|
Tanks on a Hilltop by Rolly Reyes
An otherwise quiet Friday night, armoured tanks roared their way to the upscale rolling hills of Town and Country, Antipolo and ended up in that posh and mighty bunker headquarters owned by Brod Boyet Fernandez. It was a reason to pour the finest wine and spirits to celebrate the 42nd anniversary of BATCH 69A PANZER DIVISION of the elite army called U.P. BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY.
The UPD'69A Panzers 42nd anniversary - March 19, 2011 Joe Bautista, Carlo Gervasio, Boyet Fernandez, Rawlie Dimayuga, Rey Bello, Ed Abon, Luis Guanio, Julius Cada, Ross Fernando (69B) & Willie Nepomuceno
Like a Panzer, I witnessed that night, (together with Brod Nonoy Bautista as guests), the solid steel brotherhood of Batch 69A, accurately welded by that chemical compound called Betan Spirit. The tank commanders quickly took their seats and spent the whole night exchanging pleasantries regularly marked with atmospheric decibels of uncontrolled laughter that I'm sure thundered and echoed around the plains of Pasig, Cainta, Marikina and Quezon City.
It's really something to experience batch anniversaries of UP Beta Sigma. It was an odd momentous 4-5 hours with the clock froze to a halt magically as we flipped through the pages of Panzer history. While accounts of how they were recruited (accidentally or dragged), and personal anecdotes revealed, campus life dominated the exchanges as expected, each batchmate generously donating spoken memorabilias that caused those bold, underlined and punctuated, laughters all through the night.
The tank commanders present were: Ross Fernando, Gil Marzo, Joe Bautista, Willie Nepomuceno, Luis Guanio, Ed Abon, Rawlie Dimayuga, Rey Bello, Boyet Fernandez, Carlo Gervasio, Julius Cada, with Nonoy Bautista and myself as guests.
C H E E R S ! ! ! l-r: Ross Fernando, Gil Marzo, Joe Bautista, Willie Nepomuceno, Luis Guanio, Ed Abon, Rawlie Dimayuga, Rey Bello, Boyet Fernandez, Rolly Reyes 66, Carlo Gervasio, Julius Cada & Nonoy Nautista '60
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Past to Present (Batch 69A Panzer 42nd Reunion) by Brod Rey Bello UPD69A
The early arrivals (Brods Ross Fernando'69B, Nonoy Bautista'60, Rey Bello'69A), were heartily welcomed by host Brod Boyet. Soon the other "Kabatch" strutted in: Brods Ed 'The Commish' Abon, Julius Cada, Carlo Gervasio, Luis Guanio, Willie 'the Entertainer' Nepomuceno, Joe Bautista, Rawlie Dimayuga, Gil Marzo, all 69A. 10 out of 19 batchmates were present, a great turnout indeed! Brod Rolly Reyes'66 also joined in the fun, bringing along a full bag of delicious Bulacan chicharon which the brods devoured gustily.
Later, we called up Brod Mike Cruz'69A in Cebu City to congratulate him on his son's upcoming graduation and to lift his spirit up. Brod Gene Puente'69A texted earlier that he couldn't make it due to prior commitments. There were plenty of food and booze to consume and stories told, old and not so old. The brods were laughing all the way and well through the night, especially at the funny antics of Willie, Rawlie and Gil.
This was truly an event to remember! Next year's reunion would surely surpass this one, but that's another story. This is one for the books (of Memories)! As Brod Boyet said many times during the event, "CHEERS!". Mabuhay ang Kapatiran! Happy 42nd Anniversary Panzer 69A!
|
