True friends never part
BY GREG CASTILLA – Dateline Seattle: True Friends Never Part Bicol Mail – June 9, 2022 There were eleven of us Jesuit novices who entered the Sacred Heart Novitiate (SHN) in Novaliches, Quezon City, in May of 1967. We all…
Category: View from an Expatriate
So much to thank for
Dateline Seattle: So Much to Thank ForBicol Mail – 1/13/2022 IT”S 2022 and I have so much to thank for.While I cannot refrain from thinking about the possibility of people I know dying of Covid-19, I cannot avoid making a…
Birds of the same feathers
BY GREG CASTILLA – Dateline Seattle: Birds of the Same Feather Flock Together – Bicol Mail – December 9, 2021 The attempt by Bongbong, the son of the dictator Marcos, to retake Malacanang may not be through the use of…
My Father
BY GREG CASTILLA – The third Sunday of June is celebrated as Father’s Day in many countries. It’s a special day set aside to honor all fathers and the role that they play in the family and in society in…
A priceless birthday gift for a 6-year old during the time of coronavirus
BY GREG CASTILLA – Xavier is our first grandchild who turned six years old last April 4. As Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc and majority of us are under stay-at-home orders, I’ve started to feel the quarantine blues. I guess…
Where is God?
BY GREG CASTILLA – IN TIMES of great crisis like the unspeakable sufferings that the coronavirus has inflicted on so many people, young and old alike, it’s more than natural for people to ask: Where is God? Asking the question…
Living at the time of COVID-19
BY GREG CASTILLA – IS THE WORLD about to end? What a scary question to ask. But there are some people who, because of the coronavirus outbreak that remains unmitigated, have asked that question. Asking the question may sound premature…
Postcript to movie “Onward”
I recently saw a Disney movie with my wife, two young grand kids and their parents. The title of the movie is Onward. I thought I would not like the movie because I’ve never been a fan of animation, which…
Trip to Disneyland
I NEVER DREAMED of going back to Disneyland, popularly known as “the happiest place on earth.” It was in 1986 when my wife, two young daughters, and I visited this park, which is a collection of exciting rides and shows…
TBT – Throwback Thursday
BY GREG CASTILLA – TBT stands for Throwback Thursday. People use TBT in social media, like Facebook, to share old photos of themselves to reminisce the past or for nostalgia. In my column today, I am “posting” a TBT article…