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Listen to 9-26-2022 Mama's Memories upload to storycorps by Rachielle Sheffler MP3 song. 9-26-2022 Mama's Memories upload to storycorps song from Rachielle Sheffler is available on Audio.com. The duration of song is 42:56. This high-quality MP3 track has 1411.2 kbps bitrate and was uploaded on 7 May 2024. Stream and download 9-26-2022 Mama's Memories upload to storycorps by Rachielle Sheffler for free on Audio.com – your ultimate destination for MP3 music.
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Today is September 26, 2022. The speaker is with their mother and brother, celebrating their mother's birthday. They discuss childhood memories, their parents' accomplishments, and their own academic achievements. The speaker recalls being a picky eater and their uncle's kindness. They also mention a failed attempt at learning to swim and a story about wanting a red apple. The speaker was the youngest girl and grew up with nieces and nephews. Today is September 26, 2022, and I'm here with my mom, Inelda Vergara-Lassam, and my brother, Pepot, the great. Hello. And my sister-in-law over there in the kitchen. Hello. She's your mother-in-law. Today we're here because I took a day off for my mom. Yay! To have a conversation. We also want to reflect and talk about a lot of things. First of all, belated happy birthday, Mama. Did you enjoy your birthday? Yes. I did. Okay, this is our warm-up. Okay, Mama, we're going to answer questions with more than yes or no. Tell us why you enjoy your birthday. Because I saw my beloved children and my friends, and I realized how wonderful I have accomplished my job as a mother. Aww. What was your favorite part of the program? When we viewed the video, each of my children telling everybody the virtues or traits that they inherited from me. Wow. For that event, we also had the slideshow and the dance and some singing. Were you able to hear all of those? Yes. I heard the song, and that's why I was about to cry, but I controlled myself. Good thing. We also want to talk about a lot of things, including your childhood in San Esteban, immigrating to the U.S., and the future. So we're going to start with some questions. Tell me of a time that you made your parents proud. I always made my parents proud, especially when they used to come on stage hitting my awards. There was a time that they came to the stage four times because I got an award for being Valedictorian, then Best Outstanding Student in Leadership in School Dramatics, and in Public Speaking. This standard of excellence, I've always seen it in the Vergara family. Tell me how it was growing up in a house where everyone was smart. Everyone was smart, except Uncle Bo. I know. Well, we'll talk about that later. But tell me how it was in a household. My mother encouraged us to achieve academic excellence and at the same time to develop our talents. She was a consistent Valedictorian. According to others, she was the star of Poblacion because she was a combination of brains and beauty. That's Lola Andang, and how about Lolo Abdon? Lolo Abdon was very quiet. He seldom speaks. And I really admire him for his dignity and for his honesty and his piety. He was an altar boy in his youth, right? Yes, he was an altar boy when he was growing up. When he grew up, he became a leader in Catholic organizations like Holy Name Society of San Esteban. He was well-respected in our hometown. And he was principal in San Esteban, right? At San Elementary School. He was principal in some schools in the province of Rizal. That's where he started teaching after graduating from the Philippine Normal School in Manila. He was among the first professionals of the town, if not the first teacher. He was also educated by the Thomasites. Do you remember anything from that? When they were in San Esteban, they were taught by the Thomasites. The Thomasites were the first group of U.S. educators to land in the Philippines. And that was after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in Manila the day General George Dewey, I think, is the commander of the U.S. fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada. Lolo Abdon was born in July of 1898. So this was only a few months after the Battle of Manila Bay. July 30, 1898. What is your fondest memory of your parents? Fondest memory of my parents. Yes, I am so fortunate that even though we had married means, I consider myself more fortunate than the child of a millionaire. Why? Because my parents showered me with much love and guidance. As early as I can remember, my father taught me