VISITING MY YOUNGER BROTHER IN NEW JERSEY

Dear Auntie Patti Koh,

Just arrived this morning in Philadelphia and took the 35 minutes drive to Blackwood, New Jersey.

The weather when we landed in Philly is hazy but the sun gradually went up and the weather is now looking fine and dandy. It will be swell for the evening and the wedding that we have to attend this evening.

My younger brother is so busy with his friend when we arrived. He was at North Jersey driving around the group Hot Dogs from Pinas. My younger brother is a drummer and has his own band and was asked to be the drummer for the performance of the Hot Dog tomorrow evening for the Pinoy community of North Jersey and New York city.

My brother is telling me that the group is still selling, even with the new generations. Their songs "Ikaw and Miss Universe" and "Manila" , etc is still being applauded by all the audience. My brother said that tomorrow saturday 30th Sept. is a sold out performance. He was so hyper and I am excited about it for him too, because I will be able to see him perform also.

My younger brother's band is called the Pacific Rhythm, and the group are all professionals in their own field. They don't do the band thing as their job, but rather as their hobby and outlet from their hectic real day to day job. My younger brother is a maintenance engineer from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. His base guitar is a med tech, the lead guitar is also in the medical field, the alternate guitarist is a doctor by profession, the lead singer is an executive secretary and the other female vocalist is a nurse and so on. They are one fun group to watch.

Majority of their GIG is for the Filipino community and they are heavily booked during the holiday season. They are also performing for weddings and anniversaries and birthdays. They were telling me that they are not into fame and glory and money. They just want to do what they have been doing when they were so young and wanted to do it as an outlet and a hobby, which is very nice.

One time, I was visiting my brother during summer time. They were practicing at the their house when a neighbor complained and called the police and said they are too loud and disturbing the entire neighborhood. This neighbor of my brother has a long time jealousy attitude with my brother. The police came, knock at the door and stated politely their business. They were invited by my brother to come in and see for themselves if the band is really noisy while rehearsing because the door and the entire house windows and sliding doors were closed shut. The police sat down for two songs and afterwards commented that the group was good and said they will take care of the neighbor and to just continue performing and not to open the door or the sliding door.

One thing funny about it - is that when I looked out the window, the back yard neighbor is having a pool party and was dancing while my brother's band is practicing. It was so hilarious.

So this evening, we are prepairing to leave and attend the wedding of my brothers' son in law brother.

So Auntie Patti Ko, I am happy and excited to be with my younger brother again. We don't see each other very often.