HarryTheHorse - Angeles City Expat Newsletter for February 2002

Greetings to one and all during this month of candy, kissing and passion as we approach Valentines Day. For those of you fortunate enough to be in the Philippines at this time of the season, you will, for sure, be rewarded with a great variety of choices to help you celebrate Feb 14th. For those of you lingering in the world of round eyes your choices will no doubt not exceed the figure one! Wherever you might be, follow the example of the "Candy Man" and distribute those sweets to your loved "ones" or just "one".

One always hopes, when entering into a New Year that life will be more refreshing and that incorrectness will be replaced with correctness; pessimism to be replaced with optimism and our surroundings will be as refreshing as the air after a hard, brief rain shower. Here in the Philippines recent events indicate that this New Year will remain just as years past. I am not talking about the recent rumors of plans for a coup by YOU and RAM members that will sound so familiar to those that have lived here for many years but recent stories that make ex-pat residents just shake their heads in disbelief. First, the fact that Renegade Moro leader Nur Misuari expressed a desire to get a visa to go to the United States. This guy, who just recently led a revolt against the government facilities in Sulu, then fled to Malaysia, wants to attend an Islamic Conference in Los Angeles. One wonders why so many top political leaders that have gone astray in the Philippines want to go to the United States? Why don't they try to go to Mexico, South America, Sweden, Australia, anywhere but the United States? The fact that he was invited to attend the Conference is bad enough, let us hope that Malaysia keeps him in jail and that the U.S. government is not stupid enough to even consider his request. (Sadly, Malaysia sent Nur packing back to the Philippines to be incarcerated and now we have to listen to his supporters threatening to break him out of jail). Secondly, we motorists in Northern Luzon have the privilege of traveling to Manila via a very dilapidated highway that is laughingly called an "expressway". In many countries an expressway is the pride of that country's transportation system and is kept in tip-top shape. Tolls collected from motorists are used to maintain those expressways and even improve them by constructing extensions or widening. Not in the Philippines! Who knows where the millions in Pesos collected go, certainly not in repairing the potholes, extending or widening though every year we read about plans to do so. To reward the government controlled Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC) for their years of non-action, ineptness and possible non-use of funds (whose pockets does the money go) the government allowed the PNCC to implement an 18 percent increase in toll rates, without any advance notice to the public on 1 Jan. A government "Happy New Year" to all motorists! (The Government, after a public outcry of protest, has suspended this action pending further study). Thirdly, we now delve into the absurd! Because of a rather inefficient yet expensive (rates) power supply in the Philippines many businesses have to use generators because of frequent power failures, commonly know as "brown-outs" here. This is not a luxury but a NECESSITY" because of the failure of electric power supply firms to provide reliable service. Now, the government plans to charge a universal levy on owners of electric generators like schools, hotels, hospitals, restaurants, tourist resorts, newspapers, radio and TV stations, office and high-rise residential buildings, farm irrigation systems and other users. This is a proposed plan but it is absolutely ridiculous and punitive in nature to consumers. So ends my three examples of why life in the Philippines goes on without too much change and why a New Year is not that "new" after all.

