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SEPTEMBER 2000 I was able to make it to the Mirrors Lounge and watch the Efren (Bata) Reyes challenge in which he had around 25 challengers and each one had a race to 3. On this night no one was able to beat the champ but one young, 6ft 8" giant from Okinawa with a Halloween hairstyle, John Benner, came very close. It was two-two and Efren, with just the 9 ball left hit a soft shot and left the nine just over the lip in front of the end pocket. John had a long, but very easy tap in that would win the game. We all thought, "don't scratch" as we watched this dramatic moment. Dammed if John didn't go and scratch, he went straight at it instead of going off the rail. What a let down and that folks was as close as it got all night. It cost 500 pesos to challenge Efren and those that took up the challenge were happy to part with the money for the opportunity to play with such a great player. I have a souvenir photograph to hang on my wall but I was not going to part with the 500 pesos to play, now if Phil Taylor came to Angeles City to take challengers for a race to three on the dart board, I might part with the money for that - well - maybe not! It seems like more and more bars want to get into the 9-ball challenges. Private dancer two is having weekly tournaments that stretch over two nights, Powder Keg is having a Saturday afternoon session and I was told that even the American Legion Post 123, near the RAO is going to start up a Sunday afternoon 9 ball tournament. It will be held every 4th Sunday, starting at 1 PM with a P50 entry fee (winner take all). A direct TV System is on order for the Post, which will allow them to pick up AFRTS Pacific, and many other channels, which will allow broadcasts of American Sports, and many movies. The Swagman Narra Hotel is having their 20th Anniversary celebrations from 19 to 29 October. The dates that stand out for the "bird" watchers are 23 Oct (Body Paint), 24 Oct (Wet T-Shirt contest) 26 Oct (Budweiser beer, booze, beauty, boobs and butts fun day, 27 Oct (Miss Budweiser 2000) and finally the Millennium party on the 29th. Many of us will be glad when all these festivities are over so the Swagman will move their van and booth from beside the Jade Cool Internet building and allow cars to pass that way a bit more easily. When I asked Rod why they did not put their booth along side Fields where the squatters stay he said because "no one walks that way" which is not entirely true. (Good news - I had the pleasure of passing Jade Cool on the evening of 30 Aug and witnessed the Swagman tearing down their display and loading everything into the van - now Mark Smith has room to park his truck again). Anyway, October should be the time that visitors make the effort to get to the other side of town and seek out the good times at the Swagman. The wet T-shirt contest is usually a good draw even if it is beginning to get a bit repetitious with other bars in town trying to duplicate the effect. The Swagman has been doing it for years now and they have it down to a science. Move over Swagman, you no longer have bragging rights that you have the only Satellite TV in town. The Orchid Inn has installed a satellite dish and excellent sports viewing is now available just off of Fields Ave. Good move Ron Wakely. On Sundays enjoy the poolside BBQ (P250) at the Orchid Inn and by the time you read this their lunch and dinner buffet will be up and going. The chef is the well-known BJ (with those initials he should be well known) who was responsible for getting the popular Molly Malone's buffet off to an excellent start. By filling in the small pool in the front of Orchid Inn management has created a very excellent, comfortable location to sit, drink and watch the world go by. Plans are to add a pool table and one dartboard. Am hoping that eventually they will be able to get a dart team together and join the Balibago dart league. Speaking of darts, the Top End has an awful lot of space and could easily fit in two dartboards and enter the league. So far, Bob and Ken have said they will "think" about it. Come on folks; talk them into it!! Condolences to the family of Mike Boone who passed away after a short illness with cancer. Mike Desare can be seen sitting at the American Legion minus part of one leg. He has suffered from some strange infection for the past 15 years that required cutting off some toes and then finally, his one leg below the knee. Doctors still can't pinpoint exactly what kind of infection he has. If you want a good spokesman for Health Visions please talk to Mike, as far as he is concerned he could not have made it without them, especially, financially. Jerry Bristle is the new commander of American Legion Post 123 and he has told me that they are working hard to bring back the good reputation that this Post once had. The first good thing they did was stopping that darn karaoke singing in the dining area during the day. That is when the frustrated singers (very old widows) use to gather to try and make diners throw up with their silly attempts to sing. Looking at the daily specials being offered I can say that a return to good dining at very reasonable cost is most welcome. I suspect that membership will start to pick up in this year 2000. Keep up the good work Jerry.
