ATLAS Students Get Duke Honor

IOWA CITY, GOODBYE

Time to leave 619 East Burlington Avenue Apartment No. 4. In a few moments I shall be off in a Greyhound, once more along Interstate 80 to Chicago, and to Des Plaines.

After almost sixteen months, I am leaving The University of Iowa which has made me a better person through a rewarding educational experience.  I am leaving the city which had been  a home to me for more than a year.

The charming and fond memories of Iowa City: the fireworks at City Park on the Fourth of July; Englert 1: the movie Platoon; Old Capitol, a national historic landmark; the UI Museum of Natural History with its small Philippine collection from the St. Louis World Fair; the Sunday afternoon concerts at Hancher Auditorium; the morning workouts at Field House; watching the bands at Union Field and browsing the crafts bazaar during Riverfest, the university's annual spring celebration; the wonderful changes of the seasons: the tulips in the spring, the long summer days strolling the Old pedestrian mall, the autumn leaves at Pentacrest and Coralville Lake, and the falling snow on my way home from school in the winter; the small gatherings with fellow Filipinos; Homecoming; Hawkeye athletics; commencement at Carver Hawkeye Arena.

Enough of these memories. I must hasten on to the bus depot and catch the bus to the Windy City. And after O'Hare - home.  Where is home? That house near the banks of the mighty Cagayan River in the eastern part of Macalauat in Angadanan, Isabela. A Russian writer named Prishvin said, "Home is where you found your happiness.."  I think I know where that is, at least for myself.  I will reveal this much: it has something to do with that river, those cornfields, those peaceful nights, and of course, Daisy and Chester Alan.

Macalauat, I am coming home.

" We travel together, passengers on a little spaceship dependent on its vulnerable reserves of air and soil; all committed for our safety to its security and peace; preserved from annihilation only by the care, the work, and I will say, the love we give our fragile craft."  ----- A. Stevenson

(The writer was a PRODED Teacher Fellowship Program scholar sent from the Philippines to The University of Iowa to obtain a master's degree in educational administration from February, 1986 through May, 1987. He left behind his wife and three year old son, Chester.)

COLUMBUS, OHIO: A CITY THAT CAPTURES EXCITEMENT

Columbus, Ohio’s capital city, is located in the middle of the state. It was the fifth largest convention city in the nation. Columbus, with its more than 140 parks, had more usable park land per capita than any other U.S. city. Columbus is the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Columbus Clippers, the Columbus Capitals, and the Columbus 500.

Columbus is friendly. Even with its big-city sophistication, its midwestern hospitality will make a guest feel right at home.

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the fifteenth largest city in the United States of America. It is the county seat of Franklin County, yet the city has expanded and annexed portions of adjoining Delaware County and Fairfield County. Named for explorer Christopher Columbus, the city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and assumed the functions of state capital in 1816. The city has a diverse economy based on education, government, insurance, banking, fashion, defense, aviation, food, clothes, logistics, steel, energy, medical research, health care, hospitality, retail, and technology. Modern Columbus has emerged as a technologically sophisticated city. It is home to the world's largest private research and development foundation, the Battelle Memorial Institute; Chemical Abstracts Service, the world's largest clearinghouse of chemical information; NetJets, the world's largest fractional ownership jet aircraft fleet; and The Ohio State University, the nation's largest campus.

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State or OSU, is a public research university in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1870, as a land-grant university and ninth university in Ohio with the Morrill Act of 1862, the university was originally known as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The college began with a focus on training students in various agricultural and mechanical disciplines but was developed into a comprehensive university under the direction of Governor Rutherford B. Hayes and by 1878, the college changed its name to its current name. It has since grown into the third largest university campus in the United States. In 2007, Ohio State was officially designated as the flagship institution of Ohio's public universities as part of the newly centralized University System of Ohio. It is considered to be one of America's Public Ivy universities, which recognizes top public research universities in the United States.

