San Francisco, California. When former USSR Head of State Mikhail Gorbachev visited the San Francisco Bay Area – half seriously, he said “Residents here should pay higher taxes because this place is so beautiful and pleasant.” I absolutely agree as to the “beautiful and pleasant” part. The “higher taxes” part let’s just skip.
Allow me to do some bragging. I have travelled the world: Rome, Paris, Geneva, London, Brussels, Bonn, Rio, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Seoul, Prague, Madrid New York, etc., etc. – but as crooned by Tony Bennett - my heart is in San Francisco. It’s also in Manila where I was born and in Quezon City where I spent my earlier years and went to college and in Makati where I also now have a residence.
Hills, mountains, ocean, quiet lonely beaches, redwood forests with the oldest living trees in the planet, clean air, clear blue skies and starry nights – these I love so much. Add cool Baguio-like weather during summers and mild no snow winters. Even the occasional fog which is not pea-soup thick like London’s brings a romantic aura to this incredible “city by the bay”. One cannot find a greater racial and cultural diversity than in this area where great Universities like Stanford, University of San Francisco and Santa Clara, University of California – have student populations that are half non-Caucasians and predominantly Asian. Here also are great museums, fabulous swimming pool -sized public aquariums featuring sharks and giant fishes, an excellent zoo stacked with the world’s exotic animals , sports arenas, modern computerized libraries and America’s computer technology center called Silicon Valley.
A couple of hours away East is Napa Valley, wine country where the wines produced compare with Europe’s best. Another two hours farther is Reno, a world-renowned gaming and entertainment center and the nearby scenic resort town of Lake Tahoe surrounded by majestic snow capped mountains. A couple of hours away South is Monterey’s famous “17 Mile Drive” which snakes along the Pacific Coastline with beautiful views and featuring the legendary Pebble Beach golf course and fabulous homes of the rich and famous including that of “Dirty Harry” Clint Eastwood.
I moved to San Francisco from Chicago in January 1975 – not knowing what to do with my life. Three years earlier, 1972 - martial law was declared in the Philippines and I could not return home after some studies in Chicago. I was stuck. Three years later, the dictatorship was even more formidably in place. I had already gotten married and now had a one year old boy and a one month old girl. I did not want to get stuck in Chicago’s concrete jungles, its extreme cold and extreme heat weather and pervasive mafia culture . This is not to say that Chicago does not have good qualities because it does. I met many good people there.
The move to California was truly a “bahala na Diyos” (“take a chance”) decision as I and my young wife hardly knew anybody here and had little money in our pockets. Fortunately my wife is a registered nurse and immediately got a job at Stanford University Medical Center. We were bone poor living on a tightly budgeted income – oh but how happy we were arriving in such a beautiful setting with our two little babies. I’ve never equated happiness with money – even if it sometimes helps. I couldn’t get much of a job with a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from UP .
I really did not know what I would do when I arrived in the San Francisco area. My only guide was to be true to my Center. I discovered a quiet place across the Golden Gate bridge and directly below it where I could fish and do some crabbing and be in solitude and refer the question of what to do with my life to a Higher Power – my Center. In this special quiet place where I had a great view of the bridge and heard the lonely foghorns of ships coming and going – I spent long hours sometimes until 4 o’clock in the morning by myself – well not really, I felt my Center was always with me. I caught dozens of Dungeness and red crabs – no legal catch limits yet at that time. I also caught flounder, snapper, shark and other kinds of fish. I caught so much there was no more room in our freezer – so I often just gave my catch to neighbors. It was here that I made the final decision to go to law school – but where would I get the money involving thousands of dollars? Again, “bahala na ang Diyos” and by a miracle, I got to law school – but that’s another story.
Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos live in the San Francisco – enjoying all the bounties of the land and the culture. Not only are practically all Filipino foods available here including vegetables and fruits like Mexican grown Philippine Carabao mango - but also the delicious foods of the rest of the world. The finest authentic Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Italian, French and of course Filipino and American steak restaurants are found here.
San Francisco was the center of activism against the Marcos dictatorship. It continues to be the center of political activities relating to Philippine affairs.
Yes – San Francisco is now home – just like the Philippines. A pinoy heaven on earth. I love it.
