When Elephants Dance- My Book Review

The last five years I have read only a couple of books. But last week, Jane Williams, a co-resident here at THD and one of my bridge buddies lend me her book,  "When the Elephant Dance" when I told her that I have written an article about my childhood experiences during the Japanese-American War in the Philippines.  The trilogy details my own childhood experiences ( Part 1), my wife's family( Part 2) and my first cousin ( Part 3).💥 

https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2023/10/my-childhood-experiences-during.html

After one week, I finished the book and I agree wholeheartedly with all the reviews. Some of the events in the book is similar to the experiences of some of my adult relatives as well as my own experiences as a child in the Philippines.  Thus, I could relate to the story and indeed enjoyed the book very much. The book also reminded me of Isabelle Allende's book, "The House of the Spirits".  

One of the reviews states " A Powerful tale of the Philippine Islands and a testament to the resilience and courage of the Filipino people"-Gail Tsukiyama, San Francisco Chronicle. 

Here's a summary of the book from Wikipedia.      

Once in a great while comes a storyteller who can illuminate worlds large and small, magical and true to life. When the Elephants Dance introduces us to the incandescent voice of Tess Uriza Holthe, who sets her remarkable first novel in the waning days of World War II, as the Japanese and the Americans engage in a fierce battle for possession of the Philippine Islands. The Karangalan family and their neighbors huddle for survival in the cellar of a house a few miles from Manila. Outside the safety of their little refuge the war rages on—fiery bombs torch the beautiful Filipino countryside, Japanese soldiers round up and interrogate innocent people, and from the hills guerillas wage a desperate campaign against the enemy. Inside the cellar, these men, women, and children put their hopes and dreams on hold as they wait out the war, only emerging to look for food, water, and medicine.

Through the eyes of three narrators, thirteen-year-old Alejandro Karangalan, his spirited older sister Isabelle, and Domingo, a passionate guerilla commander, we see how ordinary people must learn to live in 

the midst of extraordinary uncertainty, how they must find hope for survival where none seems to exist. 

Crowded together in the cellar, the Karangalans and their friends and neighbors tell magical stories to one another based on Filipino myth and legend to fuel their courage, pass the time, and teach important lessons. The group is held spellbound by these stories, which feature a dazzling array of ghosts, witches, supernatural creatures, and courageous Filipinos who changed the course of history with their actions. These profoundly moving stories transport the listeners from the chaos of the war around them and give them new resolve to fight on.

With When the Elephants Dance Holthe has not only written a gripping narrative of how Alejandro, Isabelle, Domingo and their community fight for survival, but a loving tribute to the magical realism that infuses Filipino culture. The stories shared by her characters are based on the same tales handed down to Holthe from her Filipino father and lola, her grandmother. This stunning debut novel is the first to celebrate in such richness and depth the spirit of the Filipino people and their fascinating story and marks the introduction of a talented new author who will join the ranks of writers such as Arundhati Roy, Manil Suri, and Amy Tan.

💥Personal Note: Isabelle story is similar to Part 3 of my article published in Hubpages.com

Isabelle was raped by the Japanese in this fictional story, but Part 3 of my article is a true story of the rape of my cousin.  

https://discover.hubpages.com/literature/my-childhood-memories-of-world-war-2

Meanwhile enjoy this photo of my recent salmon-trout dinner here at Newton's with Jay Pollack, new resident in the Fairmount Building. I have been introducing Jay to the other residents for the last week as his Greeter. Again, welcome Jay to THD.

Lastly here's the site for books similar to When the Elephants Dance.

 https://www.goodreads.com/book/similar/2074473-when-the-elephants-dance

Pamper Yourself Once In a While-You Deserve IT!

Life is short and every day is a day of gratitude. I am in the stage of my life, that every now and then I like to pamper myself. During the next two months, I signed a prepaid ten- 30 minutes session for a whole body massage offered by The Magical Massage Tour ( Indy) , Walnut Creek, CA.   

Whole body massage had been one of the luxurious activity I enjoyed before my move here at THD.  In my previous residence in Fair Oaks, Ca ( suburb of Sacramento), I mentioned that for the whole year 2022 and until May 2023, I had a one hour home service body massage once a month. It helped with my aching knees and lower back pain and I really missed it. But yesterday I started my first session with Indy.  I learned of Indy and Nicole at our last Saturday Activity here at THD. 

https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2024/01/wellness-massage-here-at-thd-indy-and.html

In the article above I posted the benefits of massage from Indy's website.  In case you have not read it, I am reposting it as follows: 

BENEFITS OF MASSAGE 

 

BODHI SUN HEALING CENTER                                                                                                     925 487 6096

2363 Boulevard Circle Suite 1                                                                  iching94583@yahoo.com

Walnut Creek CA 94595 

 

Experts estimate that upwards of ninety percent of disease is stress-related. And perhaps nothing ages us faster, internally and externally, than high stress. Massage is an effective tool for managing this stress, which translates into:

• Decreased anxiety.
• Enhanced sleep quality.
• Greater energy.
• Improved concentration.
• Increased circulation.
• Reduced fatigue.

