Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: Happy Birthday America: My 20 Things that Makes America Great

Planning to Retire Soon!

If you are planning to retire in the Philippines soon, I suggest you visit several excellent websites on pro's and cons of retiring in the Philippines. However if you want to retire in the provinces, where life is simple, standard of living cheaper, less traffic congestion and pollution, availability of fresh seafood and vegetables compared to the big cities, my island province is the place for you! If this is your first time in my site, welcome. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on the infringement of your copyrights. The photo above is the front yard of Chateau Du Mer- Our Retirement Home in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy Birthday America: My 20 Things that Makes America Great

US Arm Forces-Happy Birthday, America
Every July 4th, Fortune Magazine makes a list of 100 things that makes America a Great Nation. In this year 100 things, I have identified 20 things that have personal relevance to my life here in America. The first number in list is my ranking and the number in parenthesis is Fortune's number. I added my own comments for each item in the list. How about you? What things in the US makes America Great from your own personal experience and perspective. Here's my list.

1.(1) Opportunity- Yes, indeed I immigrated to US in 1960 because of the word opportunity. I believe I did not make a mistake. Is America still a land of opportunity today?

2.(2) Interstate Highway System- Can you imagine life here in California without the highways?( freeways).

3.(10) Microsoft Word- Without Microsoft word you would not be reading this blog

4.(23) Bill and Melinda Gates-What else could I add to the numerous articles about this couple? Famous and Philanthropic are the words that can describe them

5.(25) The Mississippi River-the longest river in the world. I have been to the junction of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers in St Louis, Missouri and that is an awesome place to visit.

6.(26) Ben and Jerry- The best cone ice cream in America.

7.(28) Self stick stamps- it was so messy mailing your letters before someone invented this item. Did a post office employee invented this? I doubt it.

8.(29) Boeing 747-Makes air travel a pleasure once you pass the TSA security procedures in the airport.

9.(47) Glee- one of my top ten TV show. Enjoy the show especially when Charice was a guest star

10.(53) Gatorade- the sports drink that everybody likes

11.(55) Times Square- A place to visit specially on New Years Eve. Been to this place twice but not on New Years Eve.

12.(58) 60 Minutes-another TV program in my watch list

13.(63) Grand Canyon-One of the most beautiful places in the world. Have visited only once, but would like to come back.

14.(64) US Arm Forces- This should be Number 1 according to a radio commentator, because of them we have the number 1 item. But without #1, I will not be writing this, so my item #1 remains my number 1 in the list.

15. (82) Blogging-Life would indeed be boring if the word blogging is erased in my vocabulary

16. (83) Politician who Tweets- Is Weiner a dirty word? It depends on your frame of mind for that particular moment.

17. (90) Starbucks- It starts my day right!

18. (95) Steven Spielberg- Another one of my favorite celebrities. Who can forget ET?

19. (98) Jeopardy- I love trivia, thus I love this TV show.

20. (99) Pulitzer Prize- This made me aware of this prize when a Filipino Illegal-immigrant journalist from California won this prize just recently

For the complete list (100 items) see Fortune's Magazine issue July 3, 2011. Happy July 4th to All! From the GrandPa Blogger!

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Fruit Trees in the Gardens of Chateau Du Mer

The Mango Tree-I have three varieties in my Garden-The Indian, Guimaras and Carabao Mangoes My caretaker/gardener informed me last month that due to the El Nino drought in Marinduque, two of my Durian trees died in spite of his vigilant watering. One of the tree was attacked by insects that looks like a big fly but yellowish in color that sucks the sap of the seedling. The roots of the other tree was attacked by ants residing in the soil. However, my other fruit trees, the rambutans( 2), the lanzones(2) and the jack fruits ( 2) trees are doing well. The above eight fruit trees were given to me by Retired General Recaredo Sarmiento of Boac and Lucena., about three years ago. General Sarmiento is the “atid” of my wife. “Atid” is the colloquial term for brother. Evidently, Macrine's father, the late Bernardo Jambalos was the Godfather of General Sarmiento during his baptism and comfirmation. Gen Sarmiento's hobby is orchard planting, reforestation and farming. The other fruit trees in my garden are guayabanos, cashew, avocados, starapples, duhats, ates, guavas, mangoes( 3 varieties) and papayas as well as several varieties of bananas . Of the above fruit trees, my favorite is the guayabanos, also known as soursop tree known for its anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties . The following are photos of the fruit trees. The Durian photo is from the web. Note that it almost look like a jack fruit tree, except that the leaves are bigger and shiny. My desire is to have a passion fruit tree in the near future. You are welcome to visit my orchard and flower gardens any time, if perchance you are in the vicinity of The Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center.

The Rambutan Tree and Fruits

The Lanzone Tree and Fruits

The Jack Fruit Tree

The Durian Fruit Tree