This book contains my impressions and perspectives of the Philippines, the United States, and the world for that matter, of my life struggles and dream of opportunity. It�s intended as a guidebook for regular and ordinary life both in the Philippines and in the United States depending on your inclinations, abilities, income and economic status. Consider this as a report from my own listening post. It contains actual interviews with people and excerpts from newspapers, magazines, books and the Internet. My intention was to depict my own personal life and my family �s, and write about my own story based upon personal experiences, but also to describe certain mores, attitudes, customs and cultures of various people in Philippine and American society as I see or interpret them, trying not to offend or annoy. My observations may not jibe with some people�s cultural make-up, political conviction, religious beliefs, personal experience, sensitivity and interpretation of certain issues and things, but such is life. I know that no matter where I stand and wherever I go, it�s always my opinion against any others, and I have lots of opinions that can cause obvious negative reactions in the simplest of minds. The world is full of cuckoos and we even admire some of them depending on who you ask. When it comes to some very burning questions, the first casualty is truth since there�s a big difference between knowing the real story and the story we�re told. The historical events and lore that I have used as backdrop are based upon factual records and are of common knowledge in the Philippines and in the United States, but people inject their own spin, opinion, hypocrisy, dogma, self-righteousness, politics, pandering, feeling, insight and experience into certain circumstances, as I did. I have tried to be as truthful and transparent as possible in my own light. You can scoff at me but I have no political agenda and I�m not a conspiracy theorist. I am just that I am. I�m not rewriting history but trying to give history its true light and history is fickle. In my defense I quote the philosopher Voltaire �I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it�. I also have to show my credentials as Filipino so as to be able to tell Filipino jokes and not get in trouble, in consideration that this is my swan song. I have lived in these United States since 1968, been drafted to the conflict in Vietnam, worked long and hard in my profession, have family, traveled far, now retired, and have seen so much of the American society that I almost think of myself as a native. On this note I beg for tolerance.

This book contains my impressions and perspectives of the Philippines, the United States, and the world for that matter, of my life struggles and dream of opportunity. It�s intended as a guidebook for regular and ordinary life both in the Philippines and in the United States depending on your inclinations, abilities, income and economic status. Consider this as a report from my own listening post. It contains actual interviews with people and excerpts from newspapers, magazines, books and the Internet. My intention was to depict my own personal life and my family �s, and write about my own story based upon personal experiences, but also to describe certain mores, attitudes, customs and cultures of various people in Philippine and American society as I see or interpret them, trying not to offend or annoy. My observations may not jibe with some people�s cultural make-up, political conviction, religious beliefs, personal experience, sensitivity and interpretation of certain issues and things, but such is life. I know that no matter where I stand and wherever I go, it�s always my opinion against any others, and I have lots of opinions that can cause obvious negative reactions in the simplest of minds. The world is full of cuckoos and we even admire some of them depending on who you ask. When it comes to some very burning questions, the first casualty is truth since there�s a big difference between knowing the real story and the story we�re told. The historical events and lore that I have used as backdrop are based upon factual records and are of common knowledge in the Philippines and in the United States, but people inject their own spin, opinion, hypocrisy, dogma, self-righteousness, politics, pandering, feeling, insight and experience into certain circumstances, as I did. I have tried to be as truthful and transparent as possible in my own light. You can scoff at me but I have no political agenda and I�m not a conspiracy theorist. I am just that I am. I�m not rewriting history but trying to give history its true light and history is fickle. In my defense I quote the philosopher Voltaire �I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it�. I also have to show my credentials as Filipino so as to be able to tell Filipino jokes and not get in trouble, in consideration that this is my swan song. I have lived in these United States since 1968, been drafted to the conflict in Vietnam, worked long and hard in my profession, have family, traveled far, now retired, and have seen so much of the American society that I almost think of myself as a native. On this note I beg for tolerance.

