The Eurasian Gentile: Memoir

By Francisco A. Cruz

In this book he will take you behind the scenes of views on an amazing variety of subjects, from the character of the Eurasians domiciled in the San Francisco Archdiocese. Who discussed relativity and the atom bomb; analyzed Marxism and Communism, comparing both to Christianity and Democracy. It displays the intellectual grasp of both spiritual and temporal problems of our society in the signs of times.

From 1914 the Cruz family moved to Shanghai it resonates with todays conflicts and challenges of endless wars. And, it was truly providential they had survived these many years! As a historian in his own right, is emerging as an author of alternative history. Thus, an epic story on Moses of the Old Testament about the Exodus of Israelites from Egypt into the Promise Land is being retold in resemblance of this modern day narrative in The Eurasian Gentile.

With great conviction, one who ponders the fate of the free world and speaks of Americas destiny in the present world crisis and the philosophy of life and living which embraces love of God, love of neighbor, and love of country.. By the Grace of God, the writer has captured all his personal history in this memoir incorporating his life experiences throughout his many travels.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: May 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490731988

Francisco A. Cruz

Francisco Antonio Cruz is an immigrant, Macanese (Eurasian) refugee and expatriate; and, a naturalized American citizen since 1962. His beloved parents and the family practiced Roman Catholic faith predominantly within the San Francisco Archdiocese. Relocated in 2011- 2016 to the Sacramento Archdiocese at the ‘Trilogy;’ a great resort community for active seniors. Terry, his wife and he resided in Rio Vista to spend their full-retirement of a great marriage for the Golden Years. One accomplished with much gratitude; in an extensive career of a forty plus years tenure in Civil Service, three decades in banking; and five years as franchise owners with beloved wife, Doreen (deceased in 1984); of a Seven-Eleven [mini-market] in Fairfax, Marin County; and aggregated with an unbroken double-careers for thirty- years minimum. In 1986, remarried and lived with his wife, Terry in the San Francisco Bay Area for the last thirty years. Since 2011 resided at the ‘Trilogy,’ Rio Vista along the Sacramento Delta in California to enjoy a leisurely life for active seniors. They have six grown children (extended family), six grandchildren, and a Pomeranian dog, Rex.

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Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,

1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-3196-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-3197-1 (hc)

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Contents

Preface

Chapter 1     In the Beginning

Chapter 2     Seeking My Vocation

Chapter 3     Genealogy

Chapter 4     Human Dignity Questioned

Chapter 5     My Spiritual Mentor

Chapter 6     Parish Ministry

Chapter 7     Human Actions can be Moral or Immoral

Chapter 8     Potpourri of Events

Chapter 9     A Pair of Daring Souls

Chapter 10   One Trip to the Woods

Chapter 11   Goodness

Chapter 12   Living in the Far East and its Tradition

Chapter 13   Pursuing an Aspiration

Chapter 14   An Invigorating Chapter in H&SBC’S History

Chapter 15   The Impact of a New Global Consciousness

Chapter 16   In the Midst of Sorrow

Chapter 17   Cultural Revolution & Tragedy at Tiananmen Square

Chapter 18   Leaving the Far East

Chapter 19   Our Flight to the Promise Land

Chapter 20   Life in America

Chapter 21   During the First Years in San Francisco

Chapter 22   Ten Years Later in the Bay Area

Chapter 23   Twenty Five Years with Two Careers

Chapter 24   Why San Francisco is My Chosen City

Chapter 25   Living in a Lugubrious World

Chapter 26   Painful Episodes

Chapter 27   A Metamorphosis in Vocation

Chapter 28   Encountered a Sense of Deja Vu

Chapter 29   Why I am so Certain

Chapter 30   A Life’s Journey

Chapter 31   Epilogue

Chapter 32   Second Virtue

Chapter 33   Third Virtue

Appendix History of Shanghai & The East – Date 5,000 B.C.

Notes

Dedicated to Jesus, Mary and Joseph

The Holy Family of Nazareth

JMJ is Written More Than

One-thousand Times in School

Preface

T hus, the word of the Lord came to me to write the title of this book about Gentile, in the Old Testament books of later composition, the word goy (plural, goyim) refers to people other than the Israelites. Originally, it appears to have been used interchangeably with am to mean people. After the exile the Jews seem to have developed a deeper self-awareness and to have pressed the distinction between themselves and all other people (Gentiles). The Vulgate translated goy (Greek, ethno) as in Latin gentilis, whence the English gentile. Curiously, though the early Christian communities soon became preponderantly Gentile, that is, non-Jewish, they employed the same term, viz., Gentile, to mark the distinction between themselves and non-Christians. From the usage, it may be inferred that the Christians viewed themselves as the true Israel, vis-à-vis to other peoples.

Here is another true anecdote and the identity of the person is not revealed for the sake of its purpose here; it was during a factual encounter from the agent at the Sao Paulo airport, Brazil after looking at the passport of this passenger, checking his visa, the agent then looking at him did a double take. Sensing the confusion and worried that one had hit yet another roadblock in his frenzied airport adventure. He asked. He has all his papers, no? Yes, Senhor, everything is in order but… It states on your passport that your name is Rodrigo Mendes. How can you be Mendes, it is a Portuguese name? In this case, one’s immediate ancestors come from a Portuguese colony of and he was born there. Another Portuguese conquest was very timely in the twentieth century for one’s life when one embrace what it means to be a Portuguese… or should I say, o filho de Macau Portuguese… a son of Macau; a Macanese." And, yes, it IS complicated. It is entrenched in the heritage of a people living detached from a motherland; defined by their roles in the politics, economics and social mores of colonial life.

For those sensitive enough for the mere record of a humane experience will suggest in The Portuguese in America, 590 B.C. – 1900s bearing the texts that follow the chronology are transcripts of documents upon its story.

In 590 B.C., Carthaginian merchants sailed westward from the Iberian Peninsula to the Antilles and New Spain, according to Gaspar Frutuoso (1522-1591), the Azorean chronicler of the Atlantic islands. There are references in Frutuoso as well as in Damiao de Gois (1502-1574), the Portuguese humanist who chronicled the reign of King Emmanuel I (1495-1521), to a stone statue of a man pointing westward on the Azorean island of Corvo. Both declared that it was erected by Phoenician or Carthaginian adventurers on a spot that later was found to be only 1,054 miles from Newfoundland.