I traveled to Columbus by Greyhound after spending some time in Des Plaines on that semestral break in August of 1986. A high school buddy, Ulysses Villeza Agpaoa and his American wife, Karen Rini, invited me to visit them. Uly and Karen met in the Philippines when she was in the country as a Peace Corps volunteer. She worked with the Rural Health Unit where Uly's father was the Municipal Health Officer (MHO) and lived with the Agpaoa family.  Uly was then employed at the Isabela Provincial Hospital in the capital town of Ilagan.  Both fell in love with each other, and finally tied the knot in a simple wedding in Baguio City.  A few month's later, when Karen's stint with The Peace Corps ended, they flew to the United States to settle down. I met Karen many times when they were not yet married, and I found her to be a very pleasant person. In many ways, she demonstrated that she had assimilated the Filipino way.

Karen and Uly met me at the Greyhound bus depot. We had homemade pizza for dinner.  Uly and Karen lived in a one-bedroom apartment in what used to be a hotel along Dennison Avenue, a part of the Victorian Village.

 

Columbus was one of the few cities in the northeast quadrant of the U.S. to grow over a decade.  Along with the growth had come a resurgence of the city's core. Major construction projects in downtown Columbus since 1971 include Nationwide Plaza Complex, One Columbus, Ohio Center/Hyatt Complex, Galbreath Complex/Hyatt on the Square, and the Huntington Center.

Uly and I visited the Ohio State University campus, then went barhopping. Karen stayed home. "You have a lot of catching up to do, so go ahead and enjoy, " she said.

We visited the Ohio Convention Center and strolled along downtown Columbus.  We stopped by the State Capitol Building.  The cornerstone of the Capitol Building was laid on July 4, 1839, but due to problems with fund authorization and other delays, it took close to 18 years before legislative halls were completed for use.  Built mainly of stone quarried just west of the Scioto River, total cost of the Doric-style capitol reached approximately $1,350,000.  The building's interior finish work is constructed of fine European marble.

OHIO STATE FAIR

Fascinating exhibits, a thrilling midway, and top-name entertainment are just a part of the total pageantry of the annual Ohio State Fair, the nation's largest.

Centrally located in the heart of one of the largest industrial states in the country, the Ohio State Fair offers fairgoers the variety of more than 65,000 exhibits as well as the largest State Fair midway. 

In the summer of 1986,  I was among the more than 3 million people who passed through the bright red entrance of the Ohio Exposition Center in Columbus to be part of a fair that thrives on family attendance and participation. Uly and Karen took me to the fair on its last day.

HISTORY

In 1846, the Ohio Legislature created the 53-member Board of Agriculture. One of the Board’s first acts was to establish a District Fair. The resulting 1847 District Fair at Wilmington and the 1848 District Fair at Xenia were both successful, thus warranting a State Fair.

The first Ohio State Fair was planned for September 1849, but an outbreak of Asiatic cholera forced cancellation of those plans. The following year, later dates were set to lessen the risk of cholera. Even so, Darius Lapham, the superintendent of the grounds, died of the disease just a few weeks before the opening date.

Camp Washington (two miles east of downtown Cincinnati) was the site of the first Ohio State Fair, Oct. 2 – 4, 1850. The site was described as eight to 10 acres with grass slopes, shade trees and numerous tents. The grounds were enclosed by a 10-foot-high board fence. Cattle were tethered to a railing along the carriage road.

The railroads offered strong support to the early state fairs. Special rates were offered whereby exhibits were transported without charge, and the exhibitor rode for half fare. Several Central Ohioans contributed to the support of the first Fair, including Alfred Kelley, owner of the Columbus and Xenia Railroad Company.

Cash premiums at the first Fair did not exceed $20, with the exception of an award of $50 given to the winning essayists on the topic “Improving the Soil.” During the early state fairs, winners received medals, not ribbons, as awards. In 1850, the silver medal was valued at $3.

