DECEMBER 2001

Welcome to December, the month to spend all that money you have been holding on to for the whole year. This is when Santa smiles at you and the credit companies love you more than your spouses or girlfriends. This is the time, from now until end of March to visit the Philippines, as the weather is perfect, the bars are jumping, the ladies are even friendlier and it is just a great time to be alive. This month will find Harry and Priscilla horse busy appearing as Santa Claus at various functions in order to obtain donations of candy/food/money to be used for my annual Christmas Eve visit to two hospitals in town. This will be my 16th year and I am happy to report that they do not know who Santa really is, they just know that on Christmas Eve Santa shows up with food, candy and money for every patient. Even toys are collected for the children that are patients as young and old receive a bit of cheer from Santa. I must thank those customers at the Blue Boar Inn, Thi-HI and Hangout that take the time to drop a few pesos into the collection jar that I pass around each year. This endeavor is my way of being grateful for another healthy year and to bring a smile to those charity patients that happen to be in hospital on Christmas Eve, a situation that I would hate to be in myself. If any organization in Angeles City requires a Santa appearance this month, please contact Mrs. Horse (Priscilla) at 322-7984. I would also like to take this time to send a thank you to Christian, a Frenchman working as an interpreter in Japan for his donation presented to me in November at the Clarkton Hotel. Christian, while in Japan, reads this column every month and remembered reading about my project last year and took the time to locate me in order to make a donation. This was a complete surprise and much appreciated and Christian, I hope that we can get together for a few games of darts at the Blue Boar Inn (Santa's Headquarters).

SAYING HELLO

It was a pleasure to say hello to Don Ellis and Bob Roth, visitors from Hawaii that popped in for a few drinks last month. Bob and Don are frequent visitors to Angeles City and for some reason never get tired of the place. 

Visiting from Las Vegas were Bill Ramirez and Joe Green. They stopped by the day after Thanksgiving and saw the sign for our Blue Boar Inn Thanksgiving meal for P220 and said that they should have eaten at the Blue Boar instead of the VFW. It seems they were rather disappointed with the meager portions of turkey they received. You see folks, the Blue Boar Inn is not fancy but you do get a very large, filling meal on Thanksgiving Day. Maybe they ate at the tail end of the day and Mike was running out of Turkey. They were happier on Veterans Day when they enjoyed a special Veteran's Day Picnic for P200 at the VFW. Maybe it was because they were in the company of Joe Carseley, who is slated to become the next Commander of American Legion Post 10. My suggestion to Joe was that it would be nice to see Post 10 and Post 123 combined sometime in the future. It is "food" for thought. 

Joe C., Bill and Joe G.

While enjoying a quick lunch at Kokomo's I met Brett Tesdall, a visitor from Iowa who was staying at the Orchid Inn. He wanted me to pass on that the new Orchid Annex was fantastic but he was disappointed that the cable modem, and safes in each room are not available yet. These were major selling points for him when he made room enquiries. These are features that will be installed in the near future Brett but the cable modem installation is a project that is waiting on ComClark's action. Brett was suggesting that Management leave a couple of electrical outlets in the room hot when exiting so computer laptops can be charged. The Annex has the system that when the room key is removed from its slot the electric power in the room is shut down. 

Where the heck is Moab Utah? Has anyone ever heard of the place? Meet Dave Fronk who was wearing a shirt with the logo "Moab Utah" on it. I had to ask him where in Utah that was and I am pretty confident that no one has any idea, other than Dave. If someone can come to the Blue Boar Inn (Not Dave) and tell me exactly where Moab is I will treat them to a free drink and one of our great hamburgers. This offer is good only for the first person reaching me with this information. Dave worked at the Dragon Hill Lodge in Korea for 6 years after taking an early retirement from the Army after 16 years service. He plans to stay here permanently because you can believe he has no desire to return to Moab, Utah where I am sure the entertainment does not come close to what is offered here in Angeles City. 

