Live in the Philippines

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The Birthday Boy

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When I greet most people a birthday greeting on Facebook, I like to point out that they have just completed a full rotation around the sun, and that day the next trip starts anew. Traveling at 24,000 MPH is exhausting, but it is one trip I’d never want to miss.

My walkin' stickis cool my first bithday with it
My walkin’ stickis cool my first bithday with it
wild orchid resort subic baloy beach
wild orchid resort subic baloy beach

I mentioned two weeks ago that I had noticed that my Philippine Drivers License was expiring and I had to go through the effort to renew it I’ve been driving for 53 years. The Alternative was not something to look forward too. But here it is, 69 years after that Sunday (0137 Eastern Standard Time) on 13 July 1947, I entered the world in the Dorchester Section of Boston kicking and screaming (According to my Mother) I had pretty much ruined her summer that year and the only one of the five sons to not be born in the Winter or Spring. My two older brothers are not baby boomers, as Bill was born before WW-II in 1939 and Richard were born during WW-II 1945 (Dad was granted leave for one week in 1944) But when Mr. Thompson came marching home in 1946, I showed up in 1947. Steve and Dan are out of this loop.

And I’ve been spinning around the sun on this big round ball ever since. Not every trip was pleasant, my ex-wife had ruined a few, and the ship’s had me at sea for quite a few. But for the most part they have been wonderful trips around the sun. Here is a question: Now that I live closer to the equator, am I traveling faster? Yeah my mind does work like that!

Paul, Don & Tommy at Wild Orchard Bar for Super Bowl 50, wish they were here for my birthday
Paul, Don & Tommy at Wild Orchard Bar for Super Bowl 50, wish they were here for my birthday

My best trips have been started and finished right here in the Philippines, albeit I must take in to account that on my birthday here it was yesterday and 12 hours ago there in Dorchester, so at (13:37) I know it’s my birthday, adjusting for leap years and I was born before the Atomic clock was invented. Any one working on the math in this article, have fun with it, but don’t tell us your results. After all it is my birthday!

Sadly my dear friend Tommy who is stateside this year due to Merchant Marine training; shockingly because his birthday is also on 13 July, albeit he was born in the late 1950’s, One combined birthday celebration a few years ago we took our families to a beach resort during a typhoon, no one had a bad time, and just try to keep the kids out of the pool. There were whirlpool 4 person bathtubs in every room and we sent out for massive amounts of bubble bath and that was fun for them also. This year my family is just taking me out to eat (Sounds like the article last week) but that is fine with me as I also enjoy that too. More food!

wild orchid resort subic baloy beach barrio barretto
wild orchid resort subic baloy beach barrio barretto

I’ll be officially 69 years old this Wednesday, which a couple of years ago here in the big Po, we celebrated the 69th birthday of Mr. Loren Pogue or AKA Big “P” here on LiP, I wish he and Mercy (Mrs. Pogue) were here to join in with us and wish me, “The Birthday Boy!” a drink free birthday, wow that will be a first since the 1940’s and 50’s. A phony ID got me through the 1960’s, and then the Navy took me to places where no one asked your age, only if you had the money! I have no pictures of this year’s celebration as it hasn’t quite happened yet. But it will and that always is a good thing.

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Comments

  1. Happy Birthday Paul! Glad to see you still racing around the sun! I never was good at math, so I will take your word at reaching 69 rotations!

    • Wishing you bright tomorrows and a happy trip on your next rotation today. Have a blast Mr. P. Take care! God Bless…Happy Birthday!

  3. Happy “69th” Birthday. That has happiness written all over it lol!
    I wish you many many more years of good health ,calm seas and Red Skies at Night.

  5. Neal;
    Luzon is in its sixth day of gully washing, frog choking rain, I’m looking hard for that red sky at night. (lol) But thank you for your kind salutation, I will try to help it come true… I am a happy dude, because there are no liberals in my Barangay Hall.

  8. Just don’t forget to smile and say sixty-nine when they take your picture. Happy Birthday young feller.

  9. Paul,
    Happy 69th and another 69 to come lol. I stopped having bdays when i turned 55. Send some of that rain to Ohio as the farmers need it. Cut our trip to Fl short as it was too hot. I do miss the cooler rainy season there, but not the typhoons.

    • Randy;
      No Phoon’s in my area yet, but don’t forget Florida is prone to Hurricanes this time of year. You can run from the big blow, but you can’t hide! (lol)

  11. UpawPhil;
    It wouldn’t take much for my next rotation around the sun to be better than this one. As I said above I’m just pleased to be making the trip. (lol)

  15. Happy Birthday Paul

    Quick question, In the group photo, was one of the guys keeping your moustache warm whilst you were undergoing treatment?

