TWO SONS, TWO PERSONALITIES, TWO SENTIMENTS

Dear Auntie Patti Koh,

Last week, my two boys asked me, if they could get my airline pass because they want to go on a short vacation.

My eldest son, went to Orlando with her girlfriend, under my airline pass and I have to give the girlfriend a companion pass, so that she could fly with my son to Orlando. My son was telling me that he will let his girlfriend pay the travel tax and other charges. Since it was only $47.00 I told my son that he could forget about it. My wife and I took them both to the airport and my son kept on thanking me and was reminding me to take my medications and try to work hard. He said he will be returnin Sunday. It was only a four day stay in Orlando. He gave me the address where he will stay with his girlfriend and told me if I will have a problem, to call his cell fon anytime.

My younger son, whom we have taken also to the airport, just said his farewell, advised his mom that he will call when he arrived in New Jersey at his cousins' house and said not to be calling him because definitely he will be out most of the time with cousin and might be drunk. He did not even bother to look back and said goodbye, but just went ahead inside the airport to the ticket counter to pick up his ticket from the kiosk. Called back and talked to his mom and said he wasd given a first class seat from my pass that he used. Said he will be back on tuesday and will just get his car that my office parking lot at the airport where he parked it because the car has the sticker of my office.

Both have arrived already. My eldest son, checked on me immediately even I was asleep. Hug me and said he is back with his girlfriend and will pick up his car at the garage and head home to his apartment with his girlfriend because he is already tired and will just call me when he already rested and on my day off.

Next day, the youngest one came, drop his bag on the kitchen floor, emptied his pocket with all the coins and came up to my room, woke me up and asked for money because his car does not have any gas.

Everytime I closed my eyes at night, I was trying to figure out my two sons. I love them both, but my parents are right when my dad told me that I will have to educated and understand myself when I deal with my two boys. He said they are two different individuals with two different characters and sentiments in life.

And so Auntie Patti Koh, I have come to believe that fathers are always right when they give advise to their children. Experience is their best teacher.

MICHAEL BUBLE' .... GREAT SINGER AND GREAT SONGS

Dear Auntie Pattie Koh,

I was ill one time, and was all by myself at home. I was then visited by a close friend who is a musically inclined person, even when we were in the seminary. He still do some musical arrangements for a group called PAX MINSTREL. This is a group of ex-seminarians and ex-priest, who performs (when invited) and then the royalty they get from the invitations that they receive goes to the missions.

Going back to my illness, so comes to the house this friend of mine. He told me not to be so worried about my health problems, and plugged in my VCR a DVD by a performer called MICHAEL BUBLE'(Boob-Lei). The very first song of this singer, I ws immediately impressed. And then as I was wathching the entire performance of this artist, I was so stricken with all the antics, the songs and the actual relationship that he has with his audience. This particular DVD and performance that I was watching is being taped by the Public Television's Great Performances.

The entire segment of the presentation called : MICHAEL BUBLE' Caught in the Act, was so great, that I decided the next day to buy some of his CD's.

Michael, was from Vancouver, Canada, and was a fisherman with his father on their fishing boat for seven years. He was saying that it was a long and hard work. Onboard ship, according to him, he was doing so many things, including cooking. And when at night, he was behind the wheels of the fishing boat, he will listen to old time favourites and standards, from the songs of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald and so on. He was so engrossed with all the songs of this legends, and started singing it. Then when he was 17 years old, his grandad, who was a plumber, will take him to some of the joint that his grandad frequented and will talk to the band to listen and make his grandson sing. Some of them was so afraid to let him do his stint, because they were thinking that he might make a mistake and just make a fool of himself. One band leader, who is known by his grandad, gave him his first break, because of his grandad's promise to this guy that he will fix his plumbing needs and problems for free.

So, Michael, sings all the standards and jazz songs that I know and heard from my Dad when I was growing up, and he sings and interprets that songs differently -- on his own way. His voice is so hard to explain. He was a Sinatra,Martin,Davis and others combined together. His original song HOME, was rated the No. 1 song of the land, in the chart.

Yesterday, I was reading the US News, there was a listing on performers and their ranking in live performances. Michael Buble' is rated No.2 on the Top 10 Live Performers, with a rating of 99.4 percent in audience attendance and sales.

So now, Auntie Patti Koh, for some reason I cannot explain, I was so engrossed and in love with the music and performances on DVD that I have, by this artist. Watching over and over his DVD that I have on his live performance for Public Television, relaxes me and ease my stress and anxiety from work.

I remember a saying from a great musician (name I forgot)
" Music charms the savage beasts"