Dave Frank

GREAT LUNCHEON BUFFET

Cottage Kitchen's Jim Sebree is offering a very excellent lunch buffet from 12-3 PM Mon thru Sat for P230 (all you can eat). When I went to try it Jim was offering, for one week, an introductory price of P170 and that was a very good deal. Once he told me that the price was going to go up the next week I decided to take advantage of the offer. The hardest time I had that day was talking Jim into springing for a free coke for me and he only agreed when I told him that I would get his picture in this column. Jim is the guy that for a Rotary raffle prize only gives away a dinner for one and hopes you never show up. Sorry Jim, your food is too good to turn down a free meal and now, your lunch buffet, even though you raised the price is still a very good deal. The one I sampled started with the soup that was so good I had to have two bowls of it, various salads, roast pork, beef, roast potatoes, veggies, and dessert. What makes this buffet is the quality of the food preparation. It has that distinctive Cajun flavor that has one disappointed to become full, as you want to keep going back for more. I would strongly suggest that you get over to the Cottage Kitchen quickly for Jim was lamenting about how he was still nearly losing on the price and since Jim hates to lose money, you can be sure that the price may go up again. For P230 I give this treat a five horseshoe rating on my 1 to 5 scale.
NOTE: Speaking of prices going up - the Clarkton buffet starting at 5 PM every day went from P199 to P249. I haven't been there since the new price went into effect but folks that have been there have told me that it is no different from when it was P199. Sometime this month Priscilla and I will check it out and render an opinion.

Local Travel Agents Feasting	Jim Sebree - Proud Chef

SO LONG RALPH

A long time American resident of Angeles City, Ralph Knowles, passed away last month in a hospital in the States. Ralph was well known here, especially by the Tuesday morning ex-pat golfers and those many folks that participating in the various pool leagues in town. My friendship with Ralph goes back to when he was an active duty Captain in the United States Air Force, stationed at Clark AB. His girlfriend at the time, Lita (Now his wife) played on my bowling team and over the years we were always able to keep in touch. Ralph's passing was unexpected as he took Lita back to the States to visit his family and he had planned to pass through Hawaii on the way back to have his hip examined at the military hospital there. When in the States he encountered a problem with his hip and entered the hospital. A very serious infection was discovered and his leg had to be amputated. Ralph went into a coma and never recovered. His hip problem started a few years back when he fell and had to have pin put into his hip at Angeles University Hospital (AUF), Angeles City. Regretfully, the procedure was not very successful and he had to have corrective surgery at Tripler Hospital in Hawaii. Lately he had been complaining of problems with the hip and it is surmised that the infection was well along by the time he went to the States. Glasses were raised in memory of Ralph at the Bonanza Hotel and those gathered knew they were saying goodbye to one of the good guys who will be missed. A bit of a knowing chuckle from the group came when Jimmy D mentioned "that the one thing that would please Ralph as he gazed down upon us is that he no longer would have to listen to Paul Willis". Rest in peace Ralph!

A FAVORABLE RULING FOR CAGHSI

Paid Advertisment

Despite this the CDC/CIAC management continue to harass the operation to such a degree that their actions border on contempt of court. Since the CDC lawyers were a bit out of their league, President Angeles has now brought in a private legal firm to continue with his quest to close down the CAGSHI operation. The sad thing to note is that the Sun-Star was always quick to report on this court action and paint a rather negative scenario but when Mr. Lynch received a favorable court decision there failed to appear in this paper one word of the decision. Could it be that the various reporters who gleefully enjoyed painting a negative picture could not stomach a fair court process that ruled in favor of the CAGSHI? On 23 Nov CDC and CAGSHI lawyers met in court to fight over another CDC attack in that the CDC submitted a request for dismissal of Judge Viola's granting of a preliminary injunction against the CDC. This battle will continue and many are wondering what baggage handling company is waiting in the wings, like vultures, to take over if CAGSHI is forced out and what connections do they have to the CDC/CIAC management? 