music. He was a music teacher, too. And there are songs that until this time I remember, like Kindness Can Never Die. And I often, we often sang this song after he comes from work. And I used to sit on his lap on the armchair, the butaka in Ilocano, at our porch. I don't like big fishes. I don't like to eat meat. So my father had to find ways for me to eat. I was so skinny when I was young because I only ate small fishes and vegetables. So my father would secure the padas. It's the smallest version of malaga. And my father would debone these small fishes, spread them around my beautiful plate. And my plate was colored pink. It was transparent. And I just sat and ate there. And my father keeps on replenishing the padas around my plate. And he watched me eat. That's how he made sure that I ate something. Okay, why were you a picky eater? I was a picky girl. That's why I was very thin. And you didn't eat meat. Tell me why you didn't eat meat. Because my aunt is a spinster. Her name is Damasa Vergara. She was a spinster. And her job is as a butcher. And after her work, she comes home with lots of meat. And sometimes, she gives us meat swinging in fat. And when I saw that, I disliked it. I simply disliked it. That's why when I see meat, I remember that. We were talking about your childhood, your memories of your parents. And you talked about Lola Abdon and Lola Andang. And we also talked about growing up in a household where everyone is smart and intelligent. So, you said, except Uncle Boy. Timan naman. Kawawa naman. Do you remember Uncle Boy being burdened by not being smart? Probably because it's the fault of my mother also. Because she was always boasting about us, the rest of the siblings. But I think the problem with Uncle Boy is when he was a child, my mother told me that he was beaten when they were hiding from the Japanese. He was beaten by something somewhere in our farm. So, did the Japanese hurt him? No, he was beaten by an insect, probably. Oh, bitten. Yeah, he was bitten by an insect. Or something that affected him. Because all of the ancestors that I can remember, they're all very intelligent and they are leaders of Sansteban. Actually, my great-great-grandfather was the first Vergara leader in Sansteban, as early as 1525. OK, so, with Uncle Boy, even though he was not very intelligent, you said that he was kind to you. He was the kindest to me. He carried me on his back like a horse, you know. And when I had my period, he would not let me sweep or polish the floor and gift me with my favourite food. He was the kindest. To you, was the kindest? He was the kindest. Because I heard from Uncle Tony that there's a lot of trouble among the brothers. Yesterday, when we saw Uncle Tony, he said among the brothers, he's the only one who didn't drink or smoke or gamble. They didn't gamble because they don't have the body to gamble with. We already talked about what made you proud as a child, and you said that your mum and dad always pinned ribbons on you. How about on a personal level, as a student, as a professional? What's the proudest achievement of your professional life? Let me start from my elementary. I got the second highest honors when graduating in the elementary. That is San Esteban Elementary School. And I was a consistent valedictorian in high school. In college, I was a scholar because, you see, when you graduate as valedictorian, you become a scholar in college. But I did graduate with honors because there's a policy of St. Louis University that if you get 80 grades below 85, you can't graduate with honors. Were you very disappointed in that? Yes, because I always tried to excel in academics. Tell me of another disappointment when you were younger. You mentioned about trying to swim. My father wanted me to swim. So, he took me to Opatos Beach. And he tried several times. He held me like this. And he did every trick that he knew. But when I shouted because I was so scared, he stopped. And that's why... He freaked out. Yeah. I did not learn swimming. Tell me what nag-ikis means. Nag-ikis, shout it. Yeah, but not only shout it. You shout until you almost turn blue. Shouted being scared of something. Is that what you did when he was teaching you how to swim? Yes. I could not breathe. So, of course, I shouted. Did you drown? Your Lord Abdu'l-Mu'ad let me drown. That's why he's teaching me because he was scared. Okay. He was scared I might drown or I might go out the sea. Nag-ikis, fear. Speaking of that, tell me the story of the other time when you kissed. This is the story of the red apple and the green apple. This is one of my favorite