The public was admitted only on the second and third days of the first Fair. Day one was devoted to setup and judging. Admission was 20 cents, but exhibitors could buy a $1 badge for admission for their families. A visitor could also buy a $1 badge for one gentleman and two ladies.

The two-day attendance was estimated at 25,000 to 30,000 people.

Transportation around Ohio was difficult. Therefore, the majority of exhibitors came from close proximity to the Fair. Officials reasoned that moving the Fair should increase interest and attendance.

 

ANHEUSER-BUSCH BREWERY TOUR

Anheuser-Busch, Inc., originated in St. Louis, Missouri, during the 1850s and the 1860s. Today, it is the world's largest beer brewer.

For the first one hundred years of its existence, Anheuser-Busch centered its production facilities in St. Louis. Beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, the firm expanded its manufacturing facilities, including purchasing competing breweries or constructing new ones across the United States. One of these breweries was located in Columbus, Ohio. The company began construction of this plant in 1966, and the brewery, Anheuser-Busch's sixth brewery, began producing beer in 1968. At first, the plant could brew 1.7 million barrels of beer per year, but by the late 1980s, production exceeded 6.7 million barrels.


The Columbus brewery remains in operation today, employing more than one thousand Central Ohio residents. It manufactures a wide array of beer, including Budweiser, Michelob, Bud Light, Michelob Light, Busch, and Natural Light, among other drinks. The Columbus brewery provides primarily to Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Budweiser Clydesdales are a group of Clydesdale horses used for promotions and commercials by the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company. There are six "hitches" or teams of horses, five that travel around the United States and one that remains in their official home at the company headquarters at the Anheuser-Busch brewery complex in St. Louis, Missouri, where they are housed in a historic brick and stained-glass stable built in 1885. There are eight horses driven at one time, but ten horses are on each team to provide alternates for the hitch when needed.

The Budweiser Clydesdales were first introduced to the public on April 7, 1933, to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition. August A. Busch, Jr. presented the hitch as a gift to his father, August Anheuser Busch, Sr., who was guided outside the brewery by the ruse of being told his son had purchased him a new car, but instead was greeted by the horses, pulling a red, white and gold beer wagon. The hitch proceeded to carry the first case of post-Prohibition beer from the St. Louis brewery in a special journey down Pestalozzi Street in St. Louis.

During the initial years on the road, the Clydesdales were transported by train. Cross-country truck transport was introduced in 1940. Today, the traveling hitches are on the road at least 10 months every year. They are based out of St. Louis, Missouri; Menifee, California; San Diego; Merrimack, New Hampshire; and San Antonio, Texas. There are eight horses on each team, but ten horses travel to provide alternates for the hitch as needed. Several professional handlers accompany each team. Often, one handler has night duty to provide round-the-clock care for the horses. Transportation for each hitch requires three 50-foot semis. Two carry the horses, the third transports a red, white and gold beer wagon and other equipment. The horses' comfort is enhanced with air-cushion suspension and thick rubber flooring, and cameras in the trailers enable the drivers to watch the horses during transport. The team stops each night at local stables.

Two obedience-trained Dalmatian dogs also travel with each hitch, a Budweiser tradition since the 1950s. Historically, the role of the dogs was to guard the wagon and protect the team while the driver went inside buildings to make deliveries. When the team performs today, the Dalmatians sit on wagon, seated next to the driver. The wagons are Studebaker wagons modified to carry beer, originally manufactured circa 1900.

WEEKEND IN MEDINA

Medina was founded in 1818 as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve. It was originally named Mecca, but another Ohio town had that name, so the name was changed. Both Mecca and Medina are cities in Saudi Arabia and particularly significant to Islam.

Most early residents were farmers. In the 1830s growth of the community was aided by the completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal, which helped transport agricultural products to markets. In 1835, Medina was incorporated as a village and as the county seat of Medina County, Ohio. 1869 Amos Root founded the A.I. Root Company in Medina as a manufacturer of beehives and beekeeping equipment, and the town became a center for beehive manufacturing. The Root company had 97 workers in 1886, making it the town’s largest employer. In 1952, Medina had over 5,000 residents, and was chartered as a city.