A GOOD ONE AT THE BONANZA HOTEL

Regretfully, because of the webmaster departing for the States on 27 Dec versus 31 Dec I was not able to report on the wet T-shirt contest held at the Bonanza Hotel on 29 Dec so forgive me for putting in my comments at this late date. Comments are necessary because in my opinion this was one of the better contests of this type to come along in quite some time. In no way is this meant to take away from the Swagman's annual event or the monthly events held at Kokomo's for they all serve two purposes, to make money for the establishments and to provide voyeuristic pleasures for those in attendance. Lets face it folks, the attraction is lots of tits and ass, food, drink and a fun way to pass an afternoon. The reason that Bonanza's event pulled to the front is that there was plenty of room, no overcrowding and no matter where you sat or stood, one had a good view of the action. The food provided was plentiful and I especially liked the meat pies and even though there were a few glitches, the organization and presentation went well. The location allowed the ladies to expose a lot more flesh than is permitted at other venues and that certainly was a factor in making this particular event quite interesting. My camera did take some rather good photos but I must use a bit of discretion on which ones to use here. For those of you that are members of the go2phil site, many pictures are available. For some reason some folks like to complain about the judging at these events. Bonanza's was no exception. My goodness, who cares? The judges sit there for the entire event, enjoy themselves and receive much personal attention from the contestants and then, despite erections of various sizes, attempt to put scores down on a piece of paper. Finalists are announced and then the top three and the final winner. How many people remember who won after a few days? Why get excited, just enjoy the show. Neville, from Nifty's was extremely upset because his girl did not win but she was in the top ten. She did look good, and maybe she should have been up there as a winner, but then, the judges made their decisions based on what they were looking for. In the end, every attendee got what they paid for, lots of fun and the opportunity to check out ladies from different bars in rather skimpy attire and make note of their favorites and which bars they worked at. As for the lady from Nifty's, she is still there awaiting further, in-depth, personal consultation with those that favored her.


The Line-Up!	Dirty Old Man + 3

How sweet is it! - The Winner	Very Happy Stateside Visitors

MORE WET T-SHIRT CONTESTS

No doubt the year 2002 will be the year of record breaking wet T-shirt contests as more and more locations become available. In January Kokomos had two and first timer Orchid Inn jumped in with a lively day. The Orchid Inn is one of the most popular hotels in Angeles City and their pool area is very attractive. There was plenty of room to watch this event and the one addition to the normal routine was the ladies relay contest that had the fans on the sidelines cheering for their favorite teams. The ladies put their all into this and it was a fun way to kill some time as the judges completed their computations. This horse had to lay low after he pointed out that one lady should be disqualified because of not tying her life vest properly. Fortunately the bar owner the lady came from did not throw me in the pool as I was hiding behind MC fantastic Dave Donney. The food provided was right on and there was plenty of it for everyone. Harrow, from the Blue K got the most energetic Mamasan award as it was a sight to behold watching him run from one end of the pool to the other to help his ladies in the relay - oxygen tanks were on standby!


Orchid Inn Judges	A Sunday Stroll?

The Wild Bunch	He's a Sick Puppy.

Happy Onlookers	Beeline John looking for birthmarks!

Ladies - is this your dream man?

I made it to the 19 Jan Kokomos contest and they had over 60 contestants. The swimming pool area was packed and even though it was hot and a bit lengthy time wise, no one seemed to get bored as the ladies bared their assets and put all their energies into various poses, especially for the judges. Once again, we must thank the judges for their time and the fees they paid for the honor were contributed to the Street Children's Center established and run by the Clark Centennial Rotary.


To Hot to Handle	Getting Wet

Hard working Judges need a break.	Hand bra

Winner from Treasure Island	Janice the Winner

WATCH AT HOME

Turn on the air conditioner, get a cold beer, relax in your favorite chair alone or with your favorite filly and watch the latest wet T-shirt contest in the comfort of your home no matter where you live. Rick of Rick's Café dropped off his Orchid Inn Wet T-shirt contest VCR tape for me to review and comment on. Thank goodness I have only good words to say about this professionally created product and can wholeheartedly recommend its purchase. Over the years Rick has kept up with technology and we can all remember his early products which were good but today can be compared to a manual typewriter versus a computer. His videos of the various contests in town are collectors' items and for small bars such as the Blue Boar Inn, they are great to show as background when folks are in for a pool tournament, dart play or just plain drinking. While playing the tape at the bar, three Swedish customers were so impressed that they immediately contacted Rick to buy three, once they found out that the tape is available in the European format. You can order via the internet by accessing www.rickcafe.com for $25 or if in Angeles City, only $10, believe me, well worth the money. By the way, you will definitely want to look at the Bonanza tape!