Note: Atty. Laguatan is officially certified by the California State Bar as an expert/specialist lawyer. He is rated by a lawyer’s magazine as among the best five percent of lawyers in America. For communications: 455 Hickey Blvd. Ste. 516, Daly City, Ca 94015 or 101 California St., San Francisco, Ca 94111. Tel 650 991-1154 Fax 650 991-1186 Email laguatanlaw@gmail.com
Allow me to do some bragging. I have travelled the world: Rome, Paris, Geneva, London, Brussels, Bonn, Rio, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Seoul, Prague, Madrid New York, etc., etc. – but as crooned by Tony Bennett - my heart is in San Francisco. It’s also in Manila where I was born and in Quezon City where I spent my earlier years and went to college and in Makati where I also now have a residence.
Hills, mountains, ocean, quiet lonely beaches, redwood forests with the oldest living trees in the planet, clean air, clear blue skies and starry nights – these I love so much. Add cool Baguio-like weather during summers and mild no snow winters. Even the occasional fog which is not pea-soup thick like London’s brings a romantic aura to this incredible “city by the bay”. One cannot find a greater racial and cultural diversity than in this area where great Universities like Stanford, University of San Francisco and Santa Clara, University of California – have student populations that are half non-Caucasians and predominantly Asian. Here also are great museums, fabulous swimming pool -sized public aquariums featuring sharks and giant fishes, an excellent zoo stacked with the world’s exotic animals , sports arenas, modern computerized libraries and America’s computer technology center called Silicon Valley.
A couple of hours away East is Napa Valley, wine country where the wines produced compare with Europe’s best. Another two hours farther is Reno, a world-renowned gaming and entertainment center and the nearby scenic resort town of Lake Tahoe surrounded by majestic snow capped mountains. A couple of hours away South is Monterey’s famous “17 Mile Drive” which snakes along the Pacific Coastline with beautiful views and featuring the legendary Pebble Beach golf course and fabulous homes of the rich and famous including that of “Dirty Harry” Clint Eastwood.
I moved to San Francisco from Chicago in January 1975 – not knowing what to do with my life. Three years earlier, 1972 - martial law was declared in the Philippines and I could not return home after some studies in Chicago. I was stuck. Three years later, the dictatorship was even more formidably in place. I had already gotten married and now had a one year old boy and a one month old girl. I did not want to get stuck in Chicago’s concrete jungles, its extreme cold and extreme heat weather and pervasive mafia culture . This is not to say that Chicago does not have good qualities because it does. I met many good people there.
The move to California was truly a “bahala na Diyos” (“take a chance”) decision as I and my young wife hardly knew anybody here and had little money in our pockets. Fortunately my wife is a registered nurse and immediately got a job at Stanford University Medical Center. We were bone poor living on a tightly budgeted income – oh but how happy we were arriving in such a beautiful setting with our two little babies. I’ve never equated happiness with money – even if it sometimes helps. I couldn’t get much of a job with a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from UP .
I really did not know what I would do when I arrived in the San Francisco area. My only guide was to be true to my Center. I discovered a quiet place across the Golden Gate bridge and directly below it where I could fish and do some crabbing and be in solitude and refer the question of what to do with my life to a Higher Power – my Center. In this special quiet place where I had a great view of the bridge and heard the lonely foghorns of ships coming and going – I spent long hours sometimes until 4 o’clock in the morning by myself – well not really, I felt my Center was always with me. I caught dozens of Dungeness and red crabs – no legal catch limits yet at that time. I also caught flounder, snapper, shark and other kinds of fish. I caught so much there was no more room in our freezer – so I often just gave my catch to neighbors. It was here that I made the final decision to go to law school – but where would I get the money involving thousands of dollars? Again, “bahala na ang Diyos” and by a miracle, I got to law school – but that’s another story.
Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos live in the San Francisco – enjoying all the bounties of the land and the culture. Not only are practically all Filipino foods available here including vegetables and fruits like Mexican grown Philippine Carabao mango - but also the delicious foods of the rest of the world. The finest authentic Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Italian, French and of course Filipino and American steak restaurants are found here.
San Francisco was the center of activism against the Marcos dictatorship. It continues to be the center of political activities relating to Philippine affairs.
Yes – San Francisco is now home – just like the Philippines. A pinoy heaven on earth. I love it.
Note: Atty. Laguatan is officially certified by the California State Bar as an expert/specialist lawyer. He is rated by a lawyer’s magazine as among the best five percent of lawyers in America. For communications: 455 Hickey Blvd. Ste. 516, Daly City, Ca 94015 or 101 California St., San Francisco, Ca 94111. Tel 650 991-1154 Fax 650 991-1186 Email laguatanlaw@gmail.com
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