The Old..the New, they are All the Same, They are One.

Dear ACMers,

I must be the oldest in the group. Thanks for takingme in. Remembering those days gone by can really beinvigorating. I feel young again. I can close my eyesand remember those high school days. I cannot reallymention the names of my classmates here as they mayvalue very much their privacy. But I guess, it may be ok to mention Fr. Vic Velasco, who every recreationtime wrestled with me in a game of Chess. He was the Anatoly Karpov of our time when there was no Fischeror Kasparov to beat him.

Those were the days. I missthe games of Football and the opportunity to score on a cabeza with somebody behind me shouting BORIQUITO. I miss those times when I would hear the clapping inthe morning and the words Benidicamos Domino and wewould all chorus Deo Gratias. It was something thatliterally roused our spirits from slumber and got usready for the spiritual and academic exercises upahead. I wanted so much to move on to Angono hillswhich I found so serene and so conducive to deepcontemplation and meditation. I wonder how many mysteries I might have unravelled if I were able to reach that place.

But as fate would have it, I was not lucky enough to make it. Long Live the Vincentian spirit. Congratulations for launching this internetgroup. It has always saddened me that the Seminarywhere I lived and spent practically my days of early youth and age of puberty was no longer where I left it. It was a really nice place. There lived a community that was unique in many ways. The voices,the classroom sessions, the games we played, the morning masses, the night prayers, the late night tv on weekends, the weekend leaves, the cathechism at nearby Karuhatan, the smell of grass being mown, the fraternal meals at the refectory, the holy retreats,the weekend visits at the porteria... Some things exist only in legends... And I can only tell those who care to listen... Once upon a time...

Vincentianly yours,

Al