WINDSOCK

Derek Gillette, GM for the Windsock car air conditioning service in town stopped me and asked if I would mention his establishment at 152 Friendship Highway, Angeles City. Windsock has been here for a few years but so far I have not used their services. It appears I should as Derek provided a few references and when I checked they had nothing but praise for the service they received. Dave Crowe at Powder Keg indicated that he and many of his customers use Windsock and highly recommend it. OK, Derek, I am convinced and I will be in with my old L300 for the free check up and estimate ( a service provided to all customers) and I hope that other readers of this column will do the same but if you do, provide me with your comments, good or bad so I can pass these on to Derek.

BLUE NILE MANAGER SUFFERS

It has been quite a few months since I visited the Blue Nile but after hearing so many favorable comments about the place I made it a point to stop in and relax with a drink or two. Not only were the ladies looking great, music not overly loud, atmosphere friendly and of course the air conditioner working like a charm but the opportunity to once again meet manager Dave Newman made the evening interesting. Dave lost no time in relating to me his dissatisfaction with the Red and White diner because he ate a fish and chip dinner there on a Friday and was sick for two days. What angered him is that when he got better and went to inform the owner, Freddy Anderson, he would not come down stairs to talk to him, even though Dave waited 20 minutes. A couple nights after talking to Dave, I went to the Red & White but it was closed so went upstairs to the Little Mermaid bar upstairs and were able to relay Dave's complaint to Freddy. Freddy claims that no one told him that Dave was seeking him on that day and also, he indicates that he serves fish and chips every day with no complaints from customers. He checked the tickets for the day Dave ate there and told me that he served a number of meals and that on one claimed to have become sick. He was very concerned and told me that he would go to the Blue Nile to talk to Dave. Even though the purpose of the visit was to let Freddy know of a complaint and to get his side of the story the visit became even more worthwhile as Freddy informed me that he wanted to sell the entire business (Red & White/Little Mermaid) for $45,000 (U.S.), walk in, walk out. All he wanted was his personal possessions. He indicated that he could get the new owners a new lease contract for 10 years, the present monthly rental is 31,500 pesos a month. For those not familiar with the premises, there is an upstairs and downstairs with immense square footage. It is in a good location, just up from the Park Hotel and Stampede bar. There is ample parking. There is a bit of sadness here as Freddy opened this business for him and his wife to run together but they have split, with her and the children living in Denmark. The two businesses are too much for him and on top of that, he still loves his wife and hopes to be able to win her back if he returns to Denmark. It was pleasant to talk to Mr. Anderson and I am convinced he meant no disrespect to Mr. Newman and was quite concerned about his illness after eating at his establishment. Now, is this a good investment opportunity for someone? Possibly! I am not an expert on these matters but I think it would be worth looking into. The address is 21st Don Juico Ave, corner San Angelo St., Clarkview, Angeles City 2009, Philippines. Telephone # - 63-45-892-1746, cell No. 917 908 19 88.

ENCOURAGING INVESTMENT IN ANGELES CITY

In it's ongoing effort to encourage investment in Angeles City in general and Balibago, in particular, the National Labor Relations Counsel and City Hall seem to have hit new public relations highs. How? Let's take the first case of what seems to be an engineered campaign against Angeles City's newest and largest investors. A few months ago, their local management employed an under aged girl. She should have never been hired, but she was. This was brought to the attention of the owners/managers and the girl's employment was immediately terminated and the bar implemented steps to try to make sure this did not happen again. A couple of weeks ago, another girl was found working at the bar and she was few weeks shy of 18; she was brought to the bar by her mother who attested that she was 18 and proper documentation would be forthcoming. Several days later, an inspection revealed that she was not of proper age and she was terminated. There are now strong rumors that people in City Hall will not renew the bar's operating license! The question must be asked why?

