Joys and Sorrows: High School Friends/Classmates

This is one of the unusual days. I happened to contact one of my high school classmates way back in 1985-86 at Bayawan, Negros Oriental, Misailah Renacia-Evardo. My last contact of her was when she phoned in 1999, she was getting married at that time in Dumaguete City. Yesterday, I got Ian Espartero's message from Friendster that he was from Bayawan and knew a lot of people from there. After a few exchanges of messages, I got Joy Guevarra's email address, Sr. Marcelle de la Cruz, AR email address [she was our school directress in St. Augustine Academy at that time] and Misai's cell phone number.

I also remembered Marlo Mariño and Serafin Dinsay who were my close barkadas at that time. Unfortunately Serafin was murdered last 2002, I just knew it this year after I search the net: Four Killed in Payroll Holdup. May he rest in peace.

It will be very nice to see old classmates in Bayawan, visit some places there. Bayawan was a memorable place for me. I was there when Evelio Javier was murdered, I was there when EDSA revolution happened. The locus of my young formation was St. Augustine Academy. It was a Giancaldo in the Cinema Paradiso. It opened possibilities for my young mind and heart.

I was assigned to St. Agnes first year class. I was in the second row, last seat to the left of Mrs. Cynthia Villarin class. Since I came from Western Visayas, I did not speak Cebuano. After three weeks, I was speaking Cebuano, thanks to the eloquent speakers like Serafin Dinsay, Misailah, Joy Guevara, Chanet Moncal, and the quiet Marlo Mariño, Maria Aileen Ege, and Dom Pantalita. I had also some classmates who spoke Ilonggo, I think his name was Alvin. And most of all, Sr. Noemi Manzano, who spoke broken Cebuano mixed with Tagalog (sounds like Davao saksak sinagol).

I could remember faces, but names I could not. Some vivid faces: a tall dark girl from Sta. Catalina who really spoke good bisaya, Kristine Armstrong (we got some exchanges of emails before, and I learned she married a Mexican surmaned Carlos), the Carcasonas, the lanky male twins, Edson Teologio whose mother was teaching in SAA, Marilou Oro (my neighbor in NONAS, I lived inside NONAS.).

Misai, pls supply some names... please.....