100th Blog Entry

I'd like to dedicate this 100th blog entry to my uncle who just passed away a few days ago. He's my Mom's brother to be exact or Tito (uncle) 'Spanky' as everyone knows him, aka Roberto Sanchez.

All my life I've heard stories of my Mom's older brother who lived all his life in the Philippines. Your Tito Spanky this and your Tito Spanky that. Not until this past December to March did I really come to understand whom my Mother was always describing. I'm glad to say that I actually got to know my uncle.



We spent a lot of time playing scrabble, Ma Jong and watching movies. He lived next door to the house I stayed in while in Manila (my Mom's house, where my Aunt and her family resides) and would walk in and out of the house periodically throughout the day to see what the happenin's were. He often reminded me of a bored child looking for some one to play with. Whenever I'd ask if he wanted to play a game he'd never hesitate to say "Okay!” And at 3am in the morning when I'd be tired and anxious to go to sleep, my 68 year old uncle with failing health would be the one to urge all of us to play one more game.

I'm not sure exactly how he got the nickname of "Spanky". However one of his traits was to follow around my naughty young toddler nephew Andre around the house, spanking the floor with his slipper and enforcing Andre to behave. Poor Andre would always look up to him with these innocent "what did I do?" eyes, walk away and continue on with his routine. Tito Spanky never spanked him.



He'll be truly missed by numerous family members, including myself. God rest your soul Tito. Go get some free tickets to Luther Vandross' concert and enjoy heaven! And oh yeah, give Lola a big hug for me and tell her I love and miss her.