ADENU Class 1979 memories.

October 9, 2009

A recent text communication with Borts Fortuno prompted me to write down my own memoirs regarding the members of ADENU high school class 1979. Below are a few memory notes that I could recall.

Emmanuel Abejero – The skilled soccer player who is very fast on his feet. Emmanuel had the habit of placing his hands behind his back when he does a one-on-one with another soccer player. Though he was very competitive, he possessed a well natured sportsmanship spirit and gives praises to members of the opposing team whenever they are able to pass through his guard.

Henry Brisenio – A very friendly and industrious guy who likes to create things from simple materials.

Napoleon “Nappy” Florece – I remember back in 1977 or 1978 when Ateneo held its annual school intramurals. The first intramural event was a marathon that started in Magarao church and ended at the gates of Ateneo. I remember waiting for the start of the race which was then scheduled to start at 6:30AM. I saw Nappy wearing green jogging pants and was sitting on the wall of the church patiently waiting for the race official to call everybody to the starting line. When the race finally started, I tried to stay close to Nappy but he took off like an antelope. After a mile, the road had a sharp left turn and after I got through the turn, I saw Nappy about 1/3 of a mile ahead of me. It was then that I realized that my chances of catching up to Nappy is very slim. Nappy won that marathon.

One of the coolest teen sports back in high school was skateboarding. I remember Nappy got himself a skateboard and did some fancy moves on his skateboard on top of the CSI building. Like many class 79ers, Nappy liked to dance and he imitated many of the dance moves of John Travolta and Denny Terrio.

Like his father, Nappy also joined the U.S. navy and I heard he retired from the service a few years ago. Back in September 2004 or 2005, I went to downtown Los Angeles to attend the Pena Francia Fiesta. I bumped into Nappy during the fiesta but he did not immediately recognize me. It was only when I told him my last name that he finally was able to recall who I was.

Giovanni Vicente Fulgentes – A hard working person who is very opinionated and vocal in his views. Takes a lot of calculated risks in life and overcomes difficulties with humor in his heart.

Erwin “Borts” Fortuno – An upper classman whom I thought will join the military because of his dedication as a CAT officer.

Gil Emmanuel Mejia – The CAT officer who seemed to enjoy ordering my batch mates to do push-ups whenever we make even the slightest mistake during drills. During the Saturday Night Dance, Gil came to the dance proudly wearing fancy slacks and white vintage shoes. I wonder where Gil got those impressive shoes that made him stand out at the dance floor. They looked like vintage shoes from the 50’s or 60’s.

Gerardo Ojeda – The son of my 6th grade math teacher at Naga Parochial School. Gerardo is a very kind person and always talked in a low tone.

Ricardo "Ricky" Roco – The cool and confident corps commander of CAT. He earned the respect of many of my batch mates because he was firm in his leadership but also showed compassion whenever a cadet is having some difficulties. The last time I saw Ricky was back in the mid-1980’s at Ayala avenue in Makati. I was walking by Rufino building (I think) when Ricky called me. He told me that he has a dental clinic in the building. About a year or two later while I was working for Gillette, I heard that Ricky became the president of the Philippine Dental Association.

Joseph Salva – Another CAT officer who loves punishing the whole platoon when one cadet commits a mistake during inspection or drill practice. He has a fascination with photography.

Jess Santiago – The gentle giant of batch 1979.

Edgar Surtida III – Spared me from CAT push-ups because I am a good friend of his cousin, Fidel Surtida.

Robert Tolentino – A good basketball player during elementary and high school. He is proud of his All-Star converse shoes when he used to play basketball in Naga Parochial School. He became a good friend of my older brother, Alvin. The last time I saw Robert was during the early 1980’s when he visited the Philippines during his annual R&R (Rest & Recreation) from the U.S. Air Force. I think he was stationed in West Germany during his boot camp training.

Rafael Angel “Tootsie” Vibar – The older brother of my batch mate, Rodrigo Vibar. One of the tough guys of Ateneo avenue. I think I saw Tootsie in Legaspi city back in the late 1980’s working as a medical representative. I am glad to find out that he now resides in New York with his wife and children.

Robert De La Torre - Robert is a very simple and humble guy who seemed to befriend everybody around him. About five years ago, I saw Robert during the Pena Francia fiesta at Echo Park in Los Angeles.

Emmanuel Rodriguez - The tisoy of batch 1979.

Raymund Fernando - A very generous guy who lent me his barbels once for about two weeks when I was a freshman in college. After returning the barbels to Raymund, I decided to enroll in a body building gym in Naga. Raymund was also the first person who described to me in detail how it was like to be inside Disneyland. Two decades after he told me that story, I found myself working part-time for Disneyland during the weekends.

Melvin Bustilla – His mother was a successful lady physician whose clinic was located across Alex theater. After the final CAT formation back in February 1979, there was a tradition of dumping the outgoing CAT officers at a fishpond near the guardhouse. Some of the officers were thrown to the pond that had murky water. Since Melvin was a big guy, the cadets just asked him nicely to jump into the pond.