SPEAKING OF COURT CASES

I'm really getting familiar with court proceedings as I had the opportunity to observe a court case that has been dragging on for six years. Officers of American Legion Post 10, located on Perimeter Road, have accused Herman Gill, a long time resident of Angeles City and businessman, of Estafa. This came as a surprise to me since I remember that for a long time Herman was the Finance Officer of this Post. According to court records, Herman allegedly transferred funds from Post 10 to his personal account, approximately nine million pesos. The discrepancy was discovered by an external audit. At the hearing I attended Gill's lawyer was trying to avoid a subpoena to bring into evidence records of Herman's personal bank account on a technicality that the Bank Secrecy Law will be violated Naturally, once again a new date was set for another hearing and this drama, no doubt, will drag on for quite a long time. Since it involves American interests and the possible misuse of an American Organization's funds, I will try to provide updates as the case progresses. It would be nice if this case could be settled to the satisfaction of both parties involved but it is important to remember that at this stage Mr. Gill is presumed to be innocent of any wrong doing. Eventually, the court will have to decide one way or another. 

CHOCOLATE GOODNESS AT THE G-SPOT

The G-Spot decided to have a very original grand opening on 23 Nov as they featured Angeles City's very first chocolate wrestling match. It may have been the first but judging from the happy looks on the many customers that paid an entry fee of P500 it won't be the last. The fee included door prizes, food, and drinks from 8 to 10 PM. Ladies from the hottest nightclubs in town competed for the honor of being the toughest, as well as the sexiest wrestler in town. Ten judges' seats were available for an extra P200 and I could see there were 10 individuals that were more than happy to put up the 200 bucks. The ladies competed in pairs and had to wrestle for three two minute rounds each. The ring was a plastic swimming pool filled with chocolate syrup and a bit of water and this concoction did not fail to make a mess of the ladies and many of the onlookers. By the end of the evening some of the judges must have been thinking that the action was a bit too close as the action on stage managed to ensure that each judge was enjoying a chocolate spray. Some of the ladies got into it so heavily that the chocolate sprayed out to the far reaches of the club and many customers were noticing bits of brown spots on their attire. As the ladies fought a few bras did come off but there still wasn't much to see as the chocolate covered them up rather well. The one and only Rick, from Rick's Caf, was enjoying his seat right up on stage as he used his trusty video camera to tape the action and no doubt will be selling copies in the near future. I am still wondering how the hell Rick stayed so clean despite being so close to the action. This was a closed door, limited seating affair and I wish to thank Rob Sullivan and Larry for inviting me to cover the action. Believe me folks, if and when there is a second chocolate wrestling night you don't want to miss it. I wonder how long it will take to clean up the place? 

Judging is hard work.	Happy Spectators
Ready to Fight!	Kicking Ass
Kicking More Ass	I'm clean but Harry, You're in my way.

OOPS, I FORGOT! 

Sometimes I intend to put items in the column and then get so wrapped up in writing it over a week or so that I lose notes or just plain forget. Following are items I meant to mention last month. 

Item 1 - Seen at various functions in Oct was our rather tall, large, conservative VFW Commander Jerry Prince and there were many people that kept asking Jerry why he had one ear bandaged. Many thought that he took a youth pill (too many blue ones) and had one ear pierced. Not true! Jerry fielded so many queries that instead of answering he simply handed over printed card stating:

To whom it may concern. In the interest of not having to explain every 5 minutes
This is what happened - I was barhopping and this gal kept on bugging me for 
a ladies drink. I told her to shove off; she got pissed and bit a chunk off my ear.
I have heard she is related to Mike Tyson.

Jerry told me where this ear-eating lady used to work but I won't mention it here in print. She took off immediately after consuming the ear and no doubt has died of food poisoning as the meat had to be quite old. For further details, see Jerry at the VFW.

Item 2 - I encourage comments or bits of printable information submitted by readers and Mr. Stephen Clay supplied the following: 

Harry, here's a little article you may want to put in your next Harry the Horse column. It will probably appeal more to the British ex-pat, but anyway, here goes...

Police on Merseyside, Liverpool, England, have arrested 3 of a cell of 4 terrorists. Police confirmed that Bin Thievin, Bin Drinkin, and Bin Fightin have been arrested on immigration issues. 
The police further advised that no one fitting the description of the fourth cell member, Bin Workin has been seen in the area. 
Police are confident that anyone who looks like Workin will be very easy to spot in the community. 

As I said it would appeal more to Brits, who recognize that not a lot of people up in Liverpool actually work for a living. 