There are some undercurrents here. It would not be unfair for this horse to say that many bars in Balibago employ girls under the age of 18. Some owners know it and let it happen, many strive to make sure their employees are of proper age. In many cases the girls come to the bars with licenses and identification issued BY THE CITY. To be fair, there is an interim period in December and January where new licenses and IDs are issued and new ones are impossible to obtain. During that time, the opportunity for bars to hire under aged girls increases, however, if the girl applies for work and has the proper documentary evidence of her age, then the bars hire them until such time as the City issues current licenses and IDs.

Why is this the only bar being chosen instead of any of the other 60 bars in Balibago? Why does the City allow 'The Area' to continue it's operation unimpeded. Why is the Fields Avenue/Santos Street/Real Street area inundated with street children when there are regulations prohibiting their presence after curfew? Why are the squatter shacks on Real Street and along Fields Avenue cooking food in the most unsanitary of conditions allowed to continue operations and businesses striving to conform to the rules and regulations targeted for closure or sanction? These are questions potential investors must ask before sinking a ton of money into Angeles City.

While we're on the government encouraging investment, Kokomo's recently had an interesting event. There was an article in the Sun Star Clark on Saturday January 19th stating that a P350, 000 labor judgment arising from the dismissal of two employees had been rendered and that the sheriff was going to auction Kokomo's assets in order to meet this obligation. Word is that this was the first news Mo or anyone else received. Later, Mo said that on Wednesday the 16th two deputies from the sheriff's department came to Kokomo's and started making an inventory of his assets. Under advise of counsel, they left. Later it was learned that the judgement was issued because (according to the Writ) "...respondents through counsel received a copy of said decision but no appeal has been filed to contest the same...". Neither Mo or his lawyer ever received any notification from the NLRC indicating that a case had ever been filed let alone contested the decision! It turns out that Mo has a ton of documentation supporting their termination but never got the opportunity to present Kokomo's side. The case is now in the hands of the judicial system. Let's see what happens.

The local and national governments pay good lip service when it comes to trying to encourage foreign investment, but once the money's here.....

KOKOMO'S BIG ANNIVERSARY BASH

Kokomo's will be celebrating it's fourth anniversary during most of the
week of February 11th so make room on your calendar as the way things go in this town, who knows, Kokomos may not be around for a fifth anniversary..

TUESDAY, 12 FEB - The actual anniversary day, Mo will be offering free draught beer as well as free soft drinks and mixed local drinks the entire day and evening.

WEDNESDAY, 13 FEB - Dance Competition in Cottontails. Happy Hour Prices all night in all the bars. Ladies Drinks P100 in all the bars.

THURSDAY, 14 FEB - Valentine's Sweetheart's Dinner at Kokomo's.

FRIDAY, 15 FEB - Daytime Body Painting at the Pool.

SATURDAY, 16 FEB - Fourth Anniversary Wet T-Shirt Contest.
At the last contest, Mo had 60 contestants from 13 bars. Judging from the gossip around town, he may have more than he can handle for this one. Word is he's shooting for 70 to 75 girls from 20+ bars and he's getting support from bars that don't normally participate in these things. I am hoping that he can get started on time and shorten the program, these things are beginning to take longer than necessary. Are more ladies better than less? Bigger is not always better, unless of course we are talking about boobs! Think about it Dave, additionally, your space gets a bit crowded. Soon there will be standing room only in the pool!

THANK YOU

I would like to take this time to thank Tyrone Rode, a reader of this column for his donation to the Street Children's Center during his recent visit to this town. It is always a pleasure for me to welcome visitors to Angeles City and I appreciate folks taking the time to drop by and say hello to this old horse and Priscilla. Recently we were able to give some new clothes to our 17 residents of the Center so they could attend church on Sundays and also some clothes donated by Christian, a talented Frenchman that works as an interpreter in Japan. For additional information on the center you can access the website at www.angelesstreetkids.org.

