INTRODUCTION "While I have always liked history I did not like the way it was taught. Often it is presented as a parade of obscure names, forgettable dates, and events irrelevant to our life and times. Like man students, I learned to hate history as much as I did Algebra. Fortunately, all of this changed when I met the late Teodoro A. Angoncillo, E Aguilar Cruz, and Doreen G. Fernandez who showed me that history could be timely and engaging as the tabloids and gossip columns I relished reading. This book is dedicated to their memory for without them I would not have become a historian. The essays compiled in this volume were originally written for the back page Lifestyle section of the Philippines Daily Globe in the late 1980's and were compiled in my first book Looking Back that had remained unchanged in form and content since 1990. After almost two decades in print I have decided to reissue these essays, updated and in a new format, the first in a series that will draw from my recent work and others from Aguinaldo's Breakfast, Mabini's Ghost, and Luna's