This book contains my impressions and perspectives of the Philippines, the United States, and the world for that matter, of my life struggles and dream of opportunity. It�s intended as a guidebook for regular and ordinary life both in the Philippines and in the United States depending on your inclinations, abilities, income and economic status. Consider this as a report from my own listening post. It contains actual interviews with people and excerpts from newspapers, magazines, books and the Internet. My intention was to depict my own personal life and my family �s, and write about my own story based upon personal experiences, but also to describe certain mores, attitudes, customs and cultures of various people in Philippine and American society as I see or interpret them, trying not to offend or annoy. My observations may not jibe with some people�s cultural make-up, political conviction, religious beliefs, personal experience, sensitivity and interpretation of certain issues and things, but such is life. I know that no matter where I stand and wherever I go, it�s always my opinion against any others, and I have lots of opinions that can cause obvious negative reactions in the simplest of minds. The world is full of cuckoos and we even admire some of them depending on who you ask. When it comes to some very burning questions, the first casualty is truth since there�s a big difference between knowing the real story and the story we�re told. The historical events and lore that I have used as backdrop are based upon factual records and are of common knowledge in the Philippines and in the United States, but people inject their own spin, opinion, hypocrisy, dogma, self-righteousness, politics, pandering, feeling, insight and experience into certain circumstances, as I did. I have tried to be as truthful and transparent as possible in my own light. You can scoff at me but I have no political agenda and I�m not a conspiracy theorist. I am just that I am. I�m not rewriting history but trying to give history its true light and history is fickle. In my defense I quote the philosopher Voltaire �I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it�. I also have to show my credentials as Filipino so as to be able to tell Filipino jokes and not get in trouble, in consideration that this is my swan song. I have lived in these United States since 1968, been drafted to the conflict in Vietnam, worked long and hard in my profession, have family, traveled far, now retired, and have seen so much of the American society that I almost think of myself as a native. On this note I beg for tolerance.

A FUNNY, HISTORIC, INSPIRATIONAL, SELF HELP AUTOBIOGRAPHY THAT CLIMAXES WITH THE AUTHOR'S DEATH. -- OR IS IT REALLY JUST THE BEGININNING? AFTER HIS DEATH AND SUBSEQUENT RECOVERY, THE AUTHOR LOOKS BACK ON HIS WORLD-WIDE LIFE'S ADVENTURE IN A NEW PERSPECTIVE, ONLY TO RECOGNIZE THE UNSEEN FORCE THAT HAS ALWAYS GUIDED HIM. THESE AMAZING MEMIORS HAVE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE - EVEN THE MOST JADED OF READERS---ADVENTURE, MURDER, FOREIGN INTRIGUE, A TOUCH OF MYSTERY ALONG WITH A DASH OF ESPIONAGE, A LOVE STORY, AND EVEN A GUEST APPEARANCE BY THE LORD ALMIGHTY HIMSELF!!! IT'S ALL PRESENTED IN A WITTY, ENTERTAINING UNIQUE STYLE WORTHY OF HOLLYWOOD'S FINEST FICTION. BUT IT'S NOT---IT'S ALL TRUE!! GUARANTEED TO BE NOTHING LESS THAN THOUGHT PROVOKING AS WELL AS AN ENJOYABLE READ.

A FUNNY, HISTORIC, INSPIRATIONAL, SELF HELP AUTOBIOGRAPHY THAT CLIMAXES WITH THE AUTHOR'S DEATH. -- OR IS IT REALLY JUST THE BEGININNING? AFTER HIS DEATH AND SUBSEQUENT RECOVERY, THE AUTHOR LOOKS BACK ON HIS WORLD-WIDE LIFE'S ADVENTURE IN A NEW PERSPECTIVE, ONLY TO RECOGNIZE THE UNSEEN FORCE THAT HAS ALWAYS GUIDED HIM. THESE AMAZING MEMIORS HAVE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE - EVEN THE MOST JADED OF READERS---ADVENTURE, MURDER, FOREIGN INTRIGUE, A TOUCH OF MYSTERY ALONG WITH A DASH OF ESPIONAGE, A LOVE STORY, AND EVEN A GUEST APPEARANCE BY THE LORD ALMIGHTY HIMSELF!!! IT'S ALL PRESENTED IN A WITTY, ENTERTAINING UNIQUE STYLE WORTHY OF HOLLYWOOD'S FINEST FICTION. BUT IT'S NOT---IT'S ALL TRUE!! GUARANTEED TO BE NOTHING LESS THAN THOUGHT PROVOKING AS WELL AS AN ENJOYABLE READ.