stories. My older siblings studied in Manila. But I was just maybe around six or seven years old. And they usually bring home apples, oranges. And I wanted the red apple. But my older brother, Rudolfo, also wanted the same apple. So, there was only one red apple? I don't know. Maybe that's the only one he received. Yeah. So, he dropped it and then ran away. And I ran after him because I wanted to snatch the red apple from him. I could not overtake him. I lost consciousness and I collapsed by the fence. You collapsed crying. That's what nag-ikis means, right? Yeah. And I collapsed crying near the fence. And then our relatives and town mates came. Because the gallera, the cockpit was near our house. And they came with pails of water. And they asked my mother, Ananggal, where is the fire? It's not a fire. You look at your cousin. She collapsed. Oh, you missed that part, Rudolfo. We're already used to it. Oram, oram. It's not called oram. Danoom, danoom. Danoom. Your name is Danoom. So, my relatives got pails of water thinking that there was a fire. But my mother pointed to me, your cousin collapsed. So, is it sufficient to say that you were Lolo's favorite? Maybe I was the favorite because I was, they thought I would be the youngest. And the only girl after boys. Because my older siblings were all girls. And my sister Natty was 10 years older than me. And my sister, Rusalina, is 20 years older than me. So, she was already married and had kids when you were born? No. Her oldest child is... Manang Elia? Elia, and she is around 3 to 4 years younger than me. So, you grew up with your nieces instead of your sisters? Yes. So, older than Uncle Tony? Manang Elia is older than Uncle Tony? Yeah, he's older than Uncle Tony. Because Manang Elia is 1945, Uncle Tony is 1946. Speaking of your sisters, we were very close to Auntie Natty. What is your favorite memory of Auntie Natty? She was already in college, I think. And I was a little girl. And she had pants called Cream. She had all those beauty products in front of the mirror. And when she stopped looking, I tried on the pants called Cream. And I tried on her lipstick and everything. That's why you have beautiful skin. And until now, she used pants called Cream. Pants called Cream started by beauty regimen for clear skin. But after that, I went to college. I was still using pants called Cream. Then, when I worked, until I stayed in the Philippines. But when I came to the United States, I started using... Oil of Olay. Oil of Olay. So, you upgraded. Upgraded it. So, Mama sent me Oil of Olay also. That's why before, every day when I go to work, I have to put that on. Oh, yeah. I can mana my mother's beautiful skin. Well, I have spots on my skin because I've been walking a lot. You know, it's just pigmentation. That one memory of Auntie Nat, I remember going to Trinidad on Sundays at her church. That's our favorite relative. Yeah, so we were very close with the Lakangas. But growing up in college, you were in her house. And was she very strict back then, like she was with us? Yes. See, this is because, you know, I was quite spoilt when I was in San Sebastian. And whenever she gets mad at me, I tell her, Ipulo ka to, kiti tatang. And growing up too, when Lolo prepared the patas on your plate, or she would call you to dinner, how did she call you? Kasi, used to call me, Umayin ka manganin, senyorita. Senyorita. So, when you lived with her, did you learn how to cook and clean? Cleaning, yes. But cooking, no. Because she won't trust me Not even dineng-deng? She only told me to cut the vegetables. Prepare what she's going to cook. That's why, when I got married, it was your dad who cooked, and your sister, Rhea. But you know how to cook dineng-deng and pinaklet? Of course. That's the only thing she knows. Those are the only ones I know. Speaking of dineng-deng, what is your fondest memory of San Esteban? San Esteban is a slice of paradise. That's true. I love doing this. I know. Pepa is the San Esteban boy. Yeah. My memories of San Esteban, I had a very happy childhood in San Esteban. You know, there are hills and mountains in San Esteban. There are brooks, and there is the China Sea on the western side of the town. My playmates were all my nieces and nephews. Because that part of San Esteban poblasyon is, is inhabited by the descendants of the capitales municipales that belong to the Abad Benitez Aizon clan, and on the other side of the next block are the vergaras. So what land did we own back then? My mother told the lad, I can't remember. West of the town. You have to cross the hills to get there. West of the town? Weren't