Editors Note: Any Scouses (Not sure of spelling here) will be afforded the opportunity to reply to this joke. For Stephen's safety, address and telephone number are omitted.

Item 3 - Some strange dog shit here mate! This is something one of the lads hanging around the Hangout could be guilty of. 

Picking up girls in the States, Australia or England is a lot more difficult than for those of us living in Angeles City. One lad named has came up with a sure fire method of success until one particular incident. Eddie bought himself a little puppy on the grounds that it was a surefire way to pick up even more girls, ninety percent of whom were boneheaded enough to bend over and go Gooh-Gah, Gooh-Gah at his puppy which was all the excuse that Eddie needed to get acquainted. But he had a bad experience down on the front at Poole one Sunday afternoon. Owning a cute puppy had done the trick once again, another little chickabiddy had been reeled in, and Eddie and his new girl were slowly strolling along the front, chatting about this and that. Suddenly the weight on his arm increased, he looked around and saw that the puppy had shoved out its front legs and was dragging its arse along the ground. A quick yank on the leash and Towser was back on four legs but it hunkered down again as soon as possible in order to scrape its butt along the pavement. 

This happened several times and eventually his companion noticed.

"Oh, what's wrong with your sweet little doggie?"

"Nothing, nothing", said Eddie, through gritted teeth, dragging it back to its feet yet again.

"Oh, but there must be something wrong, here, I know about dogs", and, before he could stop her, she picked the puppy up.

"And what's the matter with you, then", cradling the dog in her arms, "let's have a look at you", and she lifted its tail. 

"Oh, my goodness, what's that?" for, sticking out of the puppy's bum was two inches of a pink, rubbery substance, "What can it be?"

What it was, in point of fact, was a used condom. Eddie was in the habit of postcoitally chucking his frenchies over the side of his bed and Towser, who slept underneath, had tried a couple to see if they were tasty. 

Eddie said that things were never the same between himself and the girl after that. 

ANOTHER WET T-SHIRT CONTEST WINNER

I caught Eden (Dancer at the Lollipop bar), the latest Kokomo's wet T-Shirt winner in her street clothes one afternoon at Kokomos. I was a bit surprised to find out that she had won and I figured she must look a lot different in a bathing suit and wet T-Shirt. So, here is a picture in her normal attire and Tom Deasey is providing the picture of her at her finest moment. I did not attend so I am looking forward to seeing the comparison as well and the readers can decide if this would have been their pick as well. I will ask Tom to insert pictures of all the finalists as well.

Eden casually dressed.	Eden in the Contest

FOOD POISONING

Any establishment serving food tries their best to avoid any chance of a customer coming down with food poisoning and when it happens should be taken seriously. Kokomos has been operating a first class food operation for years without any problems but last month, one customer, an ex-pat, came down with a very serious case of food poisoning that was nearly life threatening. For the past 2 days he had eaten all his meals at Kokomos so there was no doubt where it originated. Mo's reaction was immediate; the victim's medical bills were paid by Kokomos and the kitchen was thoroughly scrubbed down and disinfected. All the food tickets for that day were reviewed to see who had eaten the same meals but no other complaints were forthcoming. It appears that this was an isolated case and the theory is that a bad egg might have been consumed. In this particular case management responded quickly and professionally. It is something that could happen, and has happened to many restaurants but all too often an establishment will go into denial mode. Not in this case, Mo was informed that I would be writing about this and though he regretted the incident, he welcomed the opportunity to make it public and to assure readers of this column that this was an isolated case and remedial action has been taken. This Horse has eaten quite often at Kokomos, along with Priscilla and will continue to do so. 

