MANC, Inc. Blog

The visuale360.com Team would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Successful New Year.

In the spirit of the holiday season, I would like to share an inspiring article from Thelma Unite Gantz who is the founder of The Care@Unite Foundation (www.unite.ph).  Thelma is currently studying Radio and Television Production at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California.  Thank you to Thelma Unite  Gantz for sharing this wonderful article that won her the First Prize in Creative Writing.  Here it is:

The Red Apple by Thelma G. Unite

The Red Apple

By: Thelma G. Unite

RED, HEART SHAPE, JUICY, CRUNCHY. Yes, this is the WASHINGTON RED DELICIOUS apple. To some, the apple may represent temptation – after all, the book of Genesis illustrates how the serpent used an apple to tempt Eve to bring sin to this world. To me, the apple represents my family. It is a special fruit that reminds me of Christmas during my childhood. 

Christmas, is a season all Filipinos celebrate in the merriest way possible. Our neighbors have beautiful lanterns hanging on their windows and dazzling lights hanging on their doors. There are brightly colored streamers hanging in- and out-side of their home. Radios blare Christmas songs for everyone to hear and to sing-a-long and competing with the noise of fire crackers explode everywhere. As I child, I love celebrating Christmas. But my home is a bare of all these things – no lanterns, no streamers, no dazzling lights, no radio – our home is a thatched hut consisting of only a few belongings sitting on a mud floor. Only joy resides here.

Every Christmas, we do not look forward to gifts like chocolate or receiving fire crackers, steamers or lanterns or dazzling lights. We cannot expect anything because we cannot afford it.  What we could afford is two barely adequate meals a day.  What we could afford is one beautiful red apple for Christmas.  For my sister, brother and I, enjoying a slice of red apple is luxurious and it is a slice of apple I relish most. It is a slice of apple that is most memorable during Christmas.  

My father works as a janitor at the public wet market and receives one red apple a few days before Christmas every year from the municipality that he works in — that is his bonus for the year.  He would then take it home to my mother.  My mother would place the apple aside, usually somewhere in the bamboo cabinet where our clothes are placed and covered with clear plastic.  My mother would say that the apple will give our clothes a good smell for our clothes — this way we can continue to savor the aroma from the apple even after we have eaten it.

The day before Christmas, my mother would place the red; almost heart shape, solid apple on a plate on a table in the corner of the home.  My sister, brother and I would move right up to the apple to smell it.  We love the smell of apple.  We do not move away from the table if we don’t have to.  But we have to be patient until Christmas Eve — that is when we can have our slice of apple.

Just one hour before midnight on Christmas eve, and before the church bell rings for Christmas, my father asks us to gather together, kneel down, and pray — to thank God for His blessings to us. After the prayer, my mother would place the apple in the middle of where we sat in a circle with my sister, brother, and I. Then my father would take my mother to his arms, and they would dance together while we watch them, completely bored… well, what we wanted was our share of the apple, not watch them dance again like they do every year.  “Please, finish dancing,” I thought, “I hope the bell rings now, so we can have our apple!”  Sure enough, exactly at midnight, the church bells rings and my mother and father stop dancing.  My mother then takes a sharp knife and slowly slices the apple into five equal parts… one for my father, one for my mother, one for my sister, one for my brother, and one for me.  

I savor my apple and eat it in little bites… bit by bit… so that I enjoy its flavor thoroughly because I know I will not eat another apple until next Christmas.

My sister, brother and I were kids then.  The best part of Christmas eve night was the apple.  Now that my parents are no longer alive, I cherish the apple because the apple is the symbol of our family unit.  Both my sister and brother are married with children of their own.  I hope they will continue to tell the story of the red apple to their children.  

Now, when I feel sad or down, I would buy a big red Washington apple to eat.  Eating the apple helps me remember my family and the love we shared during Christmas despite being poor.  And then I remember that I am now here in the U.S., striving to be the best that God has blessed me to be. So here I am… continuing my journey on my own… sharing the story of the red apple. 

Thelma Unite (lady in red) with Dr. Barua, Creative Writing Professor, and classmates

Thank you to my beloved mother who loved and cared for me, to my father who taught me the power of prayer . 

Thanks to my grandmother,my sister and my brother for their prayers to reach my dreams. My success is their success.

Thank you to my teachers, counselors and club advisor,  like Professor Barua,Sandy Sudweeks,Dr. Elli Karimi,

Alec Reynolds,Stephanie Dumont,Marybeth Miller,and Peggy Conley.

Frank Thong, Roseanne Greenfield ,Jan and Denny Strootman  who encouraged me to keep believing myself.

Thanks to my great buddies, Andre Persson and Tido  Nguyen for their time in proofreading this story.

Thank you to Maya Greenfield-Thong for letting me in her amazing world.

Lastly, to my fellow international students and all my friends  and all the domestic helpers in Hong Kong,

DREAM BIG!

Members and Friends of MANC,

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Magsingal Association of Northern California 2008 Dinner Dance Ticket Invitation

Mandala Childrens House was founded in 1975 to serve the children and families of the East Foothills community of San Jose. The school curriculum follows a developmental model enhanced by the learning practice of Maria Montessori.

If you’re looking for a pre-school near the evergreen area and East Foothills community in San Jose, this is worth visiting.  Click here to view the virtual tour of the Mandala Children’s House that was built by visuale360.

Mandala Children's House (San Jose, California)

On behalf of my team at visuale360, I would like to thank the Magsingal Association of Northern California, Inc. for financially supporting us in return for the website, forum, blog and photo gallery services we provide this organization.