we west of the town back then? It's near. It's near there. And my father owned more lands. Because, you know, the vergaras owned lands in San Esteban. And his mother, from Elecciones, they are the richest in the eastern part of the town, and they owned lands. That's why my father and his siblings, they owned lands. That's part of the reason why we were able to go to college, in spite of the fact that they were teachers. What my father did, they mortgaged the lands. And when they cannot redeem the lands, then it was, it became a sale. So that's how they lost the lands. But we got our college education in exchange of that. So you also talked about church processions and games. Oh yeah, my playmates, we used to climb trees. We used to climb mountains and hills. And eat fruits while perched on the branches of the trees. Did you know how to climb, or someone put you up? Oh yeah, I climbed. There was, there was a... I cannot imagine Mama climbing a tree. There are... And she was still small like you. There was a star upward tree. Caymito? Caymito on the south side of our house. And I climbed the caymitos and ate there. On top of the tree. We also had a tamarind tree, but in the neighboring land of my cousin. And we climbed also the tamarind tree and ate from there. Wow. So... Well, I learned something new. I cannot imagine you climbing a tree. You mentioned games like Kinirit. What does that mean? Kinirit. Kinirit. Hide and seek. Oh. Yeah. It's like a game. And we have Intra. You know Intra? You throw on the ground something like squares. Oh, like hopscotch. Yes. And step one. Then step two. Things like those. And... Of course, Tsongka. Step three. Tsongka. Tsongka. Of course, we played Tsongka. And my mother always won. Oh, once in a while, I won. What is Briska? Briska is a card game. We have, you know, there are kings, queens. And then we sort of gambled on the Briska. Even if Lola said, don't gamble? Yeah. But it's only a child's game. We have one set of table made just for fun. Also, when you were little, every Easter, you dressed up as angels and you spread flowers over the parishioners. So, tell us about those. Every Easter Sunday, the Catholic group, it's a structure. And they let us go up the scaffold and sing the Alleluia. At the Virgin Mary, there was a procession. And as the Virgin Mary gets near the center of the scaffolding, the choir queen lifts the black veil of the Virgin Mary. And the procession passes under the scaffold back to the church. Tell us what Reina Reina is. Okay, Reina Reina. Did you see my picture? Yeah. With the Reina Reina? That is only a big belief coronation of a childhood queen. It's only for children of the people in San Sebastian. We call them full of the children of Baldy town because there's a Baldy, a big water receptacle built during the Spanish times in the yard of my aunt. And that's why it's called Baldy town. Oh, Baldy like a pail? Yes, but it's a big structure. And we crowned- Like Mount Baldy. I know. We crowned the queen. The queen became a nun. So this is like Reina Elena, but it's just a neighborhood game. Yeah, it's just a neighborhood game among the Abad Benitez Aizon class and among the relatives of this population. So you all wore your fancy clothes. Yes. And did you see me, the same baby there, the same girl in front? Yes. Did you ever see that picture? I'll have to show it to you. Yeah, it's set in the plaza. It was just a group of girls and they were just all in their saya and their- Yeah. Filipino dress and they had crowns. Yeah. The royal court had crowns and they had escorts. And the escorts, they are all my nieces, nephews, cousins. So in San Ysabel, did you ever have a crush or a boyfriend or were you protected by your parents? I don't remember. I don't remember having a crush while in San Esteban. It was in Baguio. Because my parents discouraged me from even going to dances. Nobody there in San Esteban to court me because they're so scared of my brothers. Oh, right. And my mother. My mother, when there was somebody who courted me from Mangsingal, Ilocoso, that's near San Juan. Yeah. And my mother has relatives in that town. And you know what Lola Andang used to do? She would be crocheting or embroidering in the living room. She would be watching me like, ah. She's just right there. The suitor cannot say anything. Cannot look at me. Was so scared of the dark eyes of my mother. The same is true with Adinati. When somebody courted me, she would be behind the wall and looking at my feet. And doing. So tell me how this guy, I remember you told a story about your suitor who died, Alfredo