Karen's parents lived in a  roomy two-level house with a basement in Medina, Ohio. On a weekend, we went to visit her parents. The father worked at a telephone company, and the mother was a high school teacher. They had other children, but it was only the couple living in the house now. One of the rooms was full of decorative commemorative plates. The entertainment room had a collection of vintage wall clocks, all working perfectly, so one can hear the tick-tocks of each clock.

I slept in one of the upstairs bedrooms with a very pleasant view of the sprawling backyard. The base of the nightstand lamps were the pitcher-type water pumps.

Mrs. Rini was preserved tomatoes from her garden. They used a medium-sized tractor to till the garden plots. She grew her own vegetables and flowers. She picked fresh flowers everyday. Before I went home, Uly and I dug potatoes from the garden, which I took home to Iowa, along with zucchini squash. 

Uly and I sat by the pond drinking beer and watched the ducks wade in the water. They had apple trees and grapes bearing fruits in the front yard. The barn near the garden housed the farm machinery.

For dinner, Karen's mom prepared her favorite recipe when she visited San Francisco. 

It was indeed a pleasant visit. Uly, I thought, was fortunate to have a wonderful wife and very caring in-laws. As the car left the driveway, the Rini home looked like one of those town halls back home.

The brief visit with my friend and his wife ended. I had to take the bus trip back to Iowa City where I would continue my graduate studies.

 

HITTING THE ROAD

When summer classes came to a close,  I immediately took of to Des Plaines, IL  to visit my friend, Manuel Mamuri, and his family.

 Rainbow Picnic

The company where Manuel worked part-time held its annual employees and families' picnic in a forest preserve area in the outskirts of Rockford, IL on the day after I arrived in Des Plaines.  I went to picnic with Manuel and his family. With us were Antonia's friends, Christy and Boots. I was introduced to them, and soon we became friends.

Manuel and I sang together the songs we used to sing in high school.  He was not the best guitar accompanist, but he still had the ability to provide accompaniment  to the perennial Everly Bros. favorites, John Denver hits,  and our Trailblazers version of "Last Thing on my Mind" and the Badfinger's "Carry on (Till Tomorrow)".  We could still sing harmony.

(A picture of Manuel and me singing at the Rainbow picnic appeared in the company's magazine issued in December, 1986)

There were fun games for adults as well as the children. There were parlor games,  team sports,  and relay games. Prizes were awarded to winners.  Manuel and I teamed up with Boots and Christy, respectively,  in the couples' egg-throwing contest.  Christy and I did not survive the competition when the fresh egg broke as she tried to catch it.  Manuel and his partner were eliminated very much earlier when the egg smashed right on Boots' chest. It could be a messy game, but it sure was full of fun.

To the rainbow employees, the most awaited part of the picnic was the auction sale in which they used 'Rainbow' dollars to bid for the many items up for grabs, ranging from sports equipment and kitchen gadgets to fishing paraphernalia and a bicycle.  The amount of 'Rainbow dollars' awarded to each employee/salesman was based on their recent sales of the Rainbow brand cleaning equipment.

 

SIX FLAGS GREAT AMERICA

 

 

 

 

 

 

Located in Gurnee,  IL, Six Flags Great America is a family entertainment theme park.  Manuel's family and sisters took me there on a Saturday.

At the Carousel Plaza,  I felt like a small kid again as we took a ride on the double-decked Columbia Carousel near the entrance to the park.  Then we went to the Sky Trek Tower, a seventy-passenger cabin that traveled up to a height of 285 feet.  From there we got a breathtaking view of the park's surrounding area and as far away as downtown Chicago with its skyscrapers.

 The world's largest cinema screen was at the Pictorium.  We watched the short film, "SPEED!".  an odyssey of man's attack on speed - chills,  thrills, and the experience of the speed of light.