A FUNNY, HISTORIC, INSPIRATIONAL, SELF HELP AUTOBIOGRAPHY THAT CLIMAXES WITH THE AUTHOR'S DEATH. -- OR IS IT REALLY JUST THE BEGININNING? AFTER HIS DEATH AND SUBSEQUENT RECOVERY, THE AUTHOR LOOKS BACK ON HIS WORLD-WIDE LIFE'S ADVENTURE IN A NEW PERSPECTIVE, ONLY TO RECOGNIZE THE UNSEEN FORCE THAT HAS ALWAYS GUIDED HIM. THESE AMAZING MEMIORS HAVE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE - EVEN THE MOST JADED OF READERS---ADVENTURE, MURDER, FOREIGN INTRIGUE, A TOUCH OF MYSTERY ALONG WITH A DASH OF ESPIONAGE, A LOVE STORY, AND EVEN A GUEST APPEARANCE BY THE LORD ALMIGHTY HIMSELF!!! IT'S ALL PRESENTED IN A WITTY, ENTERTAINING UNIQUE STYLE WORTHY OF HOLLYWOOD'S FINEST FICTION. BUT IT'S NOT---IT'S ALL TRUE!! GUARANTEED TO BE NOTHING LESS THAN THOUGHT PROVOKING AS WELL AS AN ENJOYABLE READ.

Editor’s note … There is certainly no dearth of literature on Philippine History. Quite a lot has been written on the different eras of Philippine History by some Filipinos and Americans writers like Otley Beyer, Zaide, Agoncillo, de Morga, Constantino, Casal, Jocano, Ileto – just to cite a few names who have written colorful contribution to Philippine History dating from pre-historic times, the pre-Spanish Era, the Spanish-era, the Commonwealth era under the United States, and the different republican regimes since the Independence Day of July 4, 1946. Not many historical contributions, fiction or non-fiction, may have been written, however that delineates on the central Philippine Islands – Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Masbate, Negros, Panay, Samar, and hundreds of small islands that comprise the Visayan Islands – in such intriguing detail as what Larry Carlson did in his latest book called The Visayans. The imagery that he depicts gives the reader the early culture during pre-history times which survives on the flora and fauna of both land and seas. Larry was born in Cebu. He is a free-lance writer who calls Cebu City his home after he grew up in the City and got married to a town mate Cebuana. He is the second son born to former American Missionaries Ray and Imogene Carlson who, when World War II broke out in 1942, were imprisoned at the Japanese Concentration Camp in Manila when Larry was just a baby. He is a US Navy Medical Corps Vietnam War Veteran who decided to retire in Cebu City to devote his life helping at the Cebu Christian Mission, the mission field started by his parents, and to his love of reading and writing fictional history. Ignacio L. Alava Placentia, California