Pichai. Wilfredo is the name. Wilfredo Pichai, okay. Is this your first love? It was my first love. It was my first love. Pichado, okay, okay. You would have been Mr. Pichai. I know, you would have been Pepa Pichai. I am Pichai. Oh yeah, he's a relative of the governor, Carbonita Pichai, the middle name of the governor was Pichai. So how did you meet Mr. Pichai? Okay, I won the declamation contest in San Esteban. And I won it again in the provincial meet in Vigan. So that entitled me to compete in the regional declamation contest in La Juan, Ilocos Norte. And that is under the private schools, interscholastic athletic association organization. And I reclaimed Joan of Arc. And he really admired me. And he was a student also at La Juan. In La Juan, Ilocos Norte, and he's from Mexico, which is nearer to La Juan. So I won again in La Juan. So I represented the whole of Northern Luzon. That is Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, and La Union. That was region one during my high school days. And he, did you ever, we rode in a bus when we went to Naga City. That's eight hours drive. That's a long way. First, we rode on a bus, and then rode the train going to Naga City. But on the bus, I was given jai mitos from a town made of, Winfred is the name, for me. Wow. I guess for me. But then, I was not, I didn't care for him because I was focused on my education. So you were about 16 or 17? Oh, maybe 16. Oh yeah, because this is high school. 16 high school. Yeah. Fourth year high school. Yeah. Yeah. So then, we went to the Alvay province. That is, Little region. We slept in the school, you know, the people laid mats there, and we slept there. And we were treated to delicious food, like seafoods, like crabs, the alivango, and all those native people foods. We had a tour of the Alvay province. We went to the Naga Alvay, where we saw the sunken church, but this tower was still showing above ground. We went to Tiwi Hot Springs, where you can boil an egg from the hot springs. Just like in Asin Hot Springs. We did that too. We boiled egg. Yeah. We had a ladle, and we immersed the egg in the hot springs, and then it cooked it for us, and that's our snack. And, do you remember that? Did you do that too? It's still hot now. Yeah. We went to Legazpi City, to the port of Legazpi City, and we went up the mountain, the Mayon Volcano, but we only ended up midway at the rest house. I didn't know that you could climb up Mayon Volcano, I just saw it from a distance. That's when I saw this. The bus ended up only up to the rest house. Oh, wow. Good for you. I know. You haven't even been there. I've been there in my senior year, a conference with the College Editors Guild. Yeah, so what happened to Mr. Pichai? Ah. Oh, yeah. Well, he visited me in Baguio City. While you were already in college? Yes. Ah. And my auntie Nabi, would see it from behind the wall. How can you talk? How can you even look at the bus? So what happened afterwards? Well, my mother, once she visited in San Stefan, and then my mother talked to him, don't thwart my daughter, because she had body stim, and the guy was scared, probably. But I heard that he died. What did he die of? Oh, he came to the United States, because he had siblings somewhere in New York, and he rode motorcycle. Oh. He died because of that motorcycle. The bus hit him, right? I don't know, but that's what I learned from his townmates, that he died on a motorcycle. At least you're not Mrs. Pichai. Everybody would be teasing me. Just for the kids who don't know what pichai mean, it's a bok choy vegetable, right? Good for sinigang, or sinigang, or... Chapsui? Chapsui. Yeah. Yeah, but he was ever seen, so like Carveli Crisologo. You know Carveli Crisologo? I've seen some pictures of Mama Ching campaigning for Crisologo during the 1970s. Yeah, because Lolo Arno and Crisologo are with the same political party. And actually, Lolo Crisologo, the husband of Carveli, was the one who recommended me to the Reforestation Administration. Oh. He wrote a personal note to whoever was in charge, and that's the reason I got my first job. This is in Quezon City. Yes. Okay. Lola always said that you should be loyal to your sibling. Ah, yes. I think she was referring to her two sisters in Pangasinan, because the lot of our house in San Esteban belonged to my grandfather, Florencio Aizon Benitez. And of course, there were three sisters, so that should be divided among the three sisters. But when my grandfather went to Pangasinan in search of greener pastures, because there was a drought in San Esteban, the rains didn't come, and there was no harvest. So