From Sea to Shining Sea

Hello everybody. This blog is about the book that my mother just published where she tells of her experiences growing up in the Zambales, Philippines starting before WWII up to the present time in California where she is now. Growing up I was always fascinated by her and my dad’s stories when they were kids in San Narciso, especially the ones during the war and Japanese occupation. With the help of many she finally has these stories in a self-published book. Here’s the blurb from the back cover.

MINDA FARRALES BELLO was born in San Narciso, Zambales, a rural coastal town in the Philippines. Her book recounts stories of growing up as a child in an idyllic setting, going through her early teenage years during the war, recalling the ultimate sacrifice of a guerrilla town mate, and meeting a then unknown Filipino war hero who went on to occupy center stage in Philippine government in later years. While living in fear she found humor during the Japanese occupation and thrilled at welcoming the Americans who arrived by ship along Zambales shores during the U.S. liberation. A small town girl, she moved to the big city of Manila for her college education where she met new friends and developed relationships. She married a long time friend with whom she has five children. Her family moved to the U.S. following the declaration of martial law in the Philippines and wrote of life as an immigrant and how she survived difficulties and challenges that came her way.

This collection of stories explores the rich and colorful life experiences from one shining shore in the Philippines to another in America.

This blog is a supplemental to the book where I will post other pictures not included in the book and perhaps provide more details. Gov, the editor, didn’t want the book to have the feel of a photo album, but mom wanted to have more pictures. More pictures! More pictures! Why can’t it be like Clinton’s autobiography where he put pictures from every stage of his life? And so the book is the negotiated result. The good thing is that I will now be able to post the pictures.

This blog will also be a forum for you to comment. Of course your comments would be more relevant if you’ve actually read the book – order your copy now! Here’s your chance to argue or disagree or add details to the stories. I urge you to share pictures (if you can; I'm still learning the details of blogging).

First things first – the book would never have been done without the labor of love, as he described it himself, of Gov Labrador. Mom recorded the stories and Gov painstakingly edited and put them to paper. He and spouse Jackie and son Carlo all took part in the task. Gov is the family historian especially on matters Labrador, so if you’re dying to get verification on facts, rumors, tsismis, ask him. You might be surprised to find that delectable, juicy stories that make good for telling around with that San Miguel in hand aren’t true at all. But back to the book. Thanks and appreciation are due to him and his team.

The front cover is a picture when she was 15 or 16, post WWII when Americans were still hanging around the country. They had jeeps and trucks, perfect for decorating for use in the town fiesta as a float. Must’ve been a generous officer to let the locals have use of military vehicles. The unidentified soldier was the driver of the truck. Mom was one of the princesses of the royal court in the town fiesta and the driver got to meet all of the young ladies. He also drove them around town taking pictures and this one he gave to mom. Looking back she thinks he was just interested in the young locals. I wasn’t there so I don’t know.

More later. To order the book, send me an email.