This is a huge frame of my picture and the list of names & signatures of my Officers, Men & Civilian Employees at the Headquarters of the 3rd Infantry Division, Philippine Army in Camp Macario Peralta, Jr, Jamindan, Capiz. I really like this as my remembrance from the Command where I led for One Year and Two Months to remind me of those hundreds of miles/kilometers I ran/logged in the mountains of Jamindan, Oval Track of Iloilo City & the white beach of Boracay Island.
This is the blow-up of the framed caricature/painting that my Officers and Men of the 301st Infantry Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army gave me as their gift for my 56th Birthday/Retirement from the active military service. The Brigade is responsible in maintaining peace and security for the entire island of Panay to include Boracay Island which is being commanded by Colonel Renato David, a lawyer and member of PMA Class ’78. This painting depicts my transformation from a cadet of the PMA to my retirement as the Bald Runner, covering a span of 37 years. You can spot the difference.
Bald Runner 
Its very thoughtful of your men to give you those in gratitude. Those kind of memories will surely last a lifetime.
I like the painting. Its detailed down to the shoes. Did you really wear chuck taylors back then? Ngayon asics na with gadgets. : ) Ngayon ko lang nakita, pati bracelet andun din.
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sir jovie,
i hope you don’tmind if i give markfb a little rundown on those black chucks….i can’t help myself shed a tear or two-laughing that is, over the black chuck years at del pilar.yes markfb, black chucks were the order of the day till almost 1982.up until then bc’s were used for all athletic activities including endless road runs,basketball,p e classes…boy were they HEAVY!!!!!the bc’s were one of the over-utilized items issued to cadets then-day in,day out.compared to the atheltic shoes in the market now,the bc’s were really jurassic-era equipment….and we wore them till the rubber soles were “smoothened” out na as in pudpod and exposed na ang layers.but it helped built up a good running foundation,that is,nasanay kaming tumakbo ng may mabigat na dinadala-hahahaha! makes me want to try a pair in one of the road races again-hahaha!
those were the days sir jovie.btw,you look snappy in your athletic uniform!
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Yeah, that was the first thing I noticed too BR. You might want to write about what sort of stuff you wore when you began running in your younger days — Nike did not launch their air-cushioned shoe heels until 1979 and these pairs must have cost a fortune back then if they were even available here. What about singlets and running shorts, I only heard about Dri-Fit a few years ago. What do the PMA cadets, or army recruits at Fort Magsaysay for that matter, wear when they are required to run — have these changed much over the past 30 years or so? Does anyone still wear cotton?
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I left a message for you with a Major who handles your shoe donations. Will you e-mail me at tiew.kimo@gmail.com or call me.
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mark, we were issued only one pair of that black chucks and I guess, I only used two pairs of that kind of shoes for the four years that I stayed in the Academy.
bugo2x, thanks for explaining to mark about our famous black chucks. actually, last year, when my son visited the country, he bought me one black & white chucks at MOA and been using them for my rugged-look w/ denim pants. He said that they look “great” on me but I didn’t tell him that I’ve been using this chucks when I was a cadet. thanks for the visit!
cecil, one of these days, i’ll be writing about the running attire during the 80s. yes, we are still using the cotton shirt & shorts for the our candidate soldiers and to our regular officers. i guess, you know already the “system”, the “lowest bidder” in our procurement system always win in the contract. Lately, the cadets at PMA are already using lighter cloth with reflectorized component in their athletic/running uniform.
kim, i just sent you a message to your e-mail address. thanks for supporting the Project Donate A Shoe. happy running!
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sir jovie, thank you for this blog of yours.and thanks markfb for reigniting my sleeping memory about those bc’s.it helps me go back to years gone.
i remember writing about black chucks in my 2nd year (yearling) english class at del pilar.my black chucks was my topic.i am trying to recall what i wrote but then again, i am sure i passed the subject because my english professor and mistahs were laughing as i was reading my theme report.
enjoy your chucks sir.i have three pairs(! ) now sir and yes, i wear them with my denims too.bc’s are a legend.markfb,grab a pair too.bc’s are what you may call the quintessential rubber shoes.
once a chuckie,always a chuckie!
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hay naku, the black chucks ,over-used as they were, had rubber soles that were “smiling” already.but if only those “smiling” chucks could talk,i am pretty sure they would be shouting and complaining about the hard use and praying even harder to high heavens for “retirement”. and i am sure they really rested in peace and heaved a sigh of long-awaited relief when we finally bade them goodbye-still sporting that wide smile on their (sole) faces.
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Br and bugobugo,
Thanks for the info, didnt know the chucks had so much history in it. When I was younger, these were one of the things I aspired for. I did eventually get a converse (classic).
Rocky Balboa ran on chucks as well. : )
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bugo2x, thanks for that very nice story about our black chucks when you were still a cadet. thanks also for being a regular visitor of this blog.
mark, i guess, most of the runners are fond of shoes, whether they are rubber/running shoes or leather shoes! do you still remember the time when ELPO & MARCELO came up with Chuck Taylor’s copycats?
cecil, I came across your story about the “Spanish Trail”. I got a book which was written after the 1986 EDSA Revolt where the American author actually traced the road Gen Funston & the Macabebes took from Casiguran, Aurora to Palanan. In that book, he mentioned also briefly the trail that Aguinaldo took from Tirad Pass to Palanan, Isabela. Unfortunately, this book got lost after my father borrowed from me.
