Growing up in Pura was fun.  I remember when I was about 5 or 6 years old when our house was constantly full of people, between patients coming to see Daddy, the “Nanangs” stopping by to see Mama to sell  their fresh catch of the day or freshly picked vegetables and your “barkadas”... our cousins, the Aganon’s, Cang Flor Quiroz, and the original “Divas” of Pura Cang Boy Cortes, Cang Carty and Cang Aming.  I also remember being around your barkadas (and Winnie's) most of the time because I was your “ticket” to get out of the house.  I loved it when Daddy says: “Isama mo yang kapatid mo” ("Take your little sister with you).

I still remember those afternoons and evenings when the barkadas get together to cook "arroz caldo" or any thing that they can think about making.  I guess cooking, was the best past time then because Pura was still a growing town in the mid 60’s.  I don’t know why, but even at my early age I can remember how good your cooking was (even better than Mama sometimes (I love you Ma).  I can still smell the simmering  “caldereta” that you used to cook up to this day.  I even remember when you used to trick Marie on trying the "caldereta" and telling her "tikman mo hindi kambing yan" (taste it, it's not goat meat), and I remember her hesitantly tasting the "caldereta", while you were smiling behind her back, so typical of your many kalokohans.  You can turn any ingredients to a master piece and it always amazed me how you can create anything from something really delicious.  Cooking became my passion, so when I went to Manila to attend college in FEU, I remember frequently cooking and making up stuff.  Some of my creations directly hit the dog's bowl and sometimes the dish made it to our dinner table. There was a time when I got over board using "corn starch" to everything I cooked from the pakbet, soup, chapseuy, palabok, ukoy, etc. (just like the mystery ingredient on the "Iron Chef" show, I have to use corn starch for everything).  Daddy used to tell me, "Monette baka naman dumeretcho na yung bituka ko diyan" and I started to laugh because only then I realized, that I can finish a pack of corn starch even before Pacing can finish the pack of gaw-gaw she used to finish-off her labada. Cooking became my passion because of you and Mama.  Those little chores I was asked to do around the kitchen gave me so much experience in cooking and I thank you and Mama for that.  Rest in peace my IRON CHEF! I love you.  Monette

Our loving parents always assured us that when it comes to family "blood is thicker than water" and that's the reason they want us (the cousins) to remain closer even though we were living a few distance apart from each other. I had always stayed in touch with my cousins on the Maddela and Meneses side growing up. When it comes to hard work, you can always count on my cousin Bong to get the job done. A job Well Done? (Maybe) When asked, we volunteered to help my late Uncle/Ninong Ebo (Dr. Inocencio B. Maddela) to paint his dining room table. Bong suggested that we use a black spray paint and lots of newspaper to catch our mess. The table turned out to be nice but Uncle Ebo's (and Auntie Anita's) lawn turned from green to black. Uncle Ebo was so impressed with the paint job, except for a few "rookie mistakes" of over-spraying his lawn, that he invited us back to paint his Medical Clinic in Tondo. This time we were full of confidence because we were no longer "rookies", we have had one successful paint job under our belts. We graciously accepted and recommended spraying his office walls with white paint. Spray painting out of a can is now our specialty. Uncle Ebo knew exactly what would happen to his office floors, so he suggested using a paint brush. I said to Bong "to be brave cousin", with plenty of newspapers on the floor, we can do it. Unlce Ebo hinted that a good painter normally applies more paint on the walls than on the floors. We all laughed. We put a few coats of paint on the office walls, but we could not understand why the paint appears uneven and started to get lumpy in some areas. After reading the directions, we soon found out that we made a terrible mistake of mixing a water-based paint with a spirit-based paint thinner. My dear Uncle Ebo paid a costly price for training us. That was the end of our apprenticeship program because we were not invited to paint his house (smile) in Quezon City. When it comes to food, you can also count on my cousin Bong to devour the whole thing. Every summer when we were growing up. we spent time with our dear late cousin Eddie Maddela, his brother Oscar, and sisters Lourdes, Norma, late cousin Cynthia, Techie and Anna . Late Manang Kikay (Nanay to many of us) had her own house rules. We can play all day long looking for metiorites and ancient bones (Eddie's favorite past time) in the vacant lots around the area but to get our favorite snacks, she wants us to take an afternoon nap. Bong would pretend to be sleeping and would be the first one out of bed to get the first batch of Nanay's delicious garlic bread. Nanay once made a big mistake of putting in front of Bong and me a big platter of leche plan. It was gone in a few minutes. Bong and I would walk around the neighborhood in Tondo looking for vendors who sell turon saging, turon mungo, kamoteng kahoy, banana-que, and donuts. Yes, donuts and Bong were inseparable. And if you have chicharon (bulaklak) Bong will be smiling from ear to ear. Another of life's great adventure that Bong and I went through was when we went to Olongapo to look for a job. What I had in mind was to see a U.S.Navy recruiter. It was unclear to me what Bong was really looking for (maybe more chicharon?). We went to see his friends from Pura, Tarlac who was one of the hottest band in the area at that time. Since no U.S.Navy recruiter was willing to talk to anyone without an appointment, Bong and I decided to check out the employment opportunities in the night clubs. One sign was advertising for an experienced bar tender. We again uttered to each other "to be brave cousin" and asked to see the manager. The club's manager knew right away that we lacked the experienced to fulfill the job requirement, because we looked so young, asked that we write down the names of the drinks we can prepare from memory. Since both Bong and I have never tasted any alcoholic beverages, we were gracoiusly asked to leave the place with the empty list in our pockets. We must have entered a few dozens clubs looking for a job. The last club we entered, by then I remember being hungry and frustrated from walking around all day long, was looking for a established musicians. Bong said to me to audition for a drummer position. I said to him, how about you? I'll be your manager. I believed he was serious even though, he was smiling from ear to ear.  I jammed with the rest of the people auditioning. At the end of the evening we were told to wait a week and they will let us know if we made the list. Since Bong and I have only our return bus fare in our pockets, we decided that it was time to retire our "Be Brave Cousin" mantra  for the evening and try it someplace else. My cousin Bong was true to himself. He was genuine and unpretentious. He may not say much sometimes but one thing you can assure of was that he will make you smile from ear to ear due to his playfulness. He will be missed. Cousin Bong, remember that Jesus loves you. Remember also that everyone of us here, who are still on Jesus' "Waiting List", loves you very much. Be brave cousin Bong because heaven is waiting for you to celebrate your big day. Happy Birthday cousin Bong. Be Brave Cousin and I love You. Nap Meneses of Seattle, Washington