Monday, July 22, 2013

thoughts of a dumb monkey and a smart cookie

shared by VJ Rabuy, her sister

As a young girl, I did not go to the mall very often. To make a trip to the mall with a cool aunt and uncle was an even more rare and more special occasion.

I have a distinct memory from over 19 years ago of Tita Ancit and Tito Randy taking me and Cyn to the mall. It was even before they were married.

The four of us went to Southland Mall in Tito Randy's red truck. We walked around and went into all of the stores we were interested in. There was so much to look at in each store.

When we were about to leave, someone - I think Tita Ancit, suggested we get pizza. However, we proceeded to walk right by the Round Table in the mall, so I was confused. 

Then, after a stretch of highway, we found ourselves at Pizzeria Uno near Fremont Hub. It was the first time I had ever been there, and definitely one of my few experiences of dining out as a nine year old.

We enjoyed a fun and relaxing meal, and once we finished dinner we were asked what we wanted for dessert. Dessert? I was shocked because I was not used to ordering dessert. Tito Randy guided us thru a small dessert binder and asked us to choose.

I chose the smart cookie because it was soo cool and Cyn got the dumb monkey. Her dish came complete with a monkey dangling from his tail held high by a straw or some type of chocolate stick. It was such a fun time and I enjoyed every minute!

While visiting Upstate New York this past spring, I saw a Pizzeria Uno in town. It brought back happy memories of my sister and a perfect evening from our childhood.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

thoughts of lucky number 14

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

When Cindy played high school basketball and volleyball, her jersey number was 14. I'm not sure why she chose it, but I'd say it was her favorite number. I even recall seeing a picture of her and Linh from a school dance where they had worn matching football jerseys with the number 14 on them.

My daughter Cyn Cyn is playing softball this summer as part of a traveling team. When she was asked to choose her jersey number, she ended up choosing 14. She's played softball for several years, and her previous jersey numbers have been one, two, three and four. So at first she thought to pick the number five, but since it was already taken by a teammate, 14 became a perfect alternative.

One of the reasons that she chose 14 was because it is the number of her favorite baseball player, Mark Ellis. But I let her know that it was also her Tita Cyn's number, so she happily accepted that as another good reason. I always embrace the opportunities to share little reminders of Tita Cyn with her nieces, keeping her spirit alive for them.