he brought my aunties with him, and they settled in Pangasinan. So the only one left in San Esteban was my mother, and got married, so they built their house there in that lot. And when they visited, my mother learned that they were talking about, they were gossiping about the lot, about her. I don't know, probably because my mother did not sell the lot and share them, whatever. But the truth of the matter is, my mother was a teacher. She supported them, and my mother took care of both parents until the end. And my mother used to send them something, or when they came to San Esteban, of course, my parents took care of them. Lula, that was really bright then. I mean, she handled a lot of responsibility. Yes, well, 10 children minus the one who died, and two sisters and their family. So did Lola Tepang and Lola Ellen, did they ever feel that they were cheated out of the land? I don't know, but why did they gossip? What you told me was that they left San Esteban because there's a famine, and they settled in Pangasinan. Lola stayed in San Esteban because she already was a teacher, right? Yes. I've always heard from Lola that you have to be loyal to your siblings because your parents may die, and your spouse may leave you, but your siblings will always be with you. So can you give me an example between you and your siblings on how you are loyal to each other? Like, I know that you always took care of Uncle Boy as well as Uncle Tony, but do you have other examples? Loyalty to my... To your siblings. Of course, we quarrel, and sometimes we become disloyal and tell stories against each other. But blood runs thicker than water. When there's anybody outside there against my siblings, of course, I would rise to their defense. Like, one time when I heard a comment, there was a student of Auntie Nati Munday, a distant relative, and she was crying. And somebody commented, like, how come she was crying profusely? Like this, like this. She's not even... Things like that, and I was hurt. And so, you know, you know when somebody says something about your siblings, even though you quarrel with them sometimes. So it's okay to talk bad about your siblings if it's just with each other, but if anyone outside the family... There's a fifth commandment. Honor your father and your mother even though they become... make mistakes, or they get sick, or senile, or whatever. Remember the fifth amendment. Fifth commandment. Fifth commandment. Fifth commandment. The fifth amendment is the right to remain silent. For a hundred percent. So, yeah, so that demonstrates your loyalty. Loyalty to my children, yeah. What is your proudest achievement on a professional level? Oh, on a professional level? Well, I passed the CPA exams in the Philippines, and again in the United States. They're 40 years apart. The difference? The difference between the two. And you said something about fighting for your clients. Ah, yes. In the early years of my practice here, because I got my license in 2003, see? And from then on, I became self-employed. My first client was one employee from Pechanga. And I won her case. And the case was about tips. The IRS assessed her taxes on her tips. But I researched on it, and IRS should have inquired further on the tip arrangement with the employer. Because not everybody who is tipped agreed to a tip rate determination agreement. Those who are earning the required amount of tips, of course, they are automatically enrolled in the tip rate determination agreement. What if the employee does not earn that much? And it so happened that the employee, my client, did not earn that much. So I let her sign a power of attorney for me to represent. And based on that, she did not agree to the tip rate determination agreement. And here are the supporting documents that I submitted to the IRS. I won that case. Yay! And that's the start of my progress as a practicing CPA. So mainly, she referred her co-workers. Yes, she referred her co-workers. And so those are my first clients. Until now, they're with me. Oh, okay. Tell me of the time that you were the hero of the moment. Yeah, I was the heroine of the hour. Because I was a member of the board of directors of the St. Louis University Faculty Club. And the labor union was asking for salary increases, etc. For the teachers? Yeah, for all employees. Oh, okay. For the teachers primarily. But the labor union includes all employees until the elementary. So then, St. Louis presented financial statements. And to make it appear that they're not earning good, so they presented a financial statement where they claimed deductions like depreciation