VISIT THE STAMPEDE

Being a horse, naturally I would feel comfortable in a bar named the "Stampede" but then horses are not fussy. The readers of this column are fussy though and want their money's worth when visiting town. By golly, you will not be disappointed with the face lift given to the old Jerry's Caf,, renamed the Stampede. Old toothless Jerry sold out and the trio of Jimbo, Marine Steve and old John has done a great job creating a great place to gather in comfort and all the old regulars are more than pleased with new look. It is completely closed in, air-conditioned, new bathrooms, room bar and plenty of table seating available. There is still a place for folks to sit outside and watch the ladies go by or even watch from inside as the windows allow you to keep tabs on what is going on outside. The ladies working there are friendly and darn good-looking. 
One lady, the cashier, Erma Arellano was so impressive that she qualified to be the December FILLY OF THE MONTH. She is 22 years old and studied computer science in Iloilo for three years. Erma has no boyfriend and is very single. She has six brothers and three sisters. She enjoys volleyball, basketball, and tennis (that leaves you old guys out of the picture). This is her first job after college and as head cashier she developed all stock and inventory forms and menu cards on the computer. When asked what age bracket a man should be in if he wanted to attract her interest she said "between 27 to 35". For those that think they qualify and wish to communicate with Erma, her E-mail address is arellano.e@mailcity.com. For sure, drop by to say hello to her at the Stampede, she has a great smile. 

Bust at Work	Filly of the Month - Erma
Stampede Staff with Jimbo and Steve.

SAD STORY

When the Clark Centennial Rotary, made up of a mixture of ex-pats and local nationals, was created three years ago one of their first projects was to select ten street children and finance their education from elementary school all the way through college. The idea was to get them off the streets at night where they were trying to earn extra money by selling gum, or whatever they could. There was a screening process and the parents/guardians of those selected had to agree that they would keep the children off the streets in exchange for an education. One of the first to be selected was a young lady named Jacqueline who sold gum on Fields Ave at night. Jacky was bright and attractive and was a good student, for a while. Regretfully, at the insistence of her Grandmother Jacky kept returning to the streets and started to fall off from school. Eventually she had to be dropped from the Rotary program and on two occasions the police detained the grandmother for allowing Jacky back on the streets at night. The grandmother did not want to lose that income from gum sales. This year Jacquiline was 14 years old and a couple of months ago she was discovered dancing in one of the bars on Fields Ave. When her age was brought to the attention of management she was dismissed! The question remains as to why one so young slipped by the not so keen eyes of a Mamasan that obviously was not doing her job. Just about two weeks ago Jacqueline and a friend were trying to gain entry to the America Hotel late at night but were denied entry and a waitress employed at the Blue Nile, exiting the hotel, struck up a conversation with them as they stood on the sidewalk. A Filipino drunk driver struck them down as they stood talking and killed Jacqueline and the waitress. The third girl was injured but not seriously. The driver was apprehended but through some under the table negotiations with the police was allowed to go rather than be arrested. Fortunately, some members of the Clark Centennial Rotary were able, with the assistance of the Mayor's office to rectify an injustice and the guilty driver was returned to jail where appropriate charges will be lodged against him. I was able to attend the funeral on 25 Nov with members of the Rotary and though we shed a tear for Jacky, the act put on by her grandmother was worthy of an academy award. She went through her hysterics, wailing, and throwing herself on to the coffin bearing the body of the young girl she forced to work the streets of Fields Ave. A young girl that had the opportunity of an education and a future but now is just another victim because of greed and indifference from a guardian that should have cared. Members of the Clark Centennial Rotary are united in their efforts to help in removing street kids from Angeles City. It is realized that all cannot be reached or helped, but if even one sad story can be avoided, then the effort is well worth it. 
NOTE: It is suggested that bar owners on Fields Ave, Perimeter Road, make a spot check on their employees and make sure that ladies under 18 are not employed. Better to police yourselves than to have representatives from the Mayor's office do it for you.

A TRIP FOR ONE AND ALL

I strongly recommend that all visitors to this area and even local residents set aside a couple of hours one day to visit the museum located by the parade ground at the Clark Economic Zone (The former Clark Air Base). The entry fee is only P20 for adults and P5 to P15 for children. The hours are 0800 - 1700 hrs Mon-Fri, and 1500 hrs closing on Saturdays, closed Sundays. This horse has been through it three times already and each time I am impressed by the displays and the overwhelming sense of history that envelops ones senses. I have heard many visitors to Angeles City complain that there is nothing to see but believe me, a pleasant, inexpensive morning or afternoon can be arranged by visiting this museum, and then upon exiting the building, gaze upon the beautiful parade ground and imagine its history in relation to what you have just observed at the museum. The museum is a success because of the efforts of one tireless, grand lady by the name of Ceferina T. Yepez who has worked at Clark since 1945 in one capacity or another. I met her in 1977 when she worked at the 13th Air Force Public Affairs Office and Ceffie has not left her beloved Clark as even after the Americans left her services were still required. Ceffie states that in all the years that she has worked at Clark she has never taken one leave and that has to be a very unique record. She is the driving force behind the Clark Museum and when I had the opportunity to visit her I noticed that her desk was still piled high with paperwork and she was busily typing away on her trusted typewriter. No computer for Ceffie! The Clark Museum reflects a glorious history but it also stands as a tribute to the tireless efforts of Clark's living legend, Ceferina Yepez. 

