Pan American
To Paradise!
Flight # 863
From the Author's Small Town of Panganiban to the Vast Plains of America, Including Collection of Inspirational Poems & Other Literary Works
Pan American Flight #863 to Paradise
According to Walt Disney, “When you dream, dream big!” I never paid attention to these words of Walt Disney, inasmuch as I was born a son from a poor family, from a war-torn town of Panganiban, after the distraction of the Philippines in WWII, aside from being a typhoon-stricken… of the strongest howling winds you could possibly imagine. The odds of surviving from these extremes of situations, never brought to my young mind, that these happenings are not permanent.
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As I grew up, my young mind never stopped thinking of what I can do to change the direction of my life’s destiny. A bright idea came to my mind. Talking to myself, I felt and I believe that I cannot be a farmer and a carabao herder (vaquero) forever. I have to do something to get out to the world to challenge the odds of succeeding. My first thought was to study hard and to do the best of my potentials and capabilities. This was the only option that I know will work for me because my parents were meager in their financial side of life. Fully knowing that my parents cannot support me financially to go to college, I kept my plan a secret, until I landed in San Francisco International Airport on September 23, 1963.
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In High School, I graduated on the top of the class, as a Valedictorian. Using my transcripts in HS as a passport to college, I was admitted at the Araneta University, Philippines, and was granted full scholarship for the period of five years, only that I have to maintain my grade. The same as in HS, I graduated AU with flying colors, with a degree in BS: Agricultural Engineering.
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My academic pursuits didn’t stop here. After college graduation, I applied for graduate studies at the University of California to further my studies in Agricultural Engineering with focus on Irrigation Management and Soil Conservation. The Graduate School offered me a job as a Graduate Research Assistant. And that’s so great to start with. I was so happy and thankful.
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While in San Francisco, California, with my background in Agricultural Engineering, I applied for admission at the College of Engineering at the Heald Institute of Technology, for my Mechanical Engineering degree. Within four quarters period, I completed the course and granted BS: Mechanical Engineering. So now, did I remember the words of Mr. Walt Disney? Thank you very much, Mr. Walt Disney, for your inspiration! Sorry, I can only dream of Walt Disney World!
About the Book
A real story of a boy who experienced all the hardships in life in a poverty-stricken, small town of Panganiban, where he grew up until finishing high school. His father was a farmer, and his mother was a housewife and homemaker. They happily raised four boys and four girls. In spite of the hardships & struggles during the wartime years in the Philippines, the whole family survived before and after the end of the WW II in 1945. General Douglas MacArthur was the great & main figure to be immortalized for saving us from the hands of the Japanese. This boy studied so hard in high school. With his big dream close to his heart, and with his strong determination to succeed, he graduated in high as a valedictorian. With his diploma as a passport to college, he left for Manila to attend a university there. He was offered a full scholarship in Engineering. In college, as it was in high school, he graduated with flying colors. His academic pursuits never stopped here. In 1963, he flew to the USA, via Pan American Flight 863 (fictitious name) to Paradise. From here, his colorful life starts to unfold
