A Touch of Life: A Collection of Short Stories

By Frank A. De La Rosa

I had always thought of writing a book since I came to the United States. I always had my journal with me and jotted down whatever came to my mind when I thought about it. Tomorrow comes, tomorrow goes, and nothing much had been written in my journal. As time went by, I forgot all about my journal. I was busy with life, life around the clockthats going to work and raising children. Thats what life in the United States was when youre raising a family. However, as we all knew, time flies. The children grew big. They finished college. They run their own lives and have a family of their own. They have children who are my grandchildren. And life therefore was fulfilled. And life goes on . . . Now comes retirement. And time is not a problem anymore. Then my memory goes back when I had always thought of writing a book. Now I have the time. Some questions came to my mind. What shall I write? What will be the title of my book? My mind was racing with so many titles, and I could not decide which one would be on top of the list. I prayed and offered my prayer to the Divine Providence that the first thought that would come to my mind would be the chosen title for my book. And that is A Touch of Life. This is how my title came to be. A Touch of Life is, in a way, my autobiography or you can call it a memoir. It is a collection of short stories that happened during my growing years in the most remote island of the Philippines during the wartime years in the Pacific after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and several more years after that. My young mind was able to capture and remember the atrocity of that war. War was never good at any place and at any time. Even now, I still have some nightmares during those dark days when the Japanese invaded the Philippines. We were infiltrated everywhere by Japanese, from Manila to the provinces and to the town and villages. My hometown was no exception. When General Douglas MacArthur returned to the Philippines as he promised, that was the time when we were finally liberated from the Japanese. The Japanese surrendered! All the Filipinos were thankful and overjoyed! After the war, life was a struggle. Every family had to start a new life. The kids were behind in their studies. Everything was scarce. Diseases were very rampant and no medical help was yet available. Life was very hurting and difficult. However, my family never lost hope. We kept our faith strong. We knew our creator would never abandon us. We knew that from a distance, God was watching his creations with A Touch of Life in our war-torn hometown of Panganiban. All these stories of long ago would have been forgotten in memories of long ago and gone with the howling winds of time without me sharing this book with you. This book is my legacy to my family, my children, grandchildren, and to all the people of the world that poverty is never permanent, never a reason for unhappiness, and is never a hindrance to success. Poverty is only a way to taste the real meaning of life. Yet some will say that God is putting us through trials when we experience poverty. For me, experiencing poverty helped me become a better person. I became more compassionate, kinder, and had empathy to strangers and other people in need. I remembering some thought in the past, that God helps those who help themselves. Reflecting on what happened to me, this thought was a part of my life. What if I didnt finish high school? What if I didnt I didnt graduate as a valedictorian? What if I didnt finish college? Without attaining all these, will I have ever moved forward to a much better life? I dont think so. For more information, please visit http://www.frankadelarosabook.com/

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 27, 2010
• ISBN: 9781453508831

Frank A. De La Rosa

Frank started his early education in the Philippines. He was behind in his schooling because of the World War II, which started in Europe in 1939 and spread throughout the world-that includes the Pacific Islands, from 1941 to 1945, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Frank finished his elementary education (PCES) in 1952 and secondary education (CAIC) in 1958 in his beloved hometown of Panganiban, in the province of Catanduanes, Philippines. He graduated with honors in elementary and as a valedictorian in high school. Using his diploma as a passport to college, he was admitted to the Araneta University in Rizal, Philippines. As a valedictorian, he was offered a full scholarship at the Department of Engineering, taking a course in agricultural engineering. He graduated with flying colors at AU, with a degree of bachelor of science in agricultural engineering in 1963. His yearning for higher education doesn't stop here. After college graduation, he was admitted to the graduate school at the University of California, Davis, at the Department of Agricultural Engineering in 1963, which was focused on irrigation management and soil conservation from 1963 to 1965. In 1967, he was awarded another diploma in bachelor of science in mechanical engineering at the Heald Institute of Technology in San Francisco, California. After his academic pursuits, he worked for a major engineering corporation at the Eastern United States. He retired later in Florida, enjoying his hobby-gardening-with his beloved wife, Mary Grace, their children, and eight grandchildren. However, his beloved wife died in Florida after a long illness in March 30, 2016. Goodbye, my love.