January 15, 2024

The Winding Road to Zamboanga

By David Haldane Jan. 15, 2024   We should have been there by now. We should have grabbed a flight the day after Christmas and enjoyed […]
January 8, 2024

Sputtering Solar

By David Haldane Jan. 8, 2024     If only the sputtering would stop. It attacks suddenly, like an enemy soldier watching from a nearby bush. […]
January 1, 2024

Redefining Aggression

By David Haldane   Jan. 1, 2024       It felt like a punch in the gut. The Philippines, my favorite country and historically a […]
December 25, 2023

A Jewish Christmas in the Philippines

 By David Haldane Dec. 25, 2023     For me it’s always the same. Gangs of Christmas carolers gather on the patio to sing until we […]
December 19, 2023

Socorro Bayanihan: Commune or Cult?

  By David Haldane Dec. 18, 2023     We were a mile off the coast of a remote Philippine Island when I realized the boat […]
December 11, 2023

All-inclusive Miss Universe?

By David Haldane Dec. 11, 2023     A transgender friend said something recently that I’d been thinking but was afraid to say out loud. “Miss […]
December 4, 2023

Roasted Alligator or Fried Rattlesnake?

By David Haldane Dec. 4, 2023   I gave them fair warning. “OK,” I said, facing a bevy of Filipino in-laws, nephews, and nieces, “it’s almost […]
November 23, 2023

One-Sided News

By David Haldane Nov. 23, 2023     I had just put the finishing touches on a three-minute video presentation for an annual gathering of would-be […]
November 16, 2023

Hitler on Lazada

By David Haldane Nov. 16, 2023   It felt like someone had yanked out my kidneys. Unable to sleep, I’d opened my cell phone to Facebook […]
November 9, 2023

Water

By David Haldane Nov. 9, 2023     I was lathered to the gills, about to step under the spigot, when the darned thing choked up. […]
November 2, 2023

Tension

By David Haldane Nov. 2, 2023     The revelation came while I lay leveled on the pavement. Thirty seconds earlier, I’d been speeding home on […]
October 26, 2023

Anxiety

  By David Haldane October 26, 2023     I was having dinner with a Filipino friend at a Manila restaurant recently when he pulled out […]