In 1516, one of the chief characters of St. Thomas More’s Utopia is the Portuguese sailor Ralph Hytholoday. A renegade Portuguese in the service of Castile, Joao Dias de Solis, commanded an expedition that reached the Rio de la Plata. A number of fellow Portuguese accompanied him.

In 1519-22, Ferdinand Magellan (Fernao de Magalhaes), the Portuguese navigator in the service of Castile who was the first to circumnavigate the globe, left Spain in 1519 and was killed in the Philippines in 1521. Elcano reached Spain, now over charted routes, in 1522. Three captains of the expedition and their pilots were Portuguese. The chief pilot was also Portuguese, Estevao Gomes, who abandoned the expedition at the Straits of Magellan and returned to Spain. Magellan named Montevideo, Patagonia, and the Pacific Ocean.

Chapter One

In the Beginning

GOD created heaven and earth. (Genesis 1:1)

And, He called the light ‘Day’, and the darkness ‘Night’; and there was evening and morning one day. (Gen. 1: 5)

And GOD called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, He called Seas. And GOD saw that it was good. (Gen. 1:10)

To shine, in the firmament of Heaven, and to give light upon the Earth; and it was so done.

(Gen. 1:15)

And GOD made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and cattle, and everything that creep on the earth after its kind. And GOD saw that it was good. (Gen: 1:25)

And He said: Let us make man to our image and likeness; and let him have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that move upon the earth. (Gen. 1:26)

And GOD created man to his own image; to the image of GOD He created him; male and female He created them. (Gen. 1:27)

And GOD blessed them, saying: increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living creatures that move upon the earth. (Gen. 1:28)

And GOD saw all the things that He had made, and they were very good. And the evening and morning were the sixth day. (Gen. 1:31)

Thus the heavens and the earth and all the arrays were completed. Since on the seventh day GOD was finished with the work He had been doing, He rested on the seventh day from all the work He had undertaken. (Gen. 2:1-2)

N ow, across the vast vault of night, astronomers with their telescopes can gaze at an array of billions of stars, Shakespeare’s burning tapers of the sky. They have discovered many with extravagant properties – stars that would weigh as much as 600 million automobiles, with mysterious black holes whose incredible gravitational pull sucks in the dust and stuff of space, never to be seen again.

They have catalogued that jumbled led throng of stars into an orderly sequence by variety and age, as if they had looked at a crowd of people and sorted them into infants, children, young adults, the middle-aged, and the elderly.

A natural history, as earth retches, and steam and exploding lava streak the skies as the islet of Surtsey grows from the seas near Iceland in 1963. Such pyrotechnics hint of the powerful forces at work in our restless, hot-hearted planet – pushing continents around, building mountains, opening and closing oceans; thus our continent of North America came into being!

By whatever definition this great world that we live in, it has distinctive representatives and though the biological landscapes of North America are varied and magnificent, the continent is not markedly different in many respects from Europe and Asia.

Let us suppose using another illustration, the problem of conceiving the immense time spans involved in geological processes was postponed until only yesterday our conception of organic evolution by natural selection. One may utilize the past in the face of the present. Time molds the natural world. It shapes the land, and even the smallest pebbles in it.

The kinds of animals and plants have evolved through time and will continuously change as more time passes and the complex web of ecological relationships among them will also change.

A germane question, Who created all this?

Another probe, such is our indisputable knowledge of the beauty of His creation that we all share as beneficiary!

One’s supreme responsibility is epitomized hereof: You are also likely to agree that this one true God, as revealed in the chapters of Genesis. He is the living God who gives life and intervenes in history.

Because of the high spiritual and emotional drama which struck me as profoundly real and profoundly human; I wanted to know how one might conduct the inquiry concerning these two inherently related topics: a) Work. b) Prayer.

What is the Christian understanding of Work? From the beginning of time men have labored to better the circumstances of their lives. From the Christian viewpoint this human activity is in accordance with the will of God. Man created in God’s image was made a worker or creator in the universe, and by his efforts through the centuries, both as an individual and in community; he has unfolded the work of the creator. Spurred on by grace and led by the Spirit, he has contributed to the fulfillment in history of the divine plan.

The progress of human civilization, of arts and science, of the integrated society, are values only inasmuch as they serve the human person. Their goodness lies in the extent to which they transform men, making them more profound, more generous and more responsible.

Where does Prayer come from? Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who prays. But in naming the source of prayer, Scripture speaks sometimes of the soul or the spirit, but most often of the heart (more than a thousand times). According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays. If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain. In that light of both latter points taken above which is the direct attribute to part of my life experience and before this memoir begins, I would like to invite you to join me if you desire freely in saying The Lord’s Prayer. This is the prayer in which Jesus taught His disciples and is still the fundamental prayer of Christians today:

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one, Amen." (Matthew 6: 9-13)

Being raised as a Catholic and the word means general or universal, from the Greek word katholikos. To tell personal stories about my Catholic boyhood in performance would be one thing and incomplete.

In Christian terminology, the word has been used in different ways:

a) As a description of the Church as a whole, as distinguished from local Christian churches or communities

b) In application to the doctrine of the Church, as a whole, as distinguished from unorthodox teachings….

Today it applies to the Church membership, the creeds, churches, institutions, clergy and hierarchy who follow the same teachings of Christ as given to the Apostles.

In the first place, I would not have been a working storyteller if it had not been helped providentially and secondly if it had not been for Terry, my wife in her encouragement to write this memoir. With God’s blessing, our 25th Wedding Anniversary would come to fruition in 2011!

Thanks to the storytelling communities that have provided a context for my work spreading over the last seven decades – from this list were all our children; my dearest parents, Roberto and Jacinta Cruz and my favorite grandmother, Maria Conceicao, my two siblings of Eduardo (Edward) and Anita and their families; as well as the casual structures of colleagues and friends whose influence will be clear in these pages.

