DEATH COMES LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT

A VOICE FROM AMERICA By ERNIE D. DELFIN COMMODORE RAMON A. ALCARAZ (Ret) JOINS MAX V. SOLIVEN, EVELIO JAVIER, NINOY AQUINO AND OTHER FREEDOM LOVING FRIENDS IN THE LIFE BEYOND June 2009 was a very unusual month for me in Southern California. Instead of starting to enjoy the start of summer doing things that I cannot do months ago, like gardening, picnicking or biking to the beach, it is very sad month with a couple of shocking news, the untimely deaths of two great friends of mine, two very warm, intelligent, witty and caring human beings whom I dearly loved and admired. On June 8th, my spiritual confidant-counselor and friend, Franciscan friar-author, Emery Tang died and then followed by Commodore Ramon A. Alcaraz (ret.) who was not just a client but a father figure to me and a very close friend. His daughter, Ramona “Monet” Alcaraz-Marshall told me that his loving dad “chose to die with a big BANG” on June 25th, the same day when the King of Pop Music, Michael Jackson died at 50! The Commodore was just about two months shy before his 94th birthday on August 31st. When this issue of the STAR comes out (Sunday, July 5th) many of us, friends and family of Commodore Ramon “Monching” Alcaraz will be visiting him to pay our last respects at the Fairhaven Mortuary in Santa Ana, California, to be followed by a funeral mass and burial on Monday morning, July 6th, at the Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in the City of Orange where the Alcaraz family live the last several decades. Since the Marcos Martial law era, whenever the late ‘Uncle’ Max Soliven visited California, Max, the Commodore and I always got together and spent many hours just talking and enjoying each others company. We had so much in common: zest for life, love for politics (and women…just kidding!) and good conversation coupled with uncommon wit and sense of humor, laughing and often oblivious of time and the craziness of the world around us. The three of us cherished and yearned for the return of the old fashioned conservative values of the Filipinos of yesteryears. Those values appear to be vanishing with the gradual demise of their generation. Although I am much younger than they were, I am quite blessed and privileged to have known these two Filipino icons (and others) quite close and personal. Who can replace them to share more insights and wisdom into my own life and the life of others whom they may have touched? Death is still a great mystery to me. Although I accept my own mortality, I am still scared about death simply because I will be forced to go through a morbid process I have never experienced before. It seems to me that death comes when everybody around you is relatively happy, when the promise of the future appears brighter and more promising. For instance, a week before Father Emery died, we had an unusually long lunch at our favorite dim sum restaurant in Little Saigon, Westminster, California, with my wife Benita, Father Wayne Adajar, Milette Estrada, who is coordinating our Glorious Italy Tour (Rome, Assisi and other shrines) next September, where Father Emery was also scheduled to join us. That last meeting was quite extraordinary because it lasted over three hours that included with an unscheduled visit to my farmyard, sharing our mutual love for gardening and nature. To this date, I am still in denial because I will absolute miss our monthly lunches that have started many years ago. Now, my client and above all my friend, Commodore Alcaraz is also gone to the life beyond where there is no more physical suffering and pain. Born from a modest family in Bulacan, he went to school through “boxing scholarships” and belonged to the first batch of graduates of the Philippine Military Academy in 1940, before the outbreak of WW II. The Commodore rose through the ranks that culminated with his appointment as Commodore of the Phil. Navy by Pres. Macapagal, only to be fired by the Pres. Marcos in 1965. The Commodore belonged to an era when the Philippines was a much different country than what it is today, considering what the country is ashamedly undergoing through economically, educationally and politically. Like Ninoy Aquino, Evelio Javier and Max Soliven, Commodore Alcaraz died without witnessing the dawn of Philippine Renaissance in the socio-economic and political arena that they have actively advocated during their lifetimes. His generation suffered much during the Japanese occupation and WW II (like Benito Soliven, the father of Uncle Max) but his generation, in my view, was the golden era of the Philippine society as the words “palabra de honor” (word of honor) or “delicadeza” (propriety) and true public service were the norm. I had a brief experience of those golden times as my own grandfather, then followed by my father were chosen to be the “teniente del barrio” (that office, then, was a position of honor, even WITHOUT salary, when the people asked somebody quite respected to be their “cabeza” (head) who oftentimes acted not only as an “executive” but also as a “judge or arbitrator” for minor conflicts in the barrio. Those were the days that are long gone, nostalgic topics that always come up whenever the Commodore and I had a long conversations. To celebrate Commodore’s his 85th Birthday in year 2000, his daughter Ramona “Monet” and I planned a totally surprise Birthday Party for him at the Disneyland Hotel, where over 50 of his military, business and political friends, and some relatives came together to pay tribute to him. He really got the greatest surprise of his life as he admitted in his remarks and felt somewhat “embarrassed” that he was not dressed “appropriately” for the occasion. Monet successfully tricked him to accompany her to buy something for her “apos” (grandchildren) but suddenly they have to drop by the Disneyland Hotel for Monet to give somebody something. As the promoter of that event, I remember saying that we were gathered to honor and give him tribute ( not eulogy) so that he would still see us and hear our words of our love and respect for him. A dozen of us delivered our tributes to this remarkable man. Asked what his secret to a long healthy life, he instantaneously said his family and friends (that love him), daily “siesta” (nap) and the unexpected the punch line (that I will never forget) “Pay your Debts!” Having known him for over 30 years, not only as a client but more of a friend and father-figure to me , I am saddened by his death but also happy with the thought that he is now in paradise and probably being given a warm reception by his many political (mutual) friends whom I have also met, like Ninoy Aquino, Evelio Javier, Raul Manglapus, Tony Villegas, Raul Roco, and Max Soliven, as well as his other friends that I don’t even know. With nostalgia and gratitude, I am indeed blessedly fortunate that I have met the Commodore and the other Filipino icons mentioned above here in the United States (a great country that is the greatest “equalizer” of people) which most likely could not happen in the Philippines to an ordinary Filipino like me. Now, all these freedom loving and idealistic people are all gone! Who can replace their idealistic life’s philosophy from the present leadership of the Philippines? At my age, will I ever see the Renaissance of a new era that will bring back those “golden” years of Philippine society? Can somebody please tell me or show me a ray of hope that there that that era will ever come back? With acceptance of my own mortality and faith in the life thereafter, I hope and pray that we will meet again in heaven and hopefully resume the friendship that was just started on earth. May your Rest in Peace, Commodore, and may our mutual friends welcome you in their company! May the Good Lord reward you for what you have done to your country, to your people to your brothers and sisters while you were on Earth! Paalam, mahal kong kaibigan! ----- ------- Email writer: ernie.delfin@gmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com