Broom...
A car arrived. Ely and Luz just arrived from the airport. Everybody welcomed them with hugs greetings and they were invited inside the Guesthouse where they gather in the living room. The table is full of fruits and newly cooked kutchinta(It is made from a mixture of tapioca or rice flour, brown sugar, and lye, enhanced with yellow food coloring or annatto extract, and steamed in small ramekins).
"Let's have a reunion," Maketa said.
"That's a good idea," Katsuo said.
"Let's do it on the beach!"Juan suggested.
"What about in Gumasa? I heard that is a good beach in Glan, Sarangani Province." Jacky said.
"Then let's try that!" Ely said.
"OK, let's pack up and go. we will bring some food. Juan and I will roast a small pig there. We will bring the Bongo truck, the van, and one motorcycle." Tony said.
"It was 75 kilometers from the farm. One hour and thirty minutes without stopping. We need to pass Glan public market to buy some spices and seafood, like shells, I want you to taste the "Imbao" (Mangrove clam) for our soup. Seaweeds salad, like "Lato"(sea grapes).
And the "Lukot"." Tony said.
"What is lukot Dad? Ruthie asked.
"I tell you later," Tony said.
After buying every food and spices they need, including two sacks of charcoal for roasting and grilling, they started to drive going up to the hilly terrain of going to Gumasa from Glan then going down to the Isla Jardin Del Mar. They paid the entrance fee of Seventy Pesos per person and parked the cars. Unloaded the things to the Beach huts and started preparing the food. Maketa, Ichika, Jacky, and Ruthie prepared the seafood and the Imbao soap. While the boys butchered the pig and started roasting it to be a Lechon.
They talked, sing, and joke around as they cooked and prepared the food. Then after two hours, the food was ready. They arranged the table and put the whole pig lechon with its crispy skin. They had some Imbao soap with pechay (Bok choy) and spices, many fruits and the seafood salads of lato and lukot. They prayed and started eating. Everybody is hungry and they enjoyed all the food. And only the lechon has leftovers, all the kinds of seafood were gone.
All commented that the "Lukot" is the most special second to the Imbao soap.
Ruthie followed up the question what is the lukot?
Tony said, "Why not ask Google?"
Everybody laughs. Ruthie then searched it. "sea cucumber poop?"
"What, we ate the poop? but it tastes good!" Katsuo said.
Hahahaha! Everybody laughs.
"No, it is a SEA HARE SECRETIONS and it has a string of eggs of the hare inside it. So it's actually not poop, it's more like caviar instead. Tony said.
"Everybody laughs again. I will still eat it even if it's really a poop!" Ely said.
"I will too," Katsuo said.
"Hahaha, It's really funny to realize you enjoyed eating poop! Jacky said.
"Let's start swimming!" Juan shouted.
They get their snorkels and swimming gears, they explore the corals and the different colored fish.
Katsuo, Ely, and Tony ride the jet ski back and forth which they rented.
After the sea activities, the girls had a beach volleyball while some of the boys throw the beach frisbee to each other. Then they transferred to the dartboard, and table tennis.
They break and have some snacks of cakes, donuts, and self-made sandwiches of fruit jam, peanut butter, liver spread or chicken mayonnaise, and tuna mayonnaise. They had cans of pineapple juice, Kali, and soda for drinks.
They arranged around the campfire place hammocks tied in the coconut trees around the campfire.
Tony cooked the leftover Lechon (roasted pig) into a lechon paksiw(The pork is sauteed in onion, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorn and the cooked in liver sauce, vinegar).
They cooked some rice and prepared some fruit salad of canned pineapple, grated buko meat, apples, seedless grapes, papaya, the sweet corn kernels, lakatan banana, nata de coco, cream, condensed milk, and chopped cheese.
"I'm so happy today that we had this reunion not only as a family but as a company that will help give hope to those who we can help. We may not help all men, but even just some that we can truly help and make a difference in their lives. We may face many difficult situations or we may have many challenges but tonight we will make it a resolve that we will do all we can do to make our dreams and goals for others. God has blessed with so many things especially with the memories that we may lose to Alzheimer's but we fought and we regained it. We will also help others. That we can make beautiful memories, that when we die, we die victorious and accomplished what God purpose on us." Maketa said.
"Amen!" Luz said and embraced Maketa.
"Let's do it! Katsuo said.
They sing some songs and played the dart.
Then they prayed and eat.
Juan asked Jacky, "If ever we have the wedding, where do you want to do it?"
"Anywhere!" Jacky said.
They went home early, they had roasted and boiled sweet corn, with butter spread. Coffee and scrambled eggs, bacon, and Biko(sticky rice with coconut milk and caramelized sugar).
Katsuo then leads the group, they checked a land for the KatIchiKeta Takuma Home. They found a one-hectare land, Maketa liked it. They purchased it.
Katsuo then asked Juan to find a surveyor, so that the building could be conceptualized and if approved then the building will start. There will be rooms, staff rooms, top of the line advanced research laboratory, kitchen and mess hall, activity rooms and the surrounding will be developed into a beautiful garden park. The next step will be hiring and training people from therapists, caregivers, nurses, doctors, scientists, and support staff.
When the hiring is accomplished, team building and training, and seminars to have a comprehensive therapy for the patients will be conducted.