Here's an interesting one for golfers in the area. A local avid golfer has just signed up for golfer's insurance costing P2,000 a year. I never knew such a thing existed but Buddy McGuire sells such a policy. The reason Mr. X was prompted to do so was that while golfing at Mimosa a terrible slice off the tee sent a golf ball in such a terrible trajectory that it bounced off the head of one of the female caddies. Her head, not being very hard, was badly damaged and required medical attention. Now, the caddies work on a course run by the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) but CDC claims no responsibility for the caddies as they are not on the payroll and work for tips only. This is kind of a shitty attitude, which would make one think twice about using a Mimosa caddie. Since CDC claimed no liability they sent her to the paramedics on the base who cleaned her up a bit. They then sent her to Angeles University Foundation Hospital (AUF) that specializes in fairly good treatment at top dollar - nothing cheap in this hospital. Now Mr. X, in order to help this lady that has absolutely no money to speak of told the hospital that he would cover the bills for her treatment, which after stitches and an overnight stay cost P8,000. All went well as long as Mr. X was showing the hospital that he could pay and in fact had to pay money up front and again later in the night. The next day a balance of P3,700 was due and even though the hospital had Mr. X's telephone number, address and receipts for what he had paid already they would not release the caddy until the full amount was paid. Mr. X was delayed getting to the hospital because of business and heavy rain and received frantic calls from the brother of the caddy pleading payment as the hospital would not release this patient until the full amount was paid. Mr. X was curious about one thing - he was under no obligation to return to the hospital to pay the balance of this bill and he wondered how long they would have kept this young lady there if he had not paid. What would they have done - keep her there forever, put her in jail, take back the stitches? The next time I see Dr. Angeles I will have to get an answer to this. Meanwhile, remember, if golfing at Mimosa, it might be a good idea to buy some golf insurance to avoid being ripped off for something you thought would be covered by the CDC. A few weeks ago I read an article in the Sun Star paper written by a local scribe who was discussing the holes drilled into that part of Fields Ave in front of the Birds of Paradise. This writer must be one of those locals that blame the ex-pats for everything for his reasoning was that some bar owners must have put the holes there in order to slow down traffic and bring business into the bars. What a genius this guy must be. No mention of the holes on Santos Street past the Flaming bar, which has nothing but private residences. Maybe these were drilled to break the legs of rats, cats and dogs, or maybe blame Goodyear as attempting to tear up tires. Anyway, these holes were put there by the City in preparation for their drainage project, which of course, never materialized (Just heard that they are now busy drilling more holes). Well, the Abu Sayyaf finally did it, they kidnapped an American! Now this was not the smartest American one could want to meet. This guy, according to his new Muslim wife, while staying in Zamboanga City approached some Abu Sayyaf bandits and identified himself as a Muslim convert who was interested in visiting the bandits' camp. Jeffrey Craig Edwards Schilling, from California displayed an ignorance of Islam so the bandits decided to abduct him. Now the Abu Sayyaf, who have become millionaires because of the ransoms that have already been paid will get further international publicity because of one stupid American. Their statement of "now lets see how great a superpower America is" is typical of how they feel they can escape any harm and have no fear of President Estrada and his military forces, as well as any foreign intervention. A more sensible American I know in the States is preparing to come to Angeles City to collect his fiancé and hopes that the American Embassy and American military do not overact and restrict travel to the Philippines. Most travelers are smart enough to stay away from that part of the Philippines which is dangerous. The sad thing about Mr. Schilling is that I guess Rev. Jesse (Mr. Publicity) Jackson will be wanting to jump on a plane and negotiate with the Abu Sayyaf and I wonder how many millions they can get for him? The managers of the well-known Go2Phil.com web site hosted a promotional get together at Ziggy's bar on Fields Ave featuring dancers from the Kokomo's group of bars representing the "best of the best". Thai food was served and door prizes presented to those who paid out the P500 for the all you can drink at any of the Kokomo's bars. Beeline's John was busy getting his camera fixated on some of the lovelies and I am sure he will add a few of the pictures to this column. Gary and Tom were on hand to keep John under control, which took a lot of effort. This old horse enjoyed the display of beauty especially those that wore the Go2Phil.com T-shirts. All in all it was a successful evening but the time went too quickly as it was only from 6 - 8 PM but, that was just enough time to whet one's appetite - just thinking about it has made me hungry again - can't wait to see the pictures!