We visited the Orleans Place.  Rue le Dodge had 50 bumper cars, each could accommodate two passengers.  We raced around an open floor and the distinct possibility of bumping into another cars.

Located in Orleans Place,  the Theatre Royale was the home stage for Bugs Bunny and His Looney Tunes pals. We watched the brand new character revue,  "Bugs Bunny Goin' Hollywood".  The delightful comedy revue featured the Looney Tunes friends in Tinsel Town to receive Golden Carrot Awards for their performances in such movie classics a "Gone with the Wind" and "Singin' in the Rain".

We also watched the amazing preciseness and balance of the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe which was on a limited engagement only.

To get an excellent view of the park, we took a leisurely ride on the train from Hometown Square Railroad Station. We went through over a mile-long track around the park.

With the exception of Jay and Corazon, we took a wonderful relaxing ride on Sky Whirl, a triple-arm ferris wheel which took us 120 feet up into the air.

Yukon Yahoo was a bobsled ride that sped around sharply-banked curves. It was among the thrilling rides in the Yukon Territory. I took the ride together with Manuel and his two kids. We traveled in a circular motion and as the ride picked up speed, we began to lean into the turn, being zipped through the turns.

There were other popular rides in the park. The Demon took riders at high speeds for a breathtaking journey. Logger’s Run was a free-flowing ride where you travel in a five-passenger log through a channel of moving water. The highlight being a 60-foot free fall drop at the end. Yankee Clipper was one of two flume rides in which riders travel through a channel of moving water. The highlight being a free fall drop with a hill and “skip” over a jump at the end of the ride. Tidal Wave, a unique loop-type gravity coaster propelled riders to speeds of 50 miles per hour. The train travels through a 76-foot loop and up a 145-foot incline. The force of gravity then brings the train backwards through the loop so that the rider may experience the ride a second time – only backwards.

A day at Six Flags Great America was not enough to enjoy all the rides and attractions in this sprawling amusement park. We capped the day browsing in the souvenir shop where Puring bought me a Great America coffee mug and a shirt with the park’s logo for my son, Chester.

SWIMMING ON LAKE GENEVA

Lake Geneva was formed by a westward extension of the Lake Michigan glacier. The Potawatomi Indians called it “Kishwauketo”, meaning uncertain, but the early French explorers named it “Grospied” or “Big Foot” after a Potawatomi Indian chief of that name. In September, 1835, John Brink, Frontier surveyor running Township Lines, came to the lake. Born near Geneva, New York, he named the Wisconsin lake ‘Geneva” after his old home, and also noted the location of the town site, which later became the city of Lake Geneva.

Railroad access from Chicago made the area a popular summer retreat for the barons of wealth in lumber, cattle, oil, steel, cement, manufacturing, and durable goods (e.g., Morton Salt, Wrigley Chewing Gum, etc.), with mansions and large homes such as Stone Manor and Black Point built on the lake during the heyday of the Roaring 20s. The city was then known as "The Newport of the West." The city is also known today as "The Hamptons of the Midwest." In the early automobile era, the city's fortunes at first declined, and it soon became a haven for Al Capone and other mobsters. Shortly thereafter, it became the beautiful, natural, amazing small town it remains today. The city has been named one of the "Best Small Towns in America" on numerous lists during the last 50 years.

In 1954, Lake Geneva was named as one of the three finalists for the location of the new United States Air Force Academy, but ultimately lost to Colorado Springs, Colorado

We went to Big Foot Beach in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin to celebrate the birthday of Roy, Christy’s husband. The couple were friends to the Mamuris.

Although the water was chilly, I went swimming. It was the first time I ever swam in months since I arrived in the United States. Manuel waded in the shallow water. Christy and Boots joined us later.

On the way home to Chicago, we stopped to buy fresh corn sold by farmers in makeshift stalls along the roads. We roasted the corn at Manuel’s backyard where the birthday celebration continued.

MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY

The world’s largest and most popular center of contemporary science and technology, the Museum of Science and Industry covers some 14 acres with over 2,000 exhibit units in 75 major exhibit halls.

Manuel’s family and I, together with Mr. and Mrs. Cenon Mamuri, Sr. spent a day touring the museum. Unlike most museums, visitors are encouraged to interact with the exhibits by pushing buttons, turning cranks, lifting levers, and operating computers for a fun-filled learning experience.

The Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA in Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park neighborhood between Lake Michigan and The University of Chicago. It is housed in the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Initially endowed by Julius Rosenwald, the Sears, Roebuck and Company president and philanthropist, it was supported by the Commercial Club of Chicago and opened in 1933 during the Century of Progress Exposition.

It is the largest science museum in the Western Hemisphere. Among its diverse and expansive exhibits, the Museum features a full-size replica coal mine, a German submarine (U-505) captured during World War II, a 3,500-square-foot (330 m2) model railroad, the first diesel-powered streamlined stainless-steel passenger train (Pioneer Zephyr), and the Apollo 8 spacecraft that carried the first humans to the Moon.

The Henry Crown Space Center, the newest museum attraction, houses the latest in space exhibitry including the Omnimax Theatre which takes viewers to the edge of their seats.

After visiting the museum, we dropped by Lincoln Park Zoo which housed more than 2,000 mammals, birds, and reptiles from almost every part of the world. It serves as a refuge for many endangered species.

Lincoln Park Zoo is a free 35-acre (14 ha) zoo located in Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois. The zoo was founded in 1868, making it one of the oldest zoos in the nation. The zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

Lincoln Park Zoo is home to a wide variety of animals. The zoo's exhibits include big cats, polar bears, penguins, gorillas, reptiles, monkeys, and other species totalling nearly 1,250 animals. Also located in Lincoln Park Zoo is a burr oak tree which dates to 1830, three years before the city was founded. Lincoln Park Zoo is one of five zoos in the Chicago area, the others being the Brookfield Zoo, and the minor Phillips Park Zoo, Cosley Zoo and Indian Boundary Park. Lincoln Park Zoo is the largest zoo within the Chicago city limits.

BAHA’I TEMPLE HOUSE OF WORSHIP

Corazon and her friend took me to Baha’i Temple House of Worship. It is a very intricately designed temple in which people of any faith could go to meditate.

 

The cornerstone for the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois was brought to the site by Nettie Tobin and accepted in 1912 by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during his only visit to the United States and Canada. Construction began in 1921 and was completed in 1953, with a delay of several years during the Great Depression and World War II. The Wilmette House of Worship is the largest and the oldest surviving Bahá'í House of Worship. Known by Baha'is as the "Mother Temple of the West" and formally as the "Bahá'í House of Worship for the North American Continent", it stands in north suburban Cook County, on the shores of Lake Michigan. The cladding is made of white portland cement concrete with both clear and white quartz aggregate. It has received numerous design awards, and is a prominent Chicago-area landmark. In 1978, it was added to the .National Register of Historic Places.

The height of the auditorium is 138 feet (42 m), and the diameter of the dome is 90 feet (27.5 m). The auditorium seats 1,192 visitors. Like some other Bahá'í temples, it has a gallery balcony from which choirs or soloists may perform. No instrumental music is allowed during services in the auditorium, although all kinds of music may be performed in the meeting room below. In general, no videography, photography, or any other activity inconsistent with quiet meditation is allowed in the auditorium. The building is open to visitors every day of the year. Currently, devotional services are held at 9:15 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 5.15 p.m. daily. A Visitor's Center, located underneath the main auditorium, includes restrooms, offices, a bookstore, library and research room, a viewing room for films, and a Foundation Hall, which is used for large meetings and holy day celebrations.