expense. Depreciation expense is charging the cost of a fixed asset, a building, equipment, so on, over the useful life. That's correct. They can claim that. But they also claim the entire cost of the asset at the same time as they claim the depreciation at their internal revenue or loss. Either, you can claim either one time or claim the cost recovery of the asset over its estimated useful life. And I know that. So I pointed out, this is against internal revenue rolling. Okay. So I found out they were making a profit. That's how I won the case. Because the labor union doesn't know all these things. But I was the one. And we got salary increases. Everybody got salary increases. And I was the heroine of the hour. Yes. But it changed. Because? It changed because the labor union was asking too much. So I said to the labor union, you know, after analyzing the financial statements, there is a limit to how much they can give. Because it will affect the profitability, the stability, and liquidity, stability, long term of the university. So I'm no longer the heroine of the hour. But I'm still the heroine. Can see. As several, there's one thing. You just have it. Yeah. I remember what you told them. It's like killing the goose. The lady. Lady golden eggs. Something like that. I said that. So that was one thing good that I did because I used my independent judgment on that. I cannot be dictated by anybody. I have my own opinion and I'll stick to my own opinion and stand by it. Now, you know what? When Rhea was in medical school, I could not send money on time to pay her tuition. So Rhea went to father president and father president gave her the permission to take her exams. Well, because I saved them a lot. They are grateful to be for being independent like them. Oh, so that was when I sent you the union. Yeah, the union. So this was in the... I was 10 years old. So 1978. That was around 1978. Maybe 1987. Before I remember that we won the case before I immigrated to Manila. For some reason, I remember a trip with you to Manila and we stayed with Uncle Ben. And I thought that's when you consulted with your relative in the board of labor. Yes. Early on. OK. So my relative's husband was a commissioner of the Department of Labor. That was a different case? No, that was a case. OK. I went there and talked to him. And you know what? He went to St. Louis with a team. They went to St. Louis to investigate. And that's one reason why we won the case. That's another one. Imagine everybody got a salary increase. I ran for president of the SLU faculty club and I lost. That was the election for the faculty club in College of Commerce. For the entire faculty club. That was your disappointment of your professional career? That's so. Because I thought that I could serve the Louisians, the Louisian community. We've always known you to be a fighter. You know Feli Fortea, the one who danced during my 70th birthday in South Janhé? She said something. You are really a fighter. She said something. She danced during my... I remember watching the video. I wasn't there. I remember that video. Yeah. I was an only child in the U.S. I was so sad. But anyway, she knows and made me know about my achievement there. It's almost lunchtime. So we're going to have lunch soon courtesy of Ma and Gay. But I want to finish this with all your kids coming here. So I want to end this session with what are the lessons that you want to pass on to your grandchildren? OK. First, I love my grandchildren and I'm doing everything to make sure that they succeed in life and be happy. Be contributing members of society and have happy marriages. That's why I want them to be careful in selecting their spouses. Too late for me. Too late for you. Too late for everyone. Too late for grandchildren now. Oh yeah. Grandchildren. We're talking about grandchildren now. So then, the important thing for them to remember is to work hard and to be patient, to persevere and be persistent. Because intelligence is not the key to success. But you have heard the old adage that says patience is the key to success. Experience is the best teacher. Yeah. So I want them to be happy, to have happy marriages and to have children also that carry on the traditions of the family. I love them very much. And if only I can afford, I will let them inherit a million each. Unfortunately, it's just for your children. I'm hungry now. OK. So anyway, I want to thank you for this interview. Thank you so much, Mama. Thank you also for giving me the chance to express my sentiments. Let's just go.
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