IronJourney

The first service began at 8am in the chapel where the wake was being held. The schedule was   to start with the service then proceed to Arlington Crematorium, wait a few hours for the second and final autopsy, cremation ceremony and return to the church with the ashes to place in the wall. The service was an open casket. Ending with sprinkling holy water on Joey. Family could say goodbye. It was heartwrenching. Joey left behind his wife and two young daughters. His mother, Mely (my father’s first wife)   already lost a son just a few years ago. And of course his sister, Cynthia no longer has her brothers as she is one of 3 in this family. Cynthia spoke and talked of her brother. Joey’s wife spoke and his children has words to say. Hearing about him only confirmed how amazing he really was. Beautiful and painful. As it was time to close the casket, tears flowed more. Hearing his mother cry out “my Joey” brought me to tears. A mother losing not one but two children is incom...

I arrived really early at the airport in Manila and spent some time getting my SIM card figured out and currency exchanged. It was time to figure out my ride to town. I was nervous and excited to walk around Manila. I couldn’t find the public transit UV Express that the tourist person at the airport recommended so against others’ recommendations I took a taxi and prayed he wouldn’t kill me. Yes, I read horror stories about Manila taxis but I remained rational and reminded myself that it can happen anywhere. The driver was super nice and helpful. It took an hour in traffic to go just a few kilometers. He was pointing out sights and telling me about some of the history. The traffic was insane. I can barely describe it other than every few seconds I kept thinking “they just did that?” My jaw was dropping regularly. Total chaos but no fender benders. NO space. I could reach my hand out the window and touch the driver next to us. The views were impressive. The poverty was like nothi...

The journey begins. My entire life I have been waiting to visit, to explore my roots, to connect with my family. I have since connected with nearly most of my family who ironically are no longer in the Philippines with the exception of some cousins. As an adult I have always told myself I would go within the next 5 years. It seemed like a monumental excursion. I wanted to dedicate a lot of time- perhaps a few months to explore. Life does not always happen that way. In 2013 I connected with my Filipina sister, Cynthia and brother, Joey from my father’s first family. On Facebook of all places! I have a post about this here . I met my sister, Cynthia once before when I was 10 and never saw her again. It turned out she lived in NJ since I was 10! Since we reconnected we have gotten together several times. My Filipino brother, Joey, the youngest of the three lived in London. Both Cynthia and Joey had another brother, Arthur who passed a few years ago. We talked...