She was so embarrassed and wanted to bolt out, but Dad was quick and grabbed her arm, but she shook it. They ended up laughing at each other.
When the war broke, and Dad finally made it home from Baguio, Dad continued their courtship. Fearing the Japanese might harm her, Mom finally said yes, and they got married. Their courtship lasted four years!
They have four kids, my three brothers and me. We had a wonderful childhood with Dad’s business going from feast to famine, and Mom was always helping Dad in his business. I admire Mom for her tenacity in the face of hardship, both financially and emotionally. My parents believed their most significant accomplishment was that we all finished college.
After all of us kids left for the US, Mom started making the trip abroad. She started visiting after my son, Matt, was born, and she made the trip to the US every two years. At some point, she stayed for four years and went back home when Dad got sick.
She was always there when I moved to a new home. At my present home, one of my bedrooms is called Lola’s room because she was the first one to stay in that room. Lola is grandma in Tagalog, the Philippine language.
Mom loved to shop, but I particularly did not like going shopping. So, she would go to NJ, and my sister-in-law would take her shopping. While in the US, she moved around between my siblings’ homes: two in New Jersey, one in Vermont (now in Florida), and me in Long Island (now in Charleston). She missed the grandchildren when she stopped making the trip. She was already in her late 80s when she decided to stop her travels.
Mom, thank you for all that you did for me, my brothers, and our families. Enjoy your 100th birthday with Dad up there!
Rosalinda R Morgan 