Editor’s note … There is certainly no dearth of literature on Philippine History. Quite a lot has been written on the different eras of Philippine History by some Filipinos and Americans writers like Otley Beyer, Zaide, Agoncillo, de Morga, Constantino, Casal, Jocano, Ileto – just to cite a few names who have written colorful contribution to Philippine History dating from pre-historic times, the pre-Spanish Era, the Spanish-era, the Commonwealth era under the United States, and the different republican regimes since the Independence Day of July 4, 1946. Not many historical contributions, fiction or non-fiction, may have been written, however that delineates on the central Philippine Islands – Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Masbate, Negros, Panay, Samar, and hundreds of small islands that comprise the Visayan Islands – in such intriguing detail as what Larry Carlson did in his latest book called The Visayans. The imagery that he depicts gives the reader the early culture during pre-history times which survives on the flora and fauna of both land and seas. Larry was born in Cebu. He is a free-lance writer who calls Cebu City his home after he grew up in the City and got married to a town mate Cebuana. He is the second son born to former American Missionaries Ray and Imogene Carlson who, when World War II broke out in 1942, were imprisoned at the Japanese Concentration Camp in Manila when Larry was just a baby. He is a US Navy Medical Corps Vietnam War Veteran who decided to retire in Cebu City to devote his life helping at the Cebu Christian Mission, the mission field started by his parents, and to his love of reading and writing fictional history. Ignacio L. Alava Placentia, California

The author writes that from his personal perspective this book is about hope. But it is also about a complex of historical, tumultuous, tragic and hopeful events that were not only played out in Viet-Nam but also on the world stage, in which he became a participant, from the time of the 1960s. The book is organized into Prologue, eleven chapters, and an Epilogue that relate historical events after which the author then forms conceptions related to hope. At the end of each chapter are "codas" which emerged as reflections-even meditations-on hope as the author was in the process of writing the book. At the end of the book are sections with a glossary of abbreviations, biographical data on both Vietnamese and foreign persons referred to in the book, and an annotated history of Viet-Nam from the time of 2879 B.C. to the present.

The author writes that from his personal perspective this book is about hope. But it is also about a complex of historical, tumultuous, tragic and hopeful events that were not only played out in Viet-Nam but also on the world stage, in which he became a participant, from the time of the 1960s. The book is organized into Prologue, eleven chapters, and an Epilogue that relate historical events after which the author then forms conceptions related to hope. At the end of each chapter are "codas" which emerged as reflections-even meditations-on hope as the author was in the process of writing the book. At the end of the book are sections with a glossary of abbreviations, biographical data on both Vietnamese and foreign persons referred to in the book, and an annotated history of Viet-Nam from the time of 2879 B.C. to the present.

The author writes that from his personal perspective this book is about hope. But it is also about a complex of historical, tumultuous, tragic and hopeful events that were not only played out in Viet-Nam but also on the world stage, in which he became a participant, from the time of the 1960s. The book is organized into Prologue, eleven chapters, and an Epilogue that relate historical events after which the author then forms conceptions related to hope. At the end of each chapter are "codas" which emerged as reflections-even meditations-on hope as the author was in the process of writing the book. At the end of the book are sections with a glossary of abbreviations, biographical data on both Vietnamese and foreign persons referred to in the book, and an annotated history of Viet-Nam from the time of 2879 B.C. to the present.

VIET NAM: The ancient Vietnamese believed that their nation came into existence in the third millennium before the Common Era. The excavated cultural remnants of the earliest inhabitants in the land suggest that their culture belonged to the Bronze-tools Age in around the 7th century before the Common Era. Vietnamese literature in oral form was first to appear in their earliest times long before their written language was established. Oral literature is viewed as a literary treasure of any country in the world of literature. One scholar in Europe once has suggested, "Les peuples se rejoingnent par leurs sommets, et par leurs racines, et different par l´entre-deux". That is, peoples in the world come across at the summit or great thoughts, and at the bottom or oral literature, and differ in spaces between the two.

VIET NAM: The ancient Vietnamese believed that their nation came into existence in the third millennium before the Common Era. The excavated cultural remnants of the earliest inhabitants in the land suggest that their culture belonged to the Bronze-tools Age in around the 7th century before the Common Era. Vietnamese literature in oral form was first to appear in their earliest times long before their written language was established. Oral literature is viewed as a literary treasure of any country in the world of literature. One scholar in Europe once has suggested, "Les peuples se rejoingnent par leurs sommets, et par leurs racines, et different par l´entre-deux". That is, peoples in the world come across at the summit or great thoughts, and at the bottom or oral literature, and differ in spaces between the two.