Finally, I would like to thank the brothers (clergy) at St. Francis Xavier College and Ste. Jeanne D’Arc College who taught me: "‘Brother Jules (Principal), Bro. Alfred (Dean) then there were two biological brothers of Bro. Leo and Kevin (teachers/soccer coaches), vivid remembrance of Bro. James (in Form I class) and especially Bro. Rafael Maher a teacher from our Portuguese community, a Eurasian by birth himself who had set the tone of my entire education.

In due respect, I had a desire in the early years of religious education to serve God as an Altar Boy for school and my Parish at the Sacred Heart Church in Nanzin Road, Hong Kew district, Shanghai. I have never seen my ‘permanent record,’ but I know it exists somewhere.’"

This brief explanation of a wondrous vision makes us contemplate the human race in the unity of its origin in God. St. Paul tells us that the human race takes its origin from two men: Adam and Christ….

The first man, Adam, he says, became a living soul, the last Adam a life-giving spirit. The first Adam was made by the last Adam, from whom he also received his soul, to give him life….

The second Adam stamped his image on the first Adam, when he created him. That is why he took on himself the role and the name of the first Adam, in order that he might not lose what he had made in his own image.

The first Adam, the last Adam: the first had a beginning, the last knows no end. The last Adam is indeed the first; as he himself says: I am the first and the last.

Life had become interesting for this child. And his aspiration then is into education, religion, travel and sports in that first order. However, I have never received a medal for Religion or General Excellence. Somehow, that qualified me for the elite corps of boys chosen to assist the priest at God’s altar during Mass.

Nevertheless, in my junior years at St. Francis Xavier College (SFX) during their ‘Silver Jubilee Celebration’ I have won the top prize in sports for my age category; awarded with a silver cup and numerous medals for the highest aggregated points in individual events.

Early on as a young boy I had a passionate desire to seek for the true knowledge about our existence on this earth of ours as a whole human being. Man’s knowledge (in body and soul but truly one) created in the image of this One and true GOD, one is a being at once corporeal and spiritual.

My aspiration to follow Jesus came early in childhood. When, I saw the movie Apparitions of Fatima at the school auditorium of a miraculous event in Portugal. Hope, all my future heirs would also be merited with the grace of God as beneficiaries. The synthesis of all this is the real knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the Blessed Virgin Mary!

Pope John Paul II in 1982 visited the shrine to give thanks to The Mother of God for having survived the attempt on his life on May 13, 1981.

Many have welcomed Christ’s call and freely responded to it are urged on by love of Jesus to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel and spread it throughout the world. As His twelve Apostles who chose to follow Him in this mission of evangelization some two thousand years ago. As the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but receives everything from the Father who sent Him, so those whom Jesus sends can do nothing apart from Him, from whom they received both the mandate for their mission and the power to carry it out. Christ’s apostles knew that they were called by God as ministers of a new covenant, servants of God, ambassadors for Christ, servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

In brief, these following points would advance one’s understanding of the commission:

1.  As in our profession of faith begins with God, for God is the First and the Last, the beginning and the end of everything; the creation of heaven and earth, for creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God’s works.

2.  God’s oneness, which has its roots in the divine revelation of the Old Covenant, is inseparable from the profession of God’s existence and is equally fundamental. God is unique; there is only one God, He is one in nature, substance and essence. [Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord… (Dt. 6:4; Mk 12:29)]

3.  The revealed truth of the Holy Trinity has been at the very root of the Church’s living faith, principally by means of Baptism. It finds its expression in the rule of baptismal faith, formulated in the preaching, catechesis, and prayer of the Church. Inseparable in what they are, the divine persons are also inseparable in what they do. But within the single divine operation each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, especially in the divine missions of the Son’s Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

4.  Of all the divine attributes, only God’s omnipotence is named in the Creed: to confess this power has great bearing on our lives. We believe that his might is universal, for God who created everything also rules everything and can do everything. God’s power is ‘loving’, for he is our Father, and mysterious, for only faith can discern it when it is made perfect in weakness.

5.  Moved by the grace of the Holy Spirit and drawn by the Father, we believe in Jesus and confess: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. On the rock of this faith confessed by St. Peter, Christ built his Church.

First, a word I have about this Catholic Church in the 1950s. It may as well have been 1517, liturgically speaking. And that was fine with me. The altar was placed at the front of the church. The priest spent much of his time with his back to the congregation. Much of what he said was inaudible to the people attending: some of it was whispered, especially the words at the Consecration of the Bread and Wine, and all of it was in Latin.

The Mass had not changed in form since the Counter-Reformation, specifically the Council of Trent, when the Vatican, in response to the paradigm shift in Europe known now as the Protestant Reformation, standardized its central act of worship into a form that would be the touchstone of some of the most beautiful music the West has ever known.

~~

CERTAINTY

There is an old tale about an unusual tree that grew outside the gates of a desert city. It was an ancient tree, a landmark, as a matter of fact. It seemed to have been touched by the finger of God, for it bore fruit perpetually. Despite its old age, its limbs were constantly laden with fruit. Hundreds of passersby refreshed themselves from the tree, as it never failed to give freely of its fruit.

But then a greedy merchant purchased the property on which the tree grew. He saw hundreds of travelers picking the fruit from his tree, so he built a high fence around it. Travelers pleaded and pleaded with the new owner, Share the fruit with us.

The miserly merchant scoffed, It’s my tree, my fruit, and bought with my money.

And then an astonishing thing happened – suddenly, the ancient tree died! What could have happened? The law of giving, as predictable as the law of gravity, expresses the immutable principle: when giving stops, bearing fruit ceases, and death follows inevitably.

~~

Roberto Luiz Cruz and Jacinta Maria Mendes Cruz, my beloved parents were raised from devout Catholic families of European and Asian extractions. I am honored to be their first-born son.

As a Christian in the first order and being Eurasian, one has also inherited a dual cultural heritage which is an advantage if not benefit as well. Consisted of having both Western and Eastern traditions it is markedly different in so many respects of the two continents of Europe and Asia.