Massage can also help specifically address a number of health issues. Bodywork can:

• Alleviate low-back pain and improve range of motion.
• Assist with shorter, easier labor for expectant mothers and shorten maternity hospital stays.
• Ease medication dependence.
• Enhance immunity by stimulating lymph flow—the body's natural defense system.
• Exercise and stretch weak, tight, or atrophied muscles.
• Help athletes of any level prepare for, and recover from, strenuous workouts.
• Improve the condition of the body's largest organ—the skin.
• Increase joint flexibility.
• Lessen depression and anxiety.
• Promote tissue regeneration, reducing scar tissue and stretch marks.
• Pump oxygen and nutrients into tissues and vital organs, improving circulation.
• Reduce postsurgery adhesions and swelling.
• Reduce spasms and cramping.
• Relax and soften injured, tired, and overused muscles.
• Release endorphins—amino acids that work as the body's natural painkiller.
• Relieve migraine pain.

Finally, Call Indy (925-487-6096) if you are interested in his service. He may be able to offer you a reasonable prepaid contract depending on his schedule and your availability.   

Meanwhile enjoy this photo of my chili Relleno Casserole featured in our Dinner Menu this week. Thank you again, Agustin for honoring my request for this Chili Relleno dish. 

  

A Hummingbird in My Patio The Other Day

Photo Credit: BirdLife International

The other day, while I was looking at my patio, I saw a hummingbird flying around my potted plants. The bird looks hungry, so I decided to purchase from Amazon the following two products.  

Kaytee Hummingbird ElectroNectar Wild Bird Food, Ready to Use, 64 Ounces

Kingsyard Glass Hummingbird Feeder for Outdoors Hanging - 6 Bee Guard Feeding Ports & Built-in Ant Moat, Wild Bird Feeder for Outside Garden Yard Patio 14 Oz, Updated Red

I was surprise to see one because, I thought they all migrate to warmer climates.

Many hummingbirds spend the winter in Central America or Mexico, and migrate north to their breeding grounds in the southern U.S. and western states as early as February, and to areas further north later in the spring. The first arrivals in spring are usually males.

Anyway what do you know about hummingbirds? Here's what I learned from birdlife.org website: 

https://www.birdlife.org/birds/hummingbird/ 

Hummingbird Temporal range: Rupelian 30–0 Ma  PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Four hummingbirds from Trinidad and Tobago
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Clade:	Strisores
Order:	Apodiformes
Family:	Trochilidae Vigors, 1825
Type genus
Trochilus Linnaeus, 1758
Subfamilies
Subfamiles:

Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological familyTrochilidae. With about 366 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Central and South America. About 28 hummingbird species are listed as endangered or critically endangered, with numerous species declining in population.

Hummingbirds have varied specialized characteristics to enable rapid, maneuverable flight, exceptional metabolic capacity, adaptations to high altitude, sensitive visual and communication abilities, and long-distance migration in some species. Among all birds, male hummingbirds have the widest diversity of plumage color, particularly in blues, greens, and purples. 

They are known as hummingbirds because of the humming sound created by their beating wings, which flap at high frequencies audible to other birds and humans. They hover at rapid wing-flapping rates, which vary from around 12 beats per second in the largest species to 80 per second in small hummingbirds.

Hummingbirds have the highest mass-specific metabolic rate of any homeothermicanimal. To conserve energy when food is scarce and at night when not foraging, they can enter torpor, a state similar to hibernation, and slow their metabolic rate to 1/15 of its normal rate. While most hummingbirds do not migrate, the rufous hummingbirdhas one of the longest migrations among birds, traveling twice per year between Alaska and Mexico, a distance of about 3,900 miles (6,300 km).

Hummingbirds split from their sister group, the swifts and treeswifts, around 42 million years ago. The oldest known fossil hummingbird is Eurotrochilus, from the Rupelian Stage of Early Oligocene Europe.( From Wikipedia)

Here are some photos I took with my humming bird feeder with Robin and Batman 

Meanwhile, here's my photo with Glenn and Steve taken during Tonya Boyd Cannon Concert last Wednesday here at THD.

Photo Credit: Jenny Shively

Battle of the Vineyards- THD Educational Activity

Yesterday afternoon, another THD activity enjoyed by its residents was the Wine Tasting & Educational Series sponsored by Vino Las Vegas Wine Club( see photo above). It was hosted by Scott and Elaine.   

We tasted four wines. Two whites, one rose and one red California Grown or World Import.  At the end of the tasting, we have to guess which of the white wines are from California. For the Non-California wine, we have to guess what country was the origin of the wine. Ninety(90%) percent of the attendees guessed the California wine, but no one guess the country of origin of the imported wine, which happens to be from Spain. My guess was from New Zealand.  Other guesses were from Georgia, Australia, Portugal, Austria  and France.  Here are some photos I took during the wine tasting event.   