The principal architect was Louis Bourgeois, but the interior cladding was designed by Alfred Shaw of Shaw, Metz, and Dolio. Engineering plans were prepared by Allen McDaniel of The Research Service of Washington, D.C. The general contractor was George A. Fuller, Co. Both the pioneering exterior and interior cladding were fabricated and constructed by John Joseph Earley and the Earley Studio. The Bahá'í House of Worship is a place of worship for all people. The only decorative art inside and out involves shapes and designs made by intersecting lines. There are no images of people or places. The building itself is decorated inside and out with verses from the Baha'i Writings, all of them by Bahá'u'lláh. As there are nine entrances to the building, there are nine verses above the doors and nine inside the buildings above the alcoves.

The rest of the time was spent having dinners at Chinatown, lunch with lechon kawali, dinuguan, pinapaitan, puto, and maja blanca at Little Quiapo, and on my last night, discoing at 1-2-3 Disco.

IOWA SUMMER

Iowa summers are synonymous with sun. And sun is - undeniably - fun, fun, fun! Iowa City sun-seekers are among the luckiest of all, as the Iowa City parks and Recreation Division maintains 29 area parks with a total of 573 acres. City Park, located across Hancher Auditorium on Park Road, is the closest, largest, and most diverse of the city's park facilities. 

Covering more than 100 acres, City Park offers park-goers everything from bike trails and playground equipment to amusement park rides and canoeing. Shelters and picnic tables provide plenty of room for picnickers.

The warm summer weather gathered sunbathers in City Park. Bagpipe music and frisbees wafted across Union Field and convertible owners were out in force taking advantage of the warm weather.  Children played in the fountain across The Holiday Inn and in the jungle gym near the Iowa City Public Library. People strolled in skimpy shorts.

Wearing shorts to class was acceptable in the university, since there was no dress code.  I went to my summer classes in shorts, like most of my classmates did, regardless of age or color.

I was enrolled in two courses - Design and Organization of Curriculum with Dr. Jerry Khun and Analysis and Appraisal of Curriculum under Dr. Bradley Loomer,  my academic adviser.  in the latter course,  there were only three students other than me. One man was a high school principal in Williamsburg, Iowa.  Another was a principal of an international school in Colombia. The only woman in the class was a third grade teacher in Spirit Lake, Iowa who was working on her principalship certificate.

Summer school was more demanding since I had to attend class daily. There were no requirements or projects to worry about, though.  I had to do the readings since I was expected to participate in the discussion with only four of us in the class.

A couple weeks before the beginning of the summer term, I moved to 619 East Burlington Apt. #4 with my two lady companions. Our landlady moved us there from 106 North Governor in response to the other tenants' complaint over the "smell of our cooking."

"In your new place, " Mrs. Liffring-Zug said, "you can do your cooking without bothering the other tenants."

At that time, it did not occur to me that we were being discriminated against because of our culture.  We had the new place to ourselves. There was more privacy than there was at North Governor. I occupied a spacious bedroom on the second floor.  The two women shared the attic apartment. We had a common kitchen and bathroom.

As soon as we were settled in the new place,  we threw a party in honor of two Indonesian friends who had completed their studies at the university and were scheduled to go back to their home country.  It was a gathering with fellow Asians - four Indonesians, a Vietnamese,  and three Filipinos. We were all away from home and we found ourselves supporting one another in this temporary home.

STATUE OF LIBERTY CENTENNIAL

The 100th anniversary celebration of the Statue of Liberty in New York was the highlight of the Fourth of July celebration in 1986.  The pomp and pageantry of the entire Liberty Weekend festivities was telecast live on ABC TV.  I watched on television the spectacular show on Governor's Island where the rich and the famous paid a hefty $5,000 fee for a seat. American celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor,  Shirley McLaine,  Neil Diamond and a host of Hollywood A-listers participated in the show.  

The unveiling of the of the new torch of  Lady Liberty by President Ronald Reagan and the First Lady Nancy Reagan was the highlight of the festivities. It was done through a laser beam.  