These are essentially the universal phrases heard shortly after birth on April 19, 1936 yet not having understood any of it in this cited example. Nevertheless, it is in God’s will, seems in a chronological flow for the life of this child in words of kinship. Conceivably these similar expressions may have been pronounced in three different languages. From one’s national origin that are in attendance:

Graca de Deus (Portuguese),

We praise God for this healthy child.

And, now just be prepared for the following in Chinese, an interesting language that has been in existence since the epoch of the Old Testament:

Gum-yut, say-yuet, sub-gaw, yut-gaw-sarm-sug-look-neen, hai-nay-ga-chai-ka ‘Saarng-Yut’, taw-chey-nay teen-chee YEH-ZHO"

("Today, fourth month, nineteenth, one nine thirty-sixth year, is your son’s ‘Birthday’, thank you heavenly JESUS).

The ancient text in first/main ‘Cantonese Dialect’ is often used in Shanghai as its second most spoken language for folks from Guangdong Region; it is undoubtedly employed in this instance. Conceivably, all the Eurasians, Europeans and Asians in attendance many of whom understood this suitable idiom.

Incidentally, most Chinese communities here in America come from that southern region of China. The people of Guangdong Province are the first Chinese to make contact (often unhappy) with the merchants and armies of the modern European states.

They spearheaded the Chinese emigration to America, Australia and South Africa in the mid-19th century, spurred on by the wars and growing poverty of their own country.

The image which most Westerners have today of a ‘Chinatown’ is based on Guangdong’s chief city, Canton. It is Cantonese food which is eaten and the Cantonese dialect which is spoken among the Chinese populations from Melbourne to Toronto to London.

The Han Dynasty lasted from 206 BC to 220 AD.

And, during this period the pattern of a modern Chinese state was established and the empire reached its pinnacle.

Known to the Chinese as ‘Guangzhou’, Canton is one of the oldest cities in China, the capital of Guangdong Province and for over 1000 years one of the main gateways to China.

The first town to be established on the site of present-day Canton dates back to the Qin Dynasty (221 to 207 BC), coinciding with the conquest of southern China by the north. Close to the sea, Canton became an outward-looking city. The first foreigners to come here are the Indians and Romans who visited the city as early as the 2nd century AD.

As, for my future generations, let it be known that amid the storms through which She passes today, the Church could proudly say:

Alios ego vidi ventos; alias prospexi animo procellas (I have already seen other winds. I have weathered other storms.)

The Church has fought in other lands, against adversaries from among other peoples, and She will undoubtedly continue to face problems and enemies quite different from those of today until the end of time.

That one day, what was written on all the pages of this book is not only a humble reflection or a symbolic gesture to the Creator; this title referring to God alone as Maker of all things from nothing; in essence it has been accomplished only, "all for the glory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!"

The baptismal rite is held at Sacred Heart Church, Shanghai being born and given the name of: Francisco Antonio Cruz.

My ancestral origins are from Portugal, China, Spain and the Philippines.

We know from creation to the origins of the Church, to Church doctrine, and current controversies in our history all too well.

Incidentally, not as an American by birth but I have occupied in this land of America as an immigrant and naturalized citizen for ‘more than fifty years’. Longer, than the great story described in second book of the Old Testament about Moses whose life-story is told in such great detail. It tells the story of how the Jews came to be a nation and happened, ‘after forty nomadic years’, to occupy the territory, promised long before to Abraham, they still claim as their own.

In a profound sense, one could establish that this nation is founded under a Judeo/Christian values and principles, and such is the birth of a great country endowed by her virtuous belief. Where civil rights for all its citizens are incorporated into the laws by the early fathers in this promise land that all share and call, America.

Today, at the very basis of those good intentions – the idea of self-government under God – is often gravely challenged.

One cannot help but take heart always, at the moment of great crisis many encounter. That this country has mustered more than good intentions. She has found wise leadership, resolute spirit, and decisive action.

Judaism generally refers to the religious, political, ethnic, social and historical background of the Jewish (Israelites) people. Historically, Judaism goes back to the beginnings of the twelve tribes in Canaan, which developed through the Persian period (539-333 B.C.) and evolved through the Greek (333-63 B.C.), Roman (63 B.C. to A.D. 70), Rabbinical (A.D. 70), Medieval (East, seventh to twelfth centuries: West, twelfth to sixteenth centuries) and Modern (eighteenth to twentieth centuries) periods.

Judaism is a religion revealed by God and originates with the Mosaic covenant and identified with the land of Canaan (Israel today), expressing the belief, in one God who reveals of Himself through the law, the prophets and the events of history.

A faithful Jew is one who lives according to the covenant

I am your God, and you are my people.

Therefore, a Jew follows the law and worships God by prayer, reflection upon the sacred writings and the observance of Sabbath and other festivals.

According to Vatican II, there is a relationship between the Church and the Jewish people, that people to which the covenants and promises are made. And from which Christ is born according to the flesh: in view of the divine choice, they are a people most dear for the sake of the fathers, for the gifts of God are without repentance…. Refer to: (Lumen Gentium-n.16.), (Cf. Hebrew Feasts; Anti-Semitism.)

Furthermore, I believe the spirit of God certainly has provided me its rich source of nourishments to grow from, for both my body and soul from that moment of my birth.

In Christianity – broadly understood, Christianity is the religion derived from the teachings of Jesus Christ as professed historically by Roman Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants.

Comprised of faith in the Person of Jesus as Messiah, the spiritual life He inspired and adherence to the moral dictates He advanced. Christianity has influenced the arts and sciences, government and society for nearly two thousand years. Christian humanism, in particular, looks to the mystery of Christ’s Incarnation and promotes the great dignity of the human person which the Second Person of the Trinity so values by His having shared our humanity in His earthly life and which He has now glorified in heaven.

In the West, typically Christian values are joined to their historical antecedents in Judaism to Judeo-Christian ethic.

The Apostles continued, expanded and spread the teachings of Christ throughout the world; the hierarchical order was established, with the bishops as successors to the Apostles and the presbyters for the continued administration of the seven Sacraments instituted by Christ.

