Remembering

There's always a yin and yang to the process of remembering. Exhilarating and lacerating, liberating and confining, uplifting and depressing—all these feelings can come crashing on us as we look back at an event, a tragedy, a person or a life we have known.  

In this issue, we remember: that horrific September morn in New York 12 years ago through stories of friends who were actually there; an outstanding medical innovator and exceptional human being, gone too soon; and, through a new book, a place called Little Manila in Stockton, California, that was ground zero for the vibrant community that sprang from the early immigration of Filipino farm workers to the United States. 

We don't, however, neglect the present. The pork barrel scam that is riveting the Philippines right now might someday be remembered as a turning point for the Aquino presidency, as our story suggests.

On a recent European sojourn, Gemma ran into two of our regular contributors. She met Dr. Tiago Gutierrez Marques (right, with Gemma) for the first time in London. Then Criselda Yabes (left) treated her to an insider's walking tour of Paris. (Photos courtesy of Gemma Nemenzo)

On a personal note, I will always remember with fondness the time I spent a few weeks ago with two Positively Filipino contributors. I met Dr. Tiago Gutierrez Marques for the first time in London where he is taking a leave from his career as a public health doctor in Portugal to pursue his other passion, writing (he is currently an editor for the British Medical Journal). Criselda Yabes took time off from her idyllic sabbatical in a remote village in France to give us an insider's walking tour of Paris and a driving tour of the small towns in Normandy where remembrances of D-Day abound. 

May your memories sustain you and keep you grounded.