Brenda literally anointed all four bus tires with oil before she got on. She also found a way to sneakily anoint the bus driver with oil. He didn't know what that oily spot on his back was, but vaguely remembers a white lady clumsily tripping over something and her hand hitting his back. He thinks to himself, "The weird thing is that she said, 'In Jesus Name.'" as she stumbled.
There are many legends of Japanese gold bried up in these far,
blue mountains. In fact, as legend has it, President Ferdinand Marcos,
(husband of the woman with all the shoes) purchased his way to power
in the early 1960s with some of this fabled treasure. It does make sense
since this former WWII solider, who had no great political connections,
family wealth, or power, could suddenly, one day have enough money to
do ANYTHING he wanted.
I heard from an old man who claims to have seen that very treasure
with his own eyes that there was a solid gold Buddha that must have
weighed a ton or more and gems and artifacts from all over the South
Pacific.
In the closing months of World War II, in the Philippines, several of Japan's highest ranking imperial princes hid tons of looted gold bullion and other stolen treasure in caves and tunnels, to recover later. This was the wealth of 12 Asian countries, accumulated over thousands of years that they had robbed in the early years of the war. Expert teams accompanying Japan's armed forces had systematically emptied treasuries, banks, factories, private homes, pawn shops, art galleries, and stripped ordinary people, while Japan's top gangsters looted Asia's underworld and its black economy. When American tanks were close, the chief engineers of those vaults were given a farewell party 67 metres underground in Tunnel 8 in the mountains of Luzon, stacked with row after row of gold bars. As the evening progressed, they drank great quantities of sake, sang patriotic songs and shouted banzai (long life)."He went on to say, "At midnight, General Yamashita Tomoyuki and the princes slipped out, and dynamite charges were set off in the access tunnels, entombing the engineers. Their vaults would remain secret."
Apparently the young Ferdinand Marcos was watching from his hideout as this drama was being played out, and years later, it financed him to power.
Now imagine a young boy, (me) growing up hearing of stories like this, from old men
over faded and worn chess tables, on countless evenings... oh yea, when I looked out
cross those mountains I wondered every time, "I wonder if I am looking at one of those
sights right now." Gold. What an allure it has.
I must admit that at time I might still might wonder if I am looking at the very spot
where those treasure tunnels were.
The history between the Philippines and America is long and complex, like crazy cousins who love each other but at times, MAN do they bug each other! For the most
part, the love between the Filipino and the American is strong. WWII saw some of the
greatest stories of loyalty and dedication being on exhibition between the Filipino and
American soldier. Their mutual respect was high and the Filipino Scouts were some
of the most courageous fighters in the entire war, according to those who fought beside
them.
Statue of Abraham Lincoln
Manuel Quezon
The path I took on my walk this morning.