With organization and growth, there follows the logical consequences of Christian thought, notably its effect on the family and society, especially the Christian condemnation of slavery, the dignity accorded the human person and the exercise of civil authority.

In this regard, the Second Vatican Council has stated: In their pilgrimage to the heavenly city, Christians are to seek and relish the things that are above: this involves not a lesser, but rather a greater commitment to working with all men toward the establishment of a world that is more human (GS, n.57)

~~

It is a providential gift that Terry and I are brought together from the premature loss of our first spouses. Both time-honored families are from different cultures. Interestingly all are disciplined in the Roman Catholic Faith.

In February of 1986 we are married and thus became one Christian family again. The Apostle Paul made clear on the profound marriage vow when he says: Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. And the two shall be one. This is a great mystery, in reference to Christ and His Church.

Much gratified over all our children’s ability to adjust from the two sorrowful episodes.

Hymn of Thanksgiving: Give thanks to the Lord, who is good, whose love endures forever.

(Psalms 118:1)

Ultimately, in one way or another, or at one time or another, we shall be faced with this question: as parents, whether both could assume this heavy burden of responsibility before acquiescing to the sizable amalgamation of what are two medium size families?

Believed, this Scripture verse is relative to the above concern, only, He can deal with us as with His sons and daughters; for what children are there, whom the Father does not favor?

In a short order all have learned to share much love for one other.

In fact, our daughter Christine and a few close friends have expressed that we closely resembled the Brady Bunch, a popular family television series from several decades past.

Together, we raised six children almost all teenagers, with Montsy, Jay and Tessa from the Agcaoili family; Carl, Christine and Gary from the Cruz family.

Something given freely, for no recompense - all the material and spiritual needs over many gratifying and rewarding years!

In conclusion: That, the home is basically a sacred institution. In order for a good marriage to exist it requires the following ingredients, ‘is a union of three persons – a man, a woman and the most important entity is God, Himself.’

Blessed with three wonderful grandchildren:

Christopher and Alexander are the sons of Carl and his wife Maryann.

Matthew is the son of Gary and his wife Leticia.

Unexpectedly, in February of 2008 we have learned with much joy that Jay and his wife Heather are expecting their first child.

Then Gary and wife Leticia are expecting their second child to be born in August as well just about a week apart of the other.

We hope and pray if it is God’s Will, more grandchildren to follow?

Who cherishes this believe, ‘God has a plan for the life of every family. Every circumstance, every turn of destiny, is for the good.’

At the age of seventy, a Surprise Birthday Party is advanced by Tessa and Lee, at their home in San Rafael.

Without any coercion both events of Easter and Passover for 2006 are also observed on the same day since the Baer family is of the Jewish faith.

Seemed so fitting where, a gathering of the clans of more than fifty relatives and close friends are invited. The turnout is truly a momentous occasion for all that have participated.

Even family pets, Rex and Whiskey are included and their presence added fun for both the adults and children.

Such as Easter Eggs hunting for all three categories: for the young, middle-age group and lastly, the seniors. None are excluded!

Where only scrumptious finger foods and Champagne are offered just as starters….

With some prompting from Terry on that day, soon I have concluded that she is in one’s own right in suggesting that I could produce a ‘memoir’ for our children?

Surely, it sounds great at the beginning!

A ‘spiritual’ guidance has soon led to the appearance of a miracle; however, one must be careful as a senior and not suggesting any false perceptions which is not prudent to begin with.

Nevertheless, an introduction in lifestyle feeds my creative side and keeps me blithely balanced for the moment.

By natural order, I am an adventurer who loves to travel and take up the challenge in any favorable circumstances. And, now being retired surely qualifies me as an ‘Emeritus’ and a vibrant elder of this day-and-age.

Suddenly, after taking the Champagne one is sipping slowly; accomplishes a first-taste from the sensitive palate almost like the sparkling dry white superior wine that is produced from the region of Champagne, France.

Unexpectedly, this aftereffect has just overtaken one’s equilibrium – now, functioning as an ‘alter ego’. He’s a ‘connoisseur’ and winemaker.

Then, he became a comedian savvy in political, satirical matter, who is precipitously engaged at a debut performance before a rowdy audience.

Now, this is the first spiel:

"Beware! Once, I am a self-proclaimed conservative Reagan Democrat voter in California. Who is among the minority of friends and colleagues. One has abruptly changed to become a Republican after the great Democratic President of John F. Kennedy and Cuban crisis. But most of my friends are liberal Democrats and Independent minded people? Obviously, someone like me gets easily clobbered and suffered the consequences as the result when politics is the topic of discussion. That is certainly not funny, in serious terms! So, please allow me to skip this topic for now and delve into other less provocative or incendiary matters… Momentarily! Presumably in a similar wine I have drunk that is produced elsewhere – and not sense or know any difference from it.

Still recalls, such is a very pale yellow or greenish-yellow color wine made from the fermented juice of grapes.

Anything considers the best or luxurious quality is preferred. Above all, I just need to warn my readers as a pharmacist would cite (in prescription) and quantitatively that there is a solution of a medicinal substance in wine which would undoubtedly, ‘invigorates, cheers, or intoxicates any user in such a scheme.’

Oh, well! Perhaps, you might guess where my story is leading you to, now?

Yes, you are correct if you have chosen in this similar line of thought?

Then, I have asked myself the obvious and a fair question as to ‘how can one’s good writing be achieved without any prior experiences?’

Essentially, this is simply of a journey in one’s lifetime?

To get under way, with much apprehension as to how all this can be accomplished?

But, stirring to laughter; when, this thought promptly surfaces. That it just might work?

Simply, to claim that my loss of hearing in August 2004 has somewhat impinged on this feeble-minded person.

In a proverbial sense of the latter, – to claim that one’s memory has suddenly faded away from the scene without trace. It simply went down the drain or somehow it has all vanished into the thin air?

This is rapidly becoming quite an exciting, important issue and controversial if I may say so? Just like an actor who is summoned to a Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) much like the popular series on the television screens we are accustomed to enjoy? Incidentally, which is Terry’s favorite program as well?