    Cheers

    AJ UK

    • AJ UK;
      During the first operation the nursing staff removed the moustache while I was out like a bad light bulb. It was three weeks later before I knew it was gone, and six weeks to grow it back.

    • I meant onward.. next rotation.. and damn!!… might get bumpy… glad you are recovered(ing).. I have missed your view of it all.. 😉

      • Richard;
        Onward and upward, at 13:38 it a new rotation will start again, it’s a small wonder I stay dizzy, and I was convinced it was high blood pressure. Getting better every day!

  22. Paul Happy Birthday. Mine is in just a few days (the 18th, and I will be 69 also). Never figured to make it this long, if I had, I might have taken better care of myself. Like you most of my turns around the sun have been good and the few that were not was thanks to an x. But she is behind me and I am looking forward to more adventures. Wishing u a great birthday and may u have many more adventures to come.

  23. Happy Birth Day Paul with many many happy returns.
    Good yr famous moustache’s back, & no doubt yr 140lbs weight & finally the regular Colds SMB’s.

    Cheers…

    • Mohamed;
      The weight is being put on, I’m going to see my doctor next week, and set an appointment for my first beer in a very long time. My moustache has returned to its rightful place.All is fine in Dinalupihan Bataan!

  24. Paul..Happy Birthday!..And wishing you many more!
    Have a great day with family, friends and an ice cold
    San Mig!

  25. Luke,
    And another conclusion to a safe journey will end for you next Monday, and then off on another one. Here is wishing you a great day on the 18th, we are signing the day over to you!!!!

  28. It was Grandpa Jones’ 100th birthday and he was still in perfect health. At his birthday party he was asked how he managed to live so long and stay so fit.

    He explained, “I put my long life down to spending so much time out of doors. I’ve been in the open air, day after day, rain or shine, for the last 75 years.”

    “How do you manage to keep up such a rigorous fitness regime?” we asked.

    “It’s simple” he said. “When I married my wife 75 years ago, we both made solemn pledge on our wedding night. We agreed that whenever we ever had a fight, whoever was proved wrong would go outside and take long walk.”

  29. Happy Birthday to you Paul. Is non-alchoholic beer available there ? Maybe you can ask your Doctor if you can have “one” of those for your Birthday Celebration ? Of course it may not be the same as the real thing but maybe you could at least pretend it is. A quick web search indicates that San Mig does make it available.

  30. Bob (NY)
    Is non-alcoholic beer really beer, I mean what’s the point? I stopped drinking Root Beer when they stopped using Sarsaparilla root to make it. But I really don’t think you could sell flavored water to the average Filipino. (LOL) San Mig makes it??? Shame on them!

  31. 69. 69. your just a young tike. Why I remember when I was 69. Yup, Them were the good old days. You kids don’t know what you’ve missed. By Golly.

    Happy Birthday young fella. Just keep rotating that sun.

    No Ones come back to tell me what it’s like out there. so it must be great. Still we want to stay here as long as possible.

  33. Rusty;
    The earth rotates around the sun every 365 days, so you sitting in your chair at your house means that you are also rotating the sun, that ‘s why no one has came back, we are all on the trip together.

  35. Hi Paul,

    Technically the Earth rotates once about every 24 hours and revolves around the Sun every 365.25 days, but basically that is all details. Again technically you are moving a bit faster around the equator as you are revolving a greater distance every day. Also the entire solar system and even the Milky Way Galaxy is moving at a phenomenal speed that I don’t know or care enough to look up. As a result you are never in the same place on the Universe’s coordinate plane.

    Happy Birthday Paul!

    Peace and many revolutions around the Sun to come!

    Jay

  36. Happy Birthday:) Where do you recommend living in PH? I am married to a Filipina and we want to return to PH?

    • Mr. Paul;
      This question will cause some fights here on LiP. But I’ll be diplomatic and tell you that you have 99.9% chance of living close to where your wife’s family is from. It just works out that way.
      Where I live in Bataan on the OC border and the same for AC 40 miles away is where many other expats live, the why is the shopping for products we are used to eating plus (Military Retires) medical care that accepts our Tri-Care Insurance.
      But no matter if its North, South, or Central Philippines it is a great life and with a keen sense of humor anyone can fit right in. Okak fellow readers where am I wrong???

  37. Happy birthday Paul. Will celebrate with a cold one for ya until you are back in action….

  39. Paul, How about the dead? Do they go to another galaxy? What speeds do they travel at? That’s who I was talking about.