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Br,
I got the story here http://www.librarylink.org.ph/featarticle.asp?articleid=30s
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Thanks for the tip Mark. That library is located at the old Nielsen tower I think it was called that, across the street from the Manila Peninsula, on Ugarte Field, or Ayala Triangle as they call it now.
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Congratulations, my first first basketball shoes where white Chuck Taylors then I graduated to Grosby. My first running shoes where Adidas Elan. I think you are right. Runners tend to rememer their shoes.
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it’s funny how my dad still maintains his peemayer hairstyle. i’ve always had the impression that cadets all look alike. hehehe. 😀
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This link works, other didnt.
http://www.librarylink.org.ph/featarticle.asp?articleid=30
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mark, that book i am trying to locate described in detail the trail, the hardships & challenges that Gen Aguinaldo and men had to experience when they crossed the Cordilleras. Many of Gen Aguinaldo’s men died through the hands of “head-hunters” & Igorot warriors whose tribe didn’t like the presence of the revolutionaries in their place but Gen Aguinaldo retaliated and had to kill/massacre a lot of these “warriors”/tribes while he crossed the Cordilleras. Actually, Gen Aguinaldo & his men had to stay for weeks and months to places where the people were friendly. After the Battle of Tirad Pass, instead of going further to the Cordilleras, Gen Aguinaldo went back to a place north of Tirad Pass which is now called San Emilio, Ilocos Sur and stayed there for one month before he finally decided to cross the Cordilleras. US Forces spent a lot of money to track down Gen Aguinaldo to include payments for information from the “locals”. Up to this time, the family of the “Galot” of Concepcion/Del Pilar, Ilocos Sur, the guy who led the American Forces to the “other” trail that led to the flank/s of Gen del Pilar’s forces at Tirad Pass, is still receiving a financial assistance from the US Gov’t. The Spanish Trail where the gold from the Cordilleras to the Plains of Ilocos were carried & transported and the trails of Gen Aguinaldo to Palanan are still favorite trekking challenges of hikers & mountaineers. I had the experience to hike from Candon, Ilocos Sur to Tirad Pass up to Quirino and travelled from Casiguran, Aurora to Dinapigue, Isabela, few kilometers away from Palanan, Isabela.
marga, there is only one barbershop in PMA and the barbers there only know one kind of haircut–the crew cut (white side wall w/ short hair on top). if a cadet sports a bald-look (like me), he is going to be reported with an offense of “unauthorized haircut” and he’ll be awarded 3 demerits. cadets do not look alike, they just have the same “uniform”. thanks for the comment.
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sir jovie, as an added reference to the library where the book may be read….it is along makati avenue near corner ayala avenue and is across the waterfall area of manila peninsula and is right beside gabriela silang carpark.it is called the filipino heritage library.
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Fascinating bits there BR. I’d invite you to our Independence Day weekend climb except the list was finalised previously. But if you want to do it next year, let me know! We haven’t done much climbing in the northern Sierra Madre in recent years either, though I did the Tanay-General Nakar trail of the Dumagats via the Daraitan river last year.
The Aguinaldo physician’s book is called “Aguinaldo’s Odyssey”. I don’t know if it is in print. I will ask the UP History Department head if he knows.
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bugo2X, thanks. i will surely visit this library one of these days.
cecil, thanks for the offer. actually, in the early 90s, my officers and i tried to join a mountaineering club at ayala but the people whom we talked to insinuated that they were not accepting members from the military. the members would walk on the stairs of the insular life building (from the basement to the top floor and down) at corner ayala & paseo de roxas avenues after office hours and we tried to join them in their “stair walking”. however, we dropped such plan. anyway, i’ll see if I can join your introductory seminar on the 11th of june. i will try to look for Gen Aguinanldo doctor’s book. thanks for the info.
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Well, you are a civilian now, ha ha. The club dropped the Ayala brand name about eight years ago and now takes on all comers! Last year a mid-50s female Rotarian passed the BMC in flying colours. We use the Valero car park building for the ramps, or stair-walking training, on Wednesday nights after the training runs at the Valero-HV de la Costa 2.1K D-shaped loop. On Sundays we use the Makati University at West Rembo for the lectures, the Fort for the training runs, and Makati Parks amphitheatre for the ramps. The Ayala Tower One fire escape we use by special arrangement for training ahead of major climbs.
Looking forward to your Salcedo-Tirad Pass account. Please indicate the trail permit requirements and what type of activities are allowed. If I remember right a group traversed that trail on mountain bikes a year or two ago. The Cervantes-Tadian road would be ideal for MTBs as well.
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cecil, i visited the website of AMCI and i am glad the group is very active. i am trying to inventory my things now that i am retired and hope to see my pictures then during my visits to these places. hope to see you again at the races.
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