Markedly, another smug thought has surfaced, ‘Francis, please slow down!’ ‘This is not good for your high blood pressure.’ But, I also need and would like to get back on track now to finish my central point of this tedious discourse…

Please bear with me for another moment so I can explain this complex matter about my ‘Cerebellum’ that sits in the skull’s cavity. It is important by any definition and needs to be taken from this writer’s point of view.

Projecting a theory from this point of observation, since I also knew that the brain provides both in one’s hearing ability and its memory retention capability operating under two separate tracks. Therefore, conceivably one or both of these functioning entities must have been damaged through natural mysterious causes and unknowable even to modern medical science. Furthermore, it could simply be classified as a ‘mystery, just for the second!’ Now, one needs to bet and phrase it in this idiosyncratic fashion for a certainty. If a patient who has been medically diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease; his memory function would likely be lost.

So, it is credible that a chance of something happening here or for a better term: ‘the probable causation and its deficiency reaction in the brain.’ Better known as one having a ‘faulty brain’ to have led to such a weakness and ultimately it is also true of the hearing loss as well.

In my humble opinion, if any of these assumptions are true, then, this could be the solution to recant the entire writing altogether.

A mystery indeed! Furthermore, this suggestion offers nothing in terms of any satisfactory conclusions except commonly known as the ‘nature of the beast?’

Now, also as a sound practice in this regard, I need to request for a second opinion from anyone in the medical field.

Perhaps, this is sounding ludicrous? For the practical intent and purpose, it is fair to say that the prognosis I have just offered above is from common sense, logical and irrefutable, to say the least and maybe a little cavalier by its means of access. Furthermore, I never claim that I am a medical doctor but at the same time, one could never deny not being a ‘CHARLATAN’ or an uncertified physician either? In other words, it is utterly a balanced prognostication, after all?

So, in conclusion and for this CSI’s report: ‘I would like to ask myself a very serious question; why in the world would a man of my age seek to embark into such a venture, in the first place?’

The short answer is simply for the humor of it!

Oh, incidentally, 99.9% of the people who knew me, they do not call me by the legal name, as ‘Francisco.’ Even in childhood, I am always known as ‘Francis.’ – But still to this day, one has remained curious, yet, never discovers who has started it? Nonetheless, it is a true fact that today I do hold a valid Social Security Card bearing Francis as its first-name, and also receive all the retirement benefits… It is a fair proposition as I see it.

Maybe, one is absolutely being bamboozled to join this ‘mystery club’ for a lifetime?

~~

I would like to seize this opportunity to affirm that God has always been so generous with the Cruz family. They left a country not of one’s own; nevertheless, as a tribe of persecuted refugees from China solely for religious reasons.

Whereupon, they are being sustained in fullness by providential assistance on a flight of bondage from the Chinese communist regime under chairman Mao Zedong in 1949 to 1951. Their fleeing to the British colony of Hong Kong is regarded as their initial refuge and autonomy. HIS generosity is followed by another modern utopia in relocating the entire family to ‘America’, to a country that is known for its ideals of freedom, equality and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American.

And, such is the decree granted by her founding fathers of the Constitution, framed in 1787 and went into effect on March 4th 1789. This young nation has sought to affirm its common beliefs in the truthful tradition toward a Judeo-Christian practice. It is both universal and timeless that is relevant and accessible to the present generation and for all those in the future.

Spiritual and political leaders throughout our history have called upon us to reaffirm our creed and renew our civilization.

This year, as we observe the season of thanksgiving and share the gracious aspirations together; let us also be grateful not only in words but in our deeds. Let our gratitude find expression in a resolve to live a life more unselfish and more consecrated to our Lord.

We have just celebrated our wonderful 20th Wedding Anniversary on February 16, 2006.

With providential blessing and renewal in a Christian marriage which include the upbringing of our six children in a contemptuous and destructive era. Many people still cling to the notion that mankind is naturally good. In reality, we are experiencing a rebellious time!

For, we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Does God belong to Jews alone? Does He not belong to Gentiles, too? Yes, also to Gentiles, for God is One and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Are we then annulling the law by this faith? Of course not! On the contrary, we are supporting the law. (Romans 3:28-31)

We thank you Jesus! Only God alone can satisfy mankind’s desire for happiness.

As from the Scripture, none better than this holy couple ‘Mary, the Mother of God’ with her humble husband St. Joseph. A true model to follow; yet, they have accomplished it through a lifestyle in both of humility and simplicity.

In God’s compassionate will and mercy, Terry and I are brought together after the loss of our previous beloved spouses.

Please join the family in a silent meditation for the memory of Doreen and James, let us pray, "Almighty and eternal God, hear our prayers for your daughter/son, whom you have called from this life to yourself.

Grant her/him light, happiness, and peace. Let her/him pass in safety through the gates of death, and live forever with all your saints in the light you promised to Abraham and to all his descendants in faith." Amen. —

During the week of Easter in 2006, Carl, our eldest son telephoned home and gave the sad news of Alphonse Demee Jr.’s passing at the age of forty-five. I still have memories when both boys were growing up together in the Sunset district of San Francisco. Their natural bonding of friendship developed stronger over many years; both were to be commended.

In childhood, they appeared inseparable for these two first cousins. Carl was affected with deep sorrow over the loss of his cousin.

One day unexpectedly, when his family returned home, Al Jr. was found lifeless on the kitchen floor, apparently having choked from a piece of meat that had been lodged in his throat.

In the Catholic Tradition life is the unique creation of God and it is to be revered because it is a unique gift of God.

Only by God’s generosity, they both likewise have shared this interesting statistic:

Their mothers were born as twins.

Their grandfather was born to have also being blessed with a twin brother.

"‘In this moment of sorrow, the Lord is in our midst and comforts us with His word:

‘Blessed are the sorrowful; they shall be consoled….’"

~~

As a retired Federal employee on March 31, 2003 with the accomplishment of forty years plus of loyal and unbroken lifework in the United States Civil Service, it is not beyond one’s domain to have desires like many retired folks in this part of the world to dream up of several fanciful ideas, such as taking cruises, taking long vacations, traveling to exotic places and to the most beautiful parts of this planet. To unleash the first one – off Francis’ noggin for the test, such as, the ‘Seven Wonders of the World’ where millions of tourists would gather annually.