    • Rusty;
      You wrote—Where you’d feel comfortable. Baguio???? Tagaytay (spelling)???? Davao?????— I have no idea what you are asking me! (LOL) Have you been spending time in Palawan?

  41. Jay/Paul, I’m not moving. I haven’t gotten up since I sat down at the computer. Actually I did to make some ice coffee.

    The computer isn’t spinning. Hog wash. Spinning around the sun.

    Oh, and the earth is flat. I’m looking at the sea/ocean and it goes forever. I guess bohol is different. We hear in the sticks don’t spin around the Sun. Maybe you fancy city folks spin and your water falls off.

  44. Hi Jay;
    As the earth circles the sun every year traveling at 24,000 MPH and we hitch a ride while sitting on our patio with a cold adult beverage passing the time and just adding up birthdays. It’s simple math but I’m not really interested in knowing the results, the fact I we get to make the trip every year should be good enough!!! (LOL)

  45. Paul, My reply was meant for someone else. I guess when I responded to a member who asked; “Where to live in the Philippines” I actually clicked the reply button for you. That is why I said one should live where they feel the most comfortable, etc.

  46. Dang, I knew someone would figure me out. Captain Kirk beam me up. Actually I didn’t know we were moving that fast.

    So I didn’t forget where i out my keys, cell phone, etc. They moved on their own. 67,000 mph.

    • ROFL!

      Rusty, I have some news for you… At any point you look at it, you are moving at an unbelievable speed from at least five sources I can think of.

      1) Your physical movement. Walking, running, in a car, on a plane, or on the Enterprise!

      2) Earths rotation is roughly 1000 mph at the equator.

      3) Earth orbits the sun at 67K mph as discussed here.

      4) Our little earth moves in a galaxy around an apparent black hole at an unknown speed.

      5) The universe is expanding meaning that our little galaxy is actually moving at yet another unknown speed.

      Interesting fact and ref: NGC 4569 – According to astrophysicists, the galaxy is traveling along at 1200 kilometers per second [2,684,324 mph] and the extreme speed is causing gas to be stripped from the galaxy. (Image linked below)

      http://newuniversedaily.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/ngc-4569-gas-tail.jpg

      Could our entire universe be moving too? Of course our minds have a hard time comprehending such things but I actually think it is indeed possible and probable that it actually dose move.

  47. Gary;
    Remember the part about the math? (LOL)
    The Earth’s rotation is roughly 1000 mph at the equator which one rotation is 24 hours or 24,000.00 MPH.
    Sooooooo….that is all the math still confuses me, but I like the beer part!.

    • Paul, take the ‘per hour’ off the end and that beer is just that much better! Cheers! Me, I’ll have some good vodka with cranberry juice thank you.

      (shhh! 24,901 mi circumference – and I did actually know what you was thinking with the 24k)

  48. Gary;
    I spent every summer of my childhood in South Yarmouth Cape Cod, so I know what you’re drinking, in the fall on the weekends we used to help our neighbors harvest cranberries.

  49. Yes, I didn’t find that drink until I moved here to the Philippines. The orange juice here simply isn’t real good unless you want to spend a fortune and fresh squeeze it which I really don’t have that kind of money. I kept reading about vodka and cranberry juice and I finally tried it. Needs to be ice cold! That bite the juice has goes very well with good vodka.

    You betcha!

    • Gary;
      A “Cape Codger” was a popular drink at my bars in Puerto Rico. It is kind of odd that local OJ does suck, hard to figure. Royal Market for a few years had frozen OJ from the states, but of course that disappeared! (LOL)

  50. Back home I would buy Florida’s Natural which is OJ that comes in a carton. It was never condensed and had a great flavor. Made the best screwdrivers. I do miss the stuff. I would like to try it side by side with cranberry and see which is the best.

    http://floridasnatural.com

  51. Gary,

    Thanks for the information. I also remember reading that some of our planets are really whipping around out there compared to us.

    I wonder if someone told some people in the States, and here, that they are moving (even while sitting) if they’d believe you? I don’t think some would. Jesse Waters World or is it Walters World has proven that there are gaps.

  52. Paul, I should have used his name your right. Too often my Globe internet connections are going nuts and it is all I can do to write a reply. I’ve re-written so many responses.

    I wonder if people who want to move here really understand how bad the Internet connections can be. We live a good life. We just live a totally different life than in the States.

    I know people who have said “There’s no difference between here and the States, Germany, pick a country.” I don’t think they can be compared.

  53. Gary;
    When I lived in Largo Florida there was a grapefruit, lemon and two orange trees in my yard, A juicer on the kitchen counter, but I’m a Rum & coke kind of guy. The tree stuff was for my mornings.