Museum Extrance	Interior

Ceffie Yepez - A Living Legend

THE EXOTICA

Some places are easy to write about and the new Exotica Bar (Previously Private Dancer Too) is one of those places. The makeover of the interior is very impressive and the place is just a pleasure to visit. Whether one is alone, with a girlfriend, mistress or wife, you will feel comfortable here and be able to relax, watch and listen to the show-bands as they sing and play your favorite songs. The music is kept to a very tolerable level and thank goodness, no guest singers are allowed. The display of fish tanks around the sunken seating area is a nice touch. The manager, Wally, (Previously with the Clarkton Hotel) is on hand nightly to greet you and to give the place the benefit of his professional experience. Five horseshoes for the Exotica, a club you definitely want to spend some time in. 

Live Entertainment	Wally's in Charge
Monica, Wendy and Vanessa	Hoping to See You

COTTONTAIL CLUB

I finally had the chance to drop in at the Cottontail Club (formerly Love Boat) and found that I picked the wrong time. It was absolutely empty except for the many charming ladies in outfits that I found to be quite interesting and appealing. It was not empty from lack of effort on manager Troy's part but because the Lollipop was starting their dance contest and Troy sadly watched all his customers depart for that venue. I was tempted to stay and be the center of attention to all those beautiful ladies but, sorry Troy, the lure of that dance contest was too much for me. I will return to the Cottontail another night so that I can get a better feel of the place but right offhand I'd say there was a lot of interesting cottontail to pick from. Will figure out how many horseshoes to award after my next visit. 

Nice Attire

LOLLIPOP DANCE CONTEST

Fun, great, interesting, fantastic, great boobs, beautiful were words heard throughout the club during the contest and it just wasn't me making those comments. As I write this I don't know who the winner was as I had to leave after the first round but after I saw contestant #25 from the King of Diamonds, in my book, she was the winner. This lady was perfect for figure, good looks and bubbling personality. Enough said - Mo, this extravaganza was a success and I do believe word of mouth will assure you an even bigger audience for the next one. 

The Horse's Pick!	The Horse's Pick!
The Big Bad Wolf?

GREENLANDS UPDATE

Well, 9 Nov came and went and still no announcements from Greg to shed any light on what members can expect in the future. I saw Greg right after 9 Nov and he indicated that the 9 Nov did not accomplish everything he wanted and would have to wait a bit longer. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed as I was hoping to report some specific details to you this month. On top of this Greg has been out of the country and is not expected back until early December. Right now nearly everything is closed down except for the swimming pool (sure hope they leave that alone) as the lawn bowls greens have been shut down completely. The grass has developed a bit of a fungus and since the expert for maintaining the grass was out of town the only solution was to suspend lawn bowls play temporarily. For those of you seeking to register with the Greenlands frustrated members site, and by the many comments I receive, there appear to be more each month, the contact E-mail address is frustrated2001@hotmail.com. They have published their objectives and have put out a newsletter that can be of interest to existing members. I am hoping that I can find out more specifics from Greg when he returns from his trip. 

AUSTRALIA DAY FIESTA UPDATE

As if the Fiesta is not enough, the Blue Nile is planning a "fun day" on the 28th of Jan. I do not have any details on this. Believe me, January will be a good time to be in Angeles City so make your reservations now and be ready to become a party animal. Not only will you satisfy all your desires but also you will help to support the various RSL Charities. 