As a youth, I have often indulged in reading the travel and geographical magazines which were always rendered as my favorites even over the children’s comic books.

Suddenly, a bizarre notion surfaces, it has suggested a parody of unreal proportion.

In substance, For the moment, this memoir still faces another aggressive challenge? ‘Whether this attempt could produce a convincing portrayal and characterization of an autobiography in an interesting literary form?’

‘Francis, try not to give up, yet?’

‘In the meantime, just hope and pray that it will all come through okay, somehow?’

‘To conclude, how then this memoir should be created?’

Here is my secret plan, ‘only through prayers!’

Above all, with the aspiration that these pages are explicitly written and solely for our family and relatives’ consumption and should also include those outside this circle of people who would like to seek for their virtuous ‘family and spiritual’ values.

Furthermore, with my desire to expound a review of my personal life history – with experiences, critiques and an entertainment track as part of the work, it would be my hope and trust that you will find this autobiography as interesting, personal and finally most importantly inspirational. The latter, for that alone it would have achieved its purpose.

Ultimately, all the pages of my writing come straight from the heart, filled with truth, imagination and passion. In essence, my journey in this endeavor helps me examine the subjects I feel strongest about, write about them with honesty, candor to better capture the hidden values and use writing as an ongoing means of self-discovery and self-expression – that can be!

SIMPLY, WHY NOT WRITE OUR HEARTS OUT?

Whether a manuscript on a tapestry of thoughts and dreams through an entire lifetime, exploring and expressing what matters most to me; as I write these words, a small private plane is flying over our apartment. Moments earlier, I woke up dizzy from nightmares of tunnels and root canals, my e-mail is backing up, a color ink warning to change soon from the computer; the laundry was piling up and the news media over the television was reporting an economic recession similar to that of 1929. Much of which is slowly but assuredly appears to be another Wall Street type of collapse in this country.

There are so many reasons not to write; it’s a miracle this sentence appears.

It will do no good to decide we’re going to write if we don’t first ask ourselves why we haven’t been doing it all along. When going back to my list again, I also discover that most of my reasons aren’t at all. We are too old never too young. We don’t have enough of the special education, experience, or talent.

If only we didn’t have jobs, if we aren’t so tired, if we live on a beach or in the mountains instead of in this noisy neighborhood of the city, if someone would read what we write, if only someone would publish it.

Perhaps, they are well-founded excuses, firmly rooted in misconceptions.

But misconceptions are also easily held by those who never wrote before. Here are some of the misconceptions that serve me well when I’m looking for reasons not to write:

a) Can writing get done without writing? Regular chores too comfortably rooted and unwilling to make change. Routines made with family, relatives and friends hard to break away from.

b) What about writers have no time to write? Presumably writing is not an option. Those who are locked in the jaws of war, illness, poverty, violence, illiteracy, starvation, or natural or unnatural disasters don’t have the luxury of writing even if they wanted. Running from one day to the next is all they can manage.

c) Maybe writers may know in advance exactly where they’re going, and when they get there? Some people claim to carry whole books in their heads the way a great composer wrote whole sonatas, releasing the finished composition in one swipe, turbulent flourish.

d) Even if writers have something important to say? This is a dual problem like that of a double-edged sword. First, this something (call it an idea, concept, character, emotion, story, vision) somehow is already fully formed. Just simply putting that something into words. From the other double-sided sword: What do we mean by something important to say? Suggests also to its other qualities, skill is a new basis that is important to mankind. It is beyond my ability to even describe.

e) How do writers publish their work and get famous or rich or both? When people ask me what I do for a living? I try to change the subject. If they persist, I tell them that I was in a banking career, civil service for more than four decades, small business owner for five years with dual employment of more than twenty years, a religious convert for almost twenty years as ministers with my current Catholic parish in San Bruno. These are not lies; I did all these things. Yet, I am happy to acknowledge all of the above, and felt with a good sense of peace as its reward.

f) Is it true that many writers are smarter, more sensitive, and more creative than other people? Since I have met only a few writers in my case, never known them well enough to judge even with the intelligence issue. In all accounts this is something new in a field that I knew little about but this doesn’t mean that writers are necessarily more brainy or intellectual than other people. ‘Nevertheless, in truth I do have one desire to claim this fact, that Doreen became a part-time ‘ghost writer’ for a colleague at the Transamerica Corp. in San Francisco. When time permitted in sharing her dual vocations; when she unselfishly offered herself to a pediatrician to change her career and become a housewife, when our eldest son suffered two injuries. She was a commendable spouse in my view for her role with its abounding chores in the raising of our three children as well.’ Our niece, Marianne Villanueva de Jesus is a ‘published author’ of many books to her credit.

g) However, I was much surprised to have read recently that even God of Genesis wasn’t creative until He created the heavens and the earth. This theory may get your hackles up. You might argue that creative people do indeed exist. Absolutely, I need to defend such claims but only if God by an act of His will alone will justify it. Otherwise, it will arouse my anger: Such officiousness always raises my hackles.

h) Creator: is the title referring to God alone as Maker of all things from ‘nothing’. By an act of His will, He sustains and directs the universe. It is falsehood to say and a misleading statement that God of Genesis wasn’t creative until he created the heavens and the earth. Furthermore, ‘blasphemy’ is from the Greek blasphemia (verb, blapto), meaning abusive language damaging to someone’s reputation. In Sacred Scripture it refers to abusive, contemptuous and irreverent language toward God.

At this juncture, things are beginning to get interesting because I have just enrolled as a member with the Peninsula Chapter in Redwood City, a national organization called ‘HLAA’ for: Hearing Loss Association of America.

In August of 2005, I was implanted with a Cochlear Implant (CI) in my left ear, which provided me with improved hearing of 25%-35% in speech understanding (perceptibility). In fact, it is not bad from a 0% of one’s hearing then?

The Health Provider (HMO) in Redwood City has provided this high-tech digital hearing system. The extensive medical and surgery coverage at the hospital are included except for the out-of-pocket expense of $50 for the overnight stay.