Rumor has it that Jerry's café will be expanding to the site presently occupied by Moondoggies. If this happens (and we hope it will) Jerry will be doing some renovations and the air-conditioned portion will have a bar and GRO's to serve you. Jerry's popular kitchen will service both areas. Maybe, with a more positive management approach we will be able to see the return of a dart team to that location and an overall friendliness that has been absent at that location for quite a while. Look for Voodoo's 4th annual Christmas on September 25th celebration in which Santa will make his appearance. Lollipop bar will be hosting a beauty contest open to entries from all bars in September. I don't have the exact dates of these event yet but heck, just go to Lollipop every night and for sure you will be there for the right night. Ambition got to me one night and I checked out the Rhapsody, La Bamba, Dusk to Dawn and Y bar. The one that impressed me the most was the Rhapsody. Don't know why I never went in there before, I guess because it has been renovated and changed names so many times before. It has a nice cozy atmosphere, the music is not overly loud and the seating is very comfortable. The dance floor is at the end of the building and many of their dancers were looking very fine. Ladies drinks are P125, which appears to be the norm for all bars on Fields Ave. I still consider that to be overpriced but the tourists don't seem to mind. If you look hard you can find some establishments, especially off of Fields Ave that charge a more realistic price for the ladies drinks. Can't say anything about La Bamba as the music was too loud for these old ears so I just walked in and then right out! Dusk to Dawn was nice but I was the only one there to appreciate the dancers. One dancer, looking like an ex Zulu female warrior looked like she had enough energy for three dancers. She certainly had personality to spare and could be an interesting person to get to know. Maybe I should return for further research. The Y bar is popular and worth checking out. From 7-9 PM mixed local drinks are only P35 and a very reasonable P50 after 9. The ladies looked good and no doubt received dancing lessons from Pat L. who walked in while I was there and immediately displayed some dance steps that proved large men still have rhythm. It has been a long time since I entered Rick's Café and I was pleasantly surprised to see the expansion of his business center and the new entrance. It has certainly cut down the outside noise, which allows those watching movies to be able to hear the dialogue. Rick's does not have any dancers or GRO's but it remains a pleasant place to sit, eat, drink and watch some movies. While sitting in a local bar just up from Fields Ave I happened to overhear a conversation that gave me another insight to Angeles City. A customer had just departed and it seems that this man was suffering from terminal cancer. In the States doctors told him he had 6 months to live and they recommended he put himself into a hospice. He said no, that he would live out his time in the Philippines so he came to Angeles City and has been here for two years. Now, the effects of the cancer are more visible and it is possible that this may be his last year. I was touched by one thing, while here this man has made many new friends, some rather close to him and he has led a better life than he ever would have in the States. The people talking about him were nearly in tears for friendships had been built and you could realize that this town is not made up of people that only care about hustling, drinking or making a buck out of tourists. It is also made up of people that care about one another, people that will band together to help each other when necessary. This is not just small town America, but small town Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Canada and others. It is a town of ex-pats living here permanently and many that come and goes for years and establishes a bond, a bond of friendship, and a sense of belonging. This is a place where someone would choose to live out his last years because there is a sense of belonging and togetherness that one would not find elsewhere. People can debate over whether Thailand or the Philippines is the place to be but regardless, I love it here and the people that I have come to know. It is a place to grow old in and yes, eventually die, but right up to the day of one's last breath, you can be sure that there is a community of friends that will stand by you and yes, talk about you when you are gone. I remember Bobby Johns, a good friend and advisor that was a bar owner in this town for years. He passed away of cancer a few years ago and his memory is still strong in this town. As long as there are people alive who remember you, one is not entirely dead and as long as I draw breath, Bobby Johns will still be alive in my memories. This is "small town world" and all newcomers are most welcome and we all hope you will stay a while and discover all that is good about Angeles City and its Ex-pat community. It is enjoyable to receive e-mails from readers and last month I heard from Australia and Las Vegas, Nevada. The one from Vegas indicated that the population has grown to 2,000,000, which is lot more than when I first settled there in 1962. I was told that that it is difficult to receive care at the hospitals because of so many people. It seems that two people went to a hospital for care and after waiting all day to be seen became discouraged and went home. They both died at home that night. I realize I deviate from talking about Angeles City but I mention this because so many retired folks from Angeles are now living in Las Vegas and more are planning to leave here and follow in their footsteps. Vegas is a great town but the population is growing so fast. It has a large Filipina population and most of them work in the Casinos or hotels. To all the Las Vegas readers of Harry the Horse, I bid you a hearty hello and look forward to visiting that fine city again next year. Health Visions has opened a new office opposite the Retired Affairs Office (RAO) on MacArthur. You can't miss it as it sports a striking pink