holidays may bring the blues, like a hiccup that comes from out from nowhere within our core, some loud and uncontrollable; the void of what i call the 3-D’s: death of a loved one, depression and disconnect is brought to light. holidays may bring families back together who have been disconnected from each other. holidays also reunite old friends and family members. this past holiday season, papa N shared his bangka story. papa N is a widower, his wife of fifty-six years passed on last year from many years of (not) living in a convalescent home, suffering post-stroke symptoms. Papa N would visit his beloved everyday at lunchtime until she passed. these days Papa N visits her gravesite in Daly City, California. Papa N and i joyfully reunited after 20 years of lost contact. I shared with him my bangka story. he shared his. smiling, as if he was brought back in time as a young boy, 9 years old growing up in the coastal island of Catanauan, the eldest boy in a family of many. ‘What did you do then, Papa N?’I inquired, getting comfortable in the soft sofa with a blanket to warm up my toes in this cold wintery season. his eyes would twinkle as he spoke, as he remembers and i feel my heart being warmed up. i see a young boy, venturing out in a bangka, going out to mother ocean, joyful.

sharing bangka stories