The Medical Provider’s total expenditure could be between one hundred to one hundred fifty thousand dollars per CI.

These Cochlear Implants are expressly designed to be software-upgradeable and it is also expected of the patient to maintain its use for a lifetime.

I am thankful to have this powerful, computerized microchip embedded to the bony framework of the head, which is manufactured by the Advance Bionics.

When the sudden loss of hearing occurred it transformed my lifestyle from a human to a somewhat natural-born cyborg (cybernetic organism). At a conference in San Francisco, I had an opportunity to meet and discuss with the assistant professor of the University of Texas. He is a user of a similar Cochlear Implant. In essence my physiological functioning is aided by or dependent upon a mechanical and electronic device.

The Kaiser’s audiologist (MD.) has recommended this brand over several other manufacturers for their product reliability and follow-up availability of the support staff.

This ‘Aria’ processor is worn outside and over the ear and the implant embedded over the skull through a two-and-a-half-inch incision behind the ear.

The CI, which is about the size and thickness of three quarters, has a casing made of an extremely tough ceramic material. The wire contains the leads going to the electrode array at the end.

Please be aware! More interesting details, if you’re still inclined in interest to absorb the rest?

The circuit board inside the implant contains a large chip that processes the incoming radio signal and controls the electrode array. A small chip would do the explicit mathematics (approximately one million operations per second).

The other side of the circuit board contains the AM radio antenna, the FM radio transmitter, and the magnet to which the headpiece is stuck. Each of the sixteen pins controls one of the electrodes.

It is simply amazing how the greatest accomplishments in this contemporary era are sometimes built on a tiny scale in computable measure. It all sounds gibberish and high tech at first but the reference materials that are provided with the original package has made it become a sort of an interesting reading.

What a brilliant technological feat that is?

All the scientists of the medical field have shared their knowledge with their equally important partners of the Computer Chip industry.

So users ultimately could be the beneficiaries of meaningful and emerging advances in the sound-processing arena for the future. This sophisticated technology has been developed to help users to communicate comfortably, clearly, and confidently in a variety of challenging listening situations. Interestingly, it was about a quarter of a century past when the first cochlear implants were developed, and that is not too long ago. Just imagine what the next twenty-five years could bring us.

Who would ever have thought in their wildest dreams that more than 60,000 are in use today. And these numbers are rapidly increasing for all ages; from infants to adults and in recent years to include many seniors.

I had enrolled as a National member of the association just prior to the HLAA’s 2007 California State Conference of February 16-17, 2007 at the Hilton Oakland Airport Hotel, Oakland, California. We attended the two-day conference.

Program:

Welcoming Reception Friday Night with Guest Speaker;

Terry Portis, National Executive Director

Saturday breakfast speaker, Dr. Sam Trychin

Saturday luncheon speaker, Dr. Robert Sweetow

Festive Banquet Saturday Night with Entertainment, Prizes

Workshops on Saturday include valuable information on latest technology:

Cochlear Implants and Assistive Listening Technology, Hearing Aids

Effective Communication and Coping Skills

ADA (American Disability Act) in the Workplace and the Power of Self-Advocacy

Services for HOH (Hard Of Hearing), Auditory Training, and Tinnitus Update

Exhibit Hall: open from Friday 1 pm-5 pm – Saturday 8 am- 5 pm.

Little did we expect on that Saturday’s event, Raegene Castle, our co-president approached us and asked if I would accept the position as the new co-president.

Since Sr. Ann Rooney (Mercy Order) is soon to complete her two-year appointment in the fall season.

On June 18th, during the Board Meeting of the Redwood City chapter, the election committee voted me as the new co-president to serve the next two years.

At one time or another during my tenure, I recalled having made some of these remarks at HLAA including other members and circle of friends who were interested to know more about me.

1) I was born in a coastal region in China. As a child, I grew up in Shanghai through my high school years when my family has decided to leave China in 1951, about two years after the fall of Chinese Nationalist Government to the Communist in 1949.

2) My siblings are, Edward Cruz, brother (deceased) and a younger sister, Anita Breed; and I am the eldest in the family.

3) Travel on the top of my list. Followed by photography, enjoy opera, classical and modern music, symphony orchestra, comedy shows, swimming, bicycling and camping etc.

4) My wife, Terry and I, we are widow and widower, she had three children from her first marriage to Jim: Montsy, Jay and his wife Heather, they have two daughters, Hanalise and Maia (granddaughters) and Tessa; and my marriage with Doreen, we also had three children: Carl and his wife Maryann, they have two sons, Christopher and Alexander (grandsons).—Christine and husband Russell.—Gary and his wife Leticia, they have one son, Matthew (grandson) and one daughter, Giselle (granddaughter).

5) Lost of hearing in August of 2004, all this forced me to confront complex questions about humans in this challenging society of ours, today. Rather than live in silence, I chose to have a cochlear implant, with a small computer embedded in my skull, yet unnatural, to restore my hearing. This is also the melding of silicon and flesh has long been the stuff of science fiction. Ultimately, as a Christian, I believe that we must face reality ourselves from this ode that, No pain—No gain and No crown—No glory. My first and primary goal is that I will work to help all of my hearing loss community, to above all, to hear better or reflecting on the simple pleasure of one’s family and their love ones’ voices again.

6) HLAA was recommended by my most professional audiologist Kelley Holden of Kaiser in Redwood City and that of my therapist Sandra Hocker of the Hearing Language Speech in San Jose.

7) Francis Cruz became a person whose physiological functioning is aided by or dependent upon a mechanical or electronic device, furthermore, that which will likely to include in the future of one or more of an Assistive Listening Devices. About two years and ten months ago, when I was giving a regular Sunday service as a volunteer for the S.F. Archdiocese’s prison ministry, suddenly, I went completely deaf in both of my ears right before 35 inmates at the Redwood City County Jail.

Chapter Two

Seeking My Vocation

A s a seminarian, I had acquired only three years of religious study in Theology at the St. Patrick Seminary & University in Menlo Park.

My wife was also required to participate in all the classes we attended as part of the commitment for our Diaconate training.