paint job. Look for "Mouse" for any information about Health Visions. By the way, you men over 50, do take the time to get a colon check-up every year. I had my first one a month ago, at age 62, and small growths were noted. I am on medication and must go for a follow-up exam in a few more weeks. I am sure it is not serious but without a check-up I never would have known there was a potential problem. As a member of Health Visions, this examination was covered. I know of one retiree who had a medical check-up at Tripler Hospital in Hawaii and they found polyps requiring immediate surgery. His symptoms were minor and he had put off getting an exam for quite a while. Get it done fellas, it is a bit uncomfortable but it can save your ass!! Private Dancer One has now come under the Kokomos's umbrella and will be renamed Mirage. Renovation plans show that the Mirage and Voodoo will be connected by a common dance stage and one bar at the back will serve both bars. Jimmy D's Asshole Club had their second meeting and it was decided that JD would be President, Dave White, VP, Ray Souvala, Secretary and Charlie Kemplin, Treasurer. After discussion it was decided that one could be called an "ass" or an "arse", membership could be coed and that the official part of the meeting would only be 30 minutes. The meeting would be opened by one lady standing on the pool table, giving a big smile and the President ringing the bell for the first round on the house. The Secretary would be responsible to close the meeting with him ringing the bell. Everyone would put 20 pesos in the pot to cover the last round and the Secretary would meet any cost over that. Drinking could continue after the official close of meeting as long as assholes wanted to keep on drinking and chatting in general. The next meeting will be held on 9 Sep at 12 noon. We are hoping to bring in a few new members. Remember, the response to the question "are you an asshole" will be "you bet your sweet ass I am"! Last month I mentioned that all the members of the Angeles MC club were rather large and I was told by Dave White that Tom Leber and Egay Rivera took exception to this saying that they were slim and trip but still rode their Harley Fatboy's. To save my body from any possible damage I stand corrected and state that not all the Harley Davidson owners look like WWF wrestlers. On 23 Sep Rey Villar Productions will be presenting "Music a Go-Go, an Affair to Remember" at the Expo Amphitheater on base. This will be a fundraiser for the Street Children Foundation of Pampanga. Tickets will be P150, P250, P350 and P500 with start of show at 6PM lasting until midnight. Carding (Formerly of the Reycards) and the Aegis Band will be featured. There will be performances by 4-5 other bands as well.
Two new establishments have opened their doors on Perimeter just past Moondoggies. Located in what used to be the Platinum Club is the Glowing Eyes Bar/Restaurant. They open at 4 PM, Filipino owned, offering Karaoke Music (naturally), snacks, Filipino food, steaks, and curries until closing time at 2 AM. Upstairs a small pool table is available and there are plans to include one dartboard and a big screen TV. Their happy hour is from 4-6 PM and this is a pleasant place to sit and have a meal or just a drink and do some singing. Seating by the window offers an excellent view of Perimeter Road and the Clark Economic Zone. The assistant manager is a genial young man by the name of Soy (of course I now call him soy sauce). Just across the street, next to the beauty parlor is the Avio Café and I strongly recommend this as a place to visit. It is unique to Angeles City and one would expect to find such a coffee shop/restaurant in Manila, not on Perimeter. One of the partners is a charming young lady by the name of Cherry and I must thank her for treating me to a cup of cappuccino while we chatted. The décor is very nice causing one to relax and want to enjoy their specialties, which are various flavors of coffee. Along with cappuccino, latte, café mocha, different expressos and a flavored steamer are offered. They even have a coffee concoction for the week; iced butterscotch w/vanilla ice-cream (P70) when I was there. They have a nice menu offering a wide selection of food at a reasonable cost. Entrée prices range from P130 to P160. One of their desserts caught my eye - it is named "fried ice-cream" for P65. It was explained that they wrap a scoop of ice cream in bread and when ordered they fry it briefly and serve this concoction with little or no melting ice cream. Right now the Avio Café is open from 4 to 10 PM Tuesday through Thursday and 4 - 11 PM on Fri through Sunday, closed on Mondays. Cherry indicated that this was the first foray into the Café business for her and the other partners so they are waiting to see how business goes before they think about opening a bit earlier in the day. I did not have a chance to sample their menu but will do so this month and will report the results to the readers in October. This is one place I do intend to take Mrs. Horse with me so I can get her opinion as well. Folks, right now I can say it would be the perfect place to take your lady friend or wife for a very pleasant hour or two. I wish the owners of the Avio much success in this most welcome addition to fine dining on Perimeter Road. Behind the Glowing Eyes Bar one will find the Mega Shopping Center, which has been been around for a year but never really taken off. Now, with their new location and renovation it is becoming more popular. I purchase a nice toy car and some music CD's while checking it out and I was impressed with what they had to offer there. They offer toys, gift items, remote control items, remote control flying school, video play station, and business office services. It is worth a look-see.
Only one month to go before I take the Mrs. to see Miss Saigon in Manila to help her celebrate her birthday on 12 Oct. I am desperately trying to save up my pesos for this special night and hope that the seats are big enough for two horses. We anticipate a great evening and of course, until then I remind one and all - be kind to horses. |
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