Here are photos from the FaceBook of THD-Photo Credits- Jenny Shively

Ed Hoffmann, Winner Of Gift Lottery with Girl Friend Patty Healy

Chili Relleno Casserole in Our Dinner Menu This Week

In this week dinner menu ( January 22-27, 2024), (photo above) is listed in one of the vegetarian dishes, one of my favorite Mexican dishes- chili relleno casserole. Thank you Agustin for honoring my request. Agustin is our Chef here at Newton's Restaurant.  

 It was delicious and a little bit spicy, but I love it. So as a warning if you do not like spicy food, the chili relleno casserole is not for you. However, if you have an adventurous palate and like Mexican dishes try it this week. 

Here's the recipe in case you want to prepare it yourself. https://bellyfull.net/chili-relleno-casserole/

Prior to my move here at THD last year in June, my Mexican-American Housekeeper prepared the dish as my farewell Dinner. Here's the photo of her dish.

Here's the recipe that she used: https://houseofnasheats.com/chili-relleno-casserole/

Meanwhile enjoy this photo of Batman and Robin, my two pets and companions here at THD

Speaking of Mexican Food, I asked Agustin, if he knows of a Mexican restaurant who makes the best Chili Relleno near THD. He recommended Tortilleria El Molino located at 1500 Monument Blvd in Concord. They sell Chili Relleno only on Fridays for a reasonable price compared to other Mexican restaurants in the area.  Here's the menu of El Molino.

http://www.tortillaselmolino.com/Assets/menu.pdf

Playing CornHole ( Bean Bags Toss) Here at THD

 I heard for the first time an activity here at THD- CornHole Tournament about 5 months ago. I was curious so I signed up and the rest is history. I love the game so much I am always looking forward participating once a month here at THD💥.

https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2023/10/the-story-behind-my-t-shirt-i-love.html

 So what is Corn Hole. 

Here's a brief summary of its history and for complete details read the site at bottom of the page. 

DID NATIVE AMERICANS INVENT CORNHOLE?

Some say the history of cornhole dates back to the Native Americans who inhabited the Midwest region of the United States. 

Rumors of games involving dried animal bladders filled with beans being tossed at holes in the ground indeed sound a lot like modern cornhole, but no one has ever been able to produce concrete evidence that this game was ever played. 

However, it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility; other sports that the Native Americans are credited with creating include soccer and lacrosse – perhaps they played an early version of cornhole too, and it was picked up by the colonists who settled in North America. 

SOME BELIEVE MATTHIAS KUEPERMANN INVENTED CORNHOLE

We now travel back to the 14th century, where legends state that a Bavarian villager named Matthias Kuepermann crafted the first set of cornhole boards and bags. 

The legend goes that he was walking through a field, when he came upon a group of children tossing rocks into a hole in the ground. 

Being a stand-up citizen, Mr. Kuepermann was concerned that the children may get hurt throwing rocks. He returned to his workshop and used leftover materials to create a rudimentary cornhole board, and filled a sack with beans to replace the rocks. 

He introduced this game to the village children, and it allegedly exploded in popularity so much that German people migrating to the United States brought the game with them on their journey. 

Again, this is a reasonable story without definitive proof; many families in Ohio have German heritage, so it is possible that cornhole was a family tradition for many in the Midwest that more recently gained national attention.

JEBEDIAH MCGILLICUDDY: YET ANOTHER CONTENDER FOR INVENTOR OF CORNHOLE

Here’s where things get a little touchy.

Kentuckians claim that a farmer from their state, named Jebediah McGillicuddy, invented cornhole with materials he had around his farm, as a game to pass the time with his friends and family. 

He soon discovered how popular the game was and made more sets for people in the community. 

Cornhole exploded in popularity (especially in the Midwest) and it grew into the revolution we see today. 

Now, this version of the history of cornhole is a slight variation from the general consensus that cornhole originated in Ohio. 

However, given that the two states border each other, and that Kentucky also had a significant German immigrant population, this story is not drastically different than the previous two. 

Plus, given that Kentucky is the home of the 7-time ACO tournament champion Matt Guy (who happens to be a major fan of Slick Woody’s cornhole boards), they’ve got another tie to cornhole fame!

https://www.slickwoodys.com/blogs/cornhole-boards/the-history-of-cornhole-an-awesome-game-with-an-uncertain-origin#:~:text=We%20now%20travel%20back%20to,a%20hole%20in%20the%20ground.

💥Note: On other two Tuesdays of the Month we have Ladder Ball Game -requiring similar skill as Corn Hole here at THD and Chair Volleyball.  I also enjoyed both Ladder Ball and Chair volleyball.