Agreement Signing

RON THE BEER TASTER

Percey Mitchell, a well-known RSL member has been getting strange stares from Mrs. P. lately. The Bonanza beer tester, Ron, is back in town and was accused by his girlfriend of having a secret lover. She told him she was sure that he was having an affair with a Sheila named "Precy" especially since he was missing so often for long periods of time and her sources told her he was always with "Precy". All is well now as she was introduced to "Precy" and was relieved to find out that it was only this old fat fart Percey Mitchell that was involved. We're worried now, for who knows, after a great deal of "beer tasting" even Percy might have looked good to Ron. 

THE ROADHOUSE

Mark Smith's Roadhouse Bar celebrated its 8th Anniversary last month and it was standing room only for the entire evening to include before and after the 7-9 PM open bar. It was a fun crowd and there were enough heavy spenders on hand that Mark indicated it broke a sales record. The Roadhouse dancers were getting dizzy as they kept marching off the stage to toast the many different bell ringers. I got a kick out of the ladies that downed the shooter called "BJ". I had never seen this performance before and it was impressive. Believe me, after being told what is in that shooter, it is definitely one potent drink. The dancers looked great in their new costumes and as usual, their choreography was entertaining. This is the only club in town where the girls display dance routines the entire time they are on stage and without once looking at themselves in the mirror. An excellent Anniversary bash Mark and Girlie, and hopefully, there will be many more.

The Roadettes	Full house
Girlie and Mark	VIP's

The Real Power

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

The construction for insertion of drainage pipes along Abad Santos Street started up again and has now turned the corner onto Fields Ave just in front of Kokomos. As it progresses up towards the Checkpoint you can be sure that there will be massive traffic jams and bars along Fields will be adversely affected. But, it is a necessity and at least progress is being made. For construction buffs used to a bit more technology it is a bit amusing to watch the methods used in this project. At least it provides a bit more entertainment for free and it is a challenge to figure out how to get to where you want to go. 

Great view from Kokomos

UNCLE GEORGE UPDATE

Uncle George is still trying to collect the money, or at least some of it owed to him for so many years. It remains an interesting story and maybe some day there will be an ending. George is in communication with one of his old partners and there has been a verbal intention to start paying George some of his money. If this does not happen, then names will be named and this horse will publish what George submits. In another area, old trusting George is in possession of a promissory note for $75,000 executed two well known individuals connected with a popular hotel in this town. Two people connected with the hotel, one an ex-pat and the other a lawyer sign the note. It promises to pay back the $75,000 with 15% interest every quarter. The only problem is that there are no specifics as to when payments will start or when they will end. Naturally, George is at the mercy of these individuals who keep telling him that they have no money. Gosh, I would love some one to lend me $75,000 under such terms as I could voice my good intentions to pay back the loan without doing so for one hell of a long time. George talked to the lawyer that signed the note a week ago and she indicated that it was not her signature. So old trusting George remains in town, seeking legal advice and hoping that somehow, those sly people he trusted years ago, somehow feel a pang of conscience and decide to honor their commitments. George, you should live so long!

END OF A LANDMARK

On 28 Nov Rob Denny (Kalbo) stopped by to tell me that he would be closing down the Birds Of Paradise after nearly 20 years of operation. This came as a shock as the Birds (Home of the Angeles City Hash Hash Harriers) has a long history in this town and has to be one of the longest running operations under one owner on Fields Ave. The owner of the building is selling and the price asked is more than Kalbo is prepared to pay. This is a prime location on Fields Ave and I suspect that someone will buy it and a new establishment will be built. For those of us that have lived in this town for a long time, that particular spot will always be associated with The Birds of Paradise and a very popular Rob Denny, a dedicated Hasher and beer drinker - "down-down Rob, good luck to you. 

IN CLOSING 

December is here and this will be a very busy month but rewarding month for this Horse and Priscilla as she does all the preparing and assisting in my annual Santa duties. It is great to close out this year not only alive, but relatively healthy and I hope all of you out there reading this find yourselves in the same position. My E-mail address has changed to lacasa@ag.triasia.net and I sure hope the service improves. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years folks and if you really want to be happy, come on over and visit us in Angeles City, we know how to party here. Whatever you do, don't throw fireworks at horses, you might hit me! Remember, be kind to horses.