Tales from Dad’s Toolshed and Mom’s Footlocker

By Ted Cayobit Visaya

This book is a collection of creative, humorous, and informative stories inspired by following the footsteps of my parents in America. My scrapbook of stories centered around being Filipino American. I wrote this book as if I'm talking to my kids. No one else will tell your stories except for yourself, and I’ve been waiting for the right time to share them. We all have stories to share, so we should all keep a scrapbook and share them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796046397

Ted Cayobit Visaya

I'm a native Californian raised in the Silicon Valley, graduate of the University of San Francisco, and a product of the Silicon Valley geek generation, I say that with great pride and admiration for the San Francisco Bay Area, “mi barrio”, that breeds high-tech. We all develop a unique presence on social networking, our work, our culture, our friends & family, our spiritual beliefs, and we create a branding of our digital identity. Centered around growing up in the Silicon Valley, these infographic short stories capture the memorable feelings in me and ignites emotions. I hope this proves to be an invaluable biography to pass down to the children.

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Copyright © 2019 by Ted Cayobit Visaya. 798641

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

This scrapbook is a collection of creative, humorous, and informative stories inspired by following the footsteps of my parents into America. This isn’t a research book but rather a collection of unique stories centered around being Filipino American.

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

www.tedvisaya.com

Cover art by Ted Visaya

Editing by: Faye Olympia Alvarez

ISBN: Softcover 978-1-7960-4640-3

EBook 978-1-7960-4639-7

Rev. date: 08/06/2019

CONTENTS

Introduction: Scrapbook

• INTRODUCTION

• Uncle Storyteller

• Keeping a Scrapbook

Section I: Toolshed & Footlocker

• Tales of Dad’s Tools

• Stories in Mom’s Foot Locker

• Confused Filipino Kid

Section II: An Origin to Ponder

• 100,000 Years Ago

• Out of Sundaland

• The Austronesian Migration

• The Early Colonizers

• Follow the Spices

• 10 Datus sailed from Borneo

• Islas De Los Pintados

• Pacific Islander Explorers

• The lost Continent of Mu

• Luzon of China

• Ship Size Comparisons

• The Flying Karakoa

• Magellan was Mugged

• What Happened to the Filipino Scripts?

Section III: Hawaiian Sakadas

• Hawaiian Sakadas

• The Hanapepe Massacre

• Pidgin Talk

• Hawaiian-American Fusion Food

• Authentic Hawaiian Poke

• Mainland Poke

• Welcome to California

• Tydings-McDuffie ACT

• Taxi Dance Halls

• Watsonville Riots

• The Price of Love

• California Filipino Infantry Regiments

• U.S. Army Issued Bolo Knife

• Volcano Patch and Insignias

• Kearney Street, San Francisco

• My Ninong Jimmy

• Delano Grape Strike

Section V: Home Maker Heritage

• War Bride Act of 1945

• Filipino Mom Weapons

• The Calrose Rice Sack

• Calrose Rice

• The Art of Cooking Rice in a Pot

• The Art of Cooking Rice in a Rice Cooker

• The Coconut Grinder

• Mama’s Biko

• The Best Recipe

• Balut Ramen

• Balut, what’s the Big Deal?

• Puto = Rice Cake

• Bisquick Puto Recipe

• Chocolate Meat

Section VI: Silicon Valley Wild Mustard

• Silicon Valley Wild Mustard Fields

• Napkin Sketches

• A Manong’s Backyard Garden

• Bucket of Filipino Crabs

• Talk Storyteller

INTRODUCTION

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There comes a point in time when Filipino kids being raised in America start to wonder about their Filipino identity. Throughout elementary school I couldn’t find a hint of my ethnic culture being taught at any grade level. I asked questions like, is this really my country? Do I really belong here? Where did we come from and how did we get here? So, as I entered high school I was totally confused about my identity, I thought I was some kind of Mexican. It wasn’t until I was much older, and the wonders of the Internet made it easy to research. I researched my dad’s migration to America and followed his footsteps as he travelled from the Philippines to Hawaii and then to California, following the crop harvest looking for work. I remember the tools he left in the backyard shed and I matched events that took place in relation to his tools.

What I found was astonishing. So, I imagined myself walking in his shoes and reliving the past through his eyes. I could only imagine the emotions he must have experienced as a young man living through these events. If he was still alive, I’m sure he would have had some interesting stories to talk about.

UNCLE STORYTELLER

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First of all I’m not a historian or a linguist, or DNA expert, I’m just an enthusiast that collected a bunch of Talk Stories on topics I was confused about growing up and want to share with my kids. Stories that captured my interests as a child and teenager and had to research to find my answers. Topics that they didn’t teach in regular school from kindergarten to 12th grade.

So read this book as if you’re imagining a Filipino Dad, uncle, kuya, older brother, or manong teasing Filipino kids with his Talk Stories. If you’re Filipino, you know you have one. Look at me as one of your uncles telling you stories.

I wrote this book as if I’m talking to my kids. No one else will tell your stories except for yourself and I’ve been waiting for the right time to share them. We all have stories to share, we should all keep a Scrapbook and share them.

This book is dedicated to my kids just in case I’m not around anymore.

These are my Filipino-American Talk Stories.

KEEPING A SCRAPBOOK

This Scrapbook is a collection of cultural tales, humorous memories, and thought-provoking theories that push the boundaries of possibilities A collection of nostalgic memories that keep triggering in my thoughts when I least expect it. I kept telling myself to write these stories down before I forget them. I imagined tales coming from my dad’s farm tools in the backyard tool shed and tales from my mom’s footlocker as she migrated and settled in as a home maker in America. This scrapbook is a result of those efforts. The problem is how do I organize this mess into one story book.

I’m really more of an artist than I am a storyteller and would create artwork of my thoughts then write a story around that picture. All the images in the collage on the next page are vectored art on different layers like you see in the ladybug and aphid exploded view. The artwork helps to create an image-story in the reader’s thoughts as he or she reads the book. An Artwork Story Book, I like to think of it as the first of its kind.

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Tales of Dad’s Tools

Tools that were hanging in my dad’s tool shed reflect the history he lived through. I followed his footsteps and researched current events around each one of those tools and found some interesting incidents that occurred. Although I can’t account for his involvement in these events, I do know he was there at those times.

DAD’s TOOL ICONS

When you see these ICON markers at the top of the page, they identify significant events that occurred during my father’s stay within that year and location.

Cane Cutter

Hanapepe Massacre - Kauai, Hawaii 1924

Asparagus Knife

Watsonville Riots - Central California 1930

Army Issue Bolo

California Filipino Regiments - WW2 1942

Grape Cutter Knife

Delano Grape Strike - Central California 1965

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