There were other pompous and star-studded shows at different venues in which thousands of dancers, musicians,  and other entertainers put on a show the American way. 

In Iowa City,  Joe and Puri Gallardo treated us to a Fourth of July picnic at their home backyard.  After visiting with fellow Filipinos,  we walked to City Park to watch the fireworks display, a must in every Fourth of July celebration.

I finished the summer session with an A and a B in the two courses I took.

PILGRIMAGE CLOSE TO HOME: VIA CRUCIS

Walking the Stations of the Cross helps us recall Christ’s final hours.

While images of the 14 stations are displayed inside churches and sometimes outdoors in gardens or prayer paths, the life-size statues of the Passion of Christ, which are situated on the grounds of the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle - National Shrine, help bring to life Christ’s suffering in an especially dramatic way.

The custom for the Via Crucis originated in the Middle Ages when Christians could not make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

The basilica grounds shaded by mesquites, oaks, elms and palm trees provide a beautiful setting for the Way of the Cross. Benches placed along the way make it convenient to sit in prayer and reflection.

Spending time before each station, gazing on the images, imagining the scene, we can’t help but recognize the tremendous sacrifice that Jesus Christ made as he proceeded on this path in agony and out of obedience to his Father. Station after station he continued no matter the weight of the cross or the suffering he endured, he continued following the will of his Father. Christ’s pain is real.

The sculptor captured it in his face, in his entire body. Barefoot, his face solemn, Jesus carga con su cruz. We see him fall; we see him continue forward. Lou Rodgers, from Boulder, Colo. drew the designs for the statues at the basilica. Italian artist Edmund Rabanser brought the images of the Via Dolorosa to life.

Life-size statues crafted in bronze and resin in aged hues portrays the human form in a size we can visualize. Each scene is set in natural stones to isolate the setting.

The Way of the Cross was a project that took more than five years from initial concept to its dedication in October 1993. It consists of 30 life-size bronze figures located along a path that spans almost one mile.

Rabanser first made a smaller set of the stations (18-inches tall) and worked on them for approximately one year. “I never realized how big this project was,” he said. The Most Rev. John J. Fitzpatrick, bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville at the time, visited the sculptor in to see his work in northern Italy, near the Alps in a town called Ortisei.

It took four and a half years to complete the full set of sculptures for the Stations of the Cross. A master woodcrafter, Rabanser created detailed expressions of each different station. He sculpted each one in order. He said he felt the suffering of Christ as the work proceeded.

Meticulously carved in Italian linden wood, the life-size figures were then reproduced in bronze. He made the crosses from solid oak.

Rabanser, who last visited the Basilica in 2007, to view his work, said he feels a part of them. “I will never make something like this again. Few sculptors have a chance to work on a project like this.”

Thousands of pilgrims come to the Basilica each week, and the Via Dolorosa stands as a permanent invitation to follow Christ’s Passion.

I find the stations where Jesus falls particularly painful, but most painful is the scene in station 11 – Jesus is crucified. He looks to heaven, to his Father; two soldiers hold him down, while another holds a nail in one hand and a hammer in the right. I imagine the nail as our sins and that we hold the hammer.

Walking his last steps, recalling the final hours of our Savior’s pain truly serves as a visual reminder of his love for us and for his Father. Each station provides a different narrative to reflect on and internalize in our own lives.

Pilgrims walk silently along the Via Dolorosa, some leave flowers, sometimes roses. Most often they leave red hibiscus cut from a nearby bush; the flower placed in Christ’s hand or on his crown of thorns.

TRUE SEXUAL FREEDOM

In the late 90s, the McLennan County Collaborative Abstinence Project (McCAP) launched its TRUE SEXUAL FREEDOM ("Save Sex - Good Things Come to Those Who wait")  campaign aired over KXXV TV (Channel 25). My wife and I were among couples of varied ethnic origins chosen to appear on the ad shot at Earl Harrison House, one of the Waco historic homes.

Click on the link below for ESC Region 12 press release:
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