HIDDEN VALE

I know it sounds like the name of a cemetery but it is far from it. This is the new name for Greenlands and there is enough construction going on to wake the dead but with each passing week one can witness more and more projects nearing completion. Even when completed, this membership club will not come close to what is offered at Mimosa but the price of membership reflects that. During a recent interview Greg voiced a bit of frustration over the fact that there are a number of groups forming that appear to have the objective of derailing his project. It is felt that there are rumblings and discontent but no one has come forth to sit down and present their questions/complaints to Greg personally. He would like these people to know that he is willing to sit down with any group representatives as long as they are willing to listen to his side as well as their own. I suggested that he might consider a "town hall" approach where all members are invited for an open question and answer period. He indicated he might be amenable to this if questions were submitted in advance and allowed him time to prepare proper, in-depth answers. Members are free to contact him for one on one appointments to discuss their reservations at any time. In fact, one group of 30 members did arrange an appointment for their representative to meet with Greg last 28 Jan.

Well-informed sources have told me that there is a strong possibility that Tony Gonzales, former owner of Mimosa who was booted out by the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) may be back at the helm by end of February. It was said that he has reached agreement with 6 of the 7 banks necessary to arrange his return and that the last one should be on board in February. Out of curiosity I went to Mimosa to enquire about their memberships and the cost in comparison to Hidden Vale. Right now they are not offering playing memberships but are making available transfer memberships with a 50% reduction on the transfer fee. Until the end of February, the transfer fee will be 50,000 versus 100,000 pesos and some memberships are available for 400,000 pesos (inclusive of the transfer fee). These are LIFETIME memberships and there is always the possibility one can be obtained for less if the seller is willing to accept a lower price. Before the CDC mess, memberships were up to 1.2 million pesos and if Tony returns, you can believe that it would not be long before that price was reached again. By the way, monthly dues are P2,000 a month.

So, you have Hidden Vale with its 25 year membership from 90 to 140 thousand pesos, 9 hole par three golf course, lawn bowls, great swimming pool and other conveniences under construction or Mimosa with all they have to offer. I guess it all depends on ones budget and this horse's budget leaves no doubt where I will be grazing. .

FINGER LICKING GOOD!

As a kid I used to like to take my finger and scoop the sides of the pot after my mother made chocolate pudding and lick those fingers clean. Now, as an adult, I was tempted to do it again in an attempt to help clean off the ladies participating in the G-Spots Chocolate Wrestling Contest last Jan 21. This remains a rather unique but messy form of entertainment worth watching as these ladies may look sweet, but they do get a bit serious in their attempts to overwhelm opponents. There were not many brave souls sitting at the bar this time but there were three experienced customers who sat there with plastic garbage bags covering their clothing. The referee deserves a hearty well done for keeping control and absorbing a lot of punishment. My suggestion is that he should wear a bathing suit while performing his duties. It is fun to watch, especially for those seeing it for the first time. I'm sure more will follow.


Keep it clean Ladies.	See you hurt my belly button.

Cleaning up the Ref.	The Winners.

NEW MANAGER AT ORCHID INN

Orchid Inn welcomes aboard new assistant manager Marcus Fahy, previously the computer expert employed by Jade Cool. This is a first for Marcus who welcomes the opportunity to get away from the computer screen and meet real live folks again. Good luck Marcus, this horse is confident you will do well at your new location. Can I get free computer advice now?

SPEAKING OF COMPUTERS

A number of ex-pats in town have asked me to clue everyone in on a new computer store in town that they feel provides the best service and prices in town when it comes to computer hardware, software and furniture. It is called Enigma Technologies, Inc. and is located at the Mezzanine, CMS Bldg. 331, McArthur Hi-way, Angeles City (Just pass the Datelcom telephone company, on the left side of the road, heading towards Angeles University (AUF). Mr. Adorador, General Manager guarantees the same prices offered in Manila. It was interesting to note that Mr. Oliver Sitgar, previously employed by Rockbottom is now Enigma's Sales and Technical Manager. While at Rockbottom I became acquainted with Oliver and was impressed with his technical abilities and patience in helping this computer retard. For information and price comparisons you can call Michelle, a member of the sales staff at 888-1994 or 322-1473. Their E-mail address is enigmatech@digitelone.com. OK CT, I finally made it over there and was glad that I did.

NEW LOOK AT KOKOMO'S

Another renovation at Kokomo's, Mo is constantly creating a new image. Here are the before and after pictures.

NEW BUSINESS CENTER

If you get over to 891 1st Street, a location not familiar to many tourists, one would see yet another new Business Center, by the name of "Astro Park Internet Café & Business Center". Open 24 hours a day the Center offers super high speed DSL Internet connection, colored photocopying, lamination, scanning and hands on assistance if required. It is well lit, lots of space and it is pleasant to be able to look out the large picture windows facing 1st Street and Astro Park. There is ample parking and just down the road you can stop in for some of the best ice tea in town at the Dog House. I am not sure the location is convenient enough for most users but I certainly wish the owner much success in this latest venture of his.

ZAPATAS MEXICAN RESTAURANT

Do you have a yearning for some good Mexican food? For sure, 17 hungry ex-street kids from the Angeles Bahay Bata Center did and owner Roger Forseth was more than happy to open his doors to them for a luncheon on the house. It is hoped that more restaurants will be willing to host a similar event as the idea is to get them out of the center on different field trips and to expose them to the various cuisines offered in Angeles City. Zapata's is a popular eatery in town so be sure to stop by and experience the good food and "dry wit" of host Roger.

AUSTRALIA DAY FIESTA

For the last few months I have been announcing the week long events to be held in recognition of Australia Day and organized by the Angeles RSL organization headquartered at the Bonanza Hotel. This was a first for the RSL and it appears that the verdict is in; it was a HUGE SUCCESS! I found it impossible to cover all the events but managed to observe the dart competition at the Blue K and even participated in the blind draw doubles on the second day (Which, thanks to my partner was able to garner 1st place). The singles finals match between Hugo (forgot the last name), a tourist from Sweden and Barrio Barreto's sharpshooter Ron Chesney was won by Hugo. What happened to the Angeles City dart players? Guess there aren't many. Only two showed up and if it had not been for the 12 entries from Barrio Barreto, there would not have been a dart tournament. Kudos for Louie Lewis, Blue K, for providing an excellent setting for the competition. The weekend events held at Hidden Vale brought out the best in this still under construction resort site. Large crowds were on hand to both Saturday and Sunday to witness more events than I care to mention here. The curry cook-off was a fun experience and this horse, after sampling all the entries predicted that the Blue K would win (Louie can confirm this) and sure enough, they did. The problem with a curry cook-off is that there are too many variations and it boils down to personal preferences and taste. Each one was probably excellent for the country they were representing but it was just too wide a selection. Better, next year to restrict it to recipes from one country, i.e., India.

It was fun to watch the hand-wrestling contest but hopefully, next year there will be more contestants. There was pool, lawn bowls, cricket, boxing, karate demonstrations, children's marching band, etc., just a ton of fun. The site was a darn good choice and the staff of Hidden Vale must be complimented on a job well done. Bottom line, looking forward next year when I am sure it will be bigger and better.

The last event I attended was the beauty contest at the Orchid Inn and this was a class event. The winner was Marjorie Mendoza from G-Spot and Annalyn from Jungle bar was the runner-up. Both ladies were beautiful and the gown worn by Annalyn had to be best of show. After the show I gouged myself on the buffet and was too lazy to make it over to Nero's for the Toga party. After all the raves that event drew I was sorry to have missed it. Sorry Richard, next year I will skip the beauty contest.

What a week it was. Sure, there were a few glitches but for a first time event, Percy and all his helpers certainly did a bang up job. I can only suggest to the readers of this column, next year, try to schedule your holiday so you can be here for this week long event.


Greg & "Blue Boy"	1st Place Blue K Team

Putting down women?	Heavyweights

The Champions

DISAPPOINTED

Twice during the years I have been writing this column I mentioned the uniqueness of the Mark and Donald Sandwich shop, once at its old location and when it moved to Don Juico Ave, near Villa Sol. It was always a pleasure to dine there and I liked their sub sandwiches. Recently, Priscilla the horse ate there and told me she liked it. One day last month I decided to treat Priscilla to lunch (a rare occasion to be sure) and I decided to take her to Mark and Donalds. I ordered my favorite, the Italian sub - the answer from the waitress, unavailable. I ordered the roast beef sub - unavailable, in fact, no sandwiches were available. I ordered the beef stew - unavailable! Now I was getting frustrated. I looked at the wall menu and decided on tacos - you guessed it - unavailable!! This was at 3:15 in the afternoon. Before when the owner was running this establishment food was always available. For the life of me I can't figure out what happened - why no stock at all and the lady behind the counter could care less. Needless to say, after uttering a few appropriate words I left, still hungry and very disappointed. I won't give up on this place, I just hope that on my next visit they are a bit more organized.

BRING ON THE DANCERS

When Paul opened Mustang Sally's they featured a live band on weekends. It did not work. They got rid of the band and brought in a large screen TV. It did not work. Now they have faced reality and brought in dancing girls - that works, along with the big TV screen. A good example of how one has to be flexible to succeed in this town. There is no reason why the Mustang should not be a success. They have an experienced management, a good location, even if not on Fields itself, and a beautiful, comfortable interior. Stop in and visit, you will like the place.

LEGLESS HARRY STILL ON THE MOVE

Harry (Kalbo) Moeckel, an American from Philadelphia who has lived in this town for years and is rather well known especially when it comes to providing fireworks for sale suffered a rather tragic accident last year. While riding late at night on the back of a tricycle he was struck by a hit and run tricycle in such a manner that his legs were crushed. While in the hospital one leg had to be amputated because of gangrene and after a few weeks, the other leg had to go for the same reason. The government paid his medical bills for a few months and then stopped but thanks to the efforts of Jim Boyd, Kit Williams, VFW and the American Legion he was able to get further financial assistance through donations. Now he is out of hospital and still hawking his fireworks from the back of a jeepney and somehow, still has a great sense of humor and is full of optimism. When I saw him at the parking lot of Hidden Vale he was full of smiles and was a pleasure to talk to. He has suffered and continues to do so but is happy that he will start collecting social security soon and then may be able to get a decent place to live. Right now he is living in a make shift room in the carport of a Filipino friend who drives him around and assists in moving him about. A few days ago he sent me a note to update me on his activities. He started off by writing "still down but going strong". He wanted readers to know that on Sat, 2 Feb, he'll be doing the pyro display at the Omni Aviation Complex on Clark Field from 2100 to 2200 hours. This is being held to inaugurate their new hanger. This is something I did not know about so for sure I will take the family to watch this and also take the time to buy Harry Kalbo a cold drink.

That about covers it for this month. I would like to remind, once again, the bar owners in this town to review their hiring practices and not hire ladies under 18 years of age. G-Spot remains in trouble and may not get a license to operate this year and Jungle Bar came under the spotlight when their Mamasan was instrumental in hiring a 15 year old girl and letting a customer take her out. We don't need tourists coming here that are only interested in underage girls and we certainly do not need bar owners who cater to this trade. Some Mamasans will get you in trouble by trying to bring in young ones and then getting false documentation. Follow the example of one bar owner when he found a Mamasan trying to do that, he told her to get rid of the girls and then fired the Mamasan. We have enough problems keeping the bars open to provide adult entertainment without inviting scrutiny because of underage hiring practices. We have to police ourselves and try not to embarrass an incumbent mayor that supports us 100%. Have a Happy Valentines day and remember, do not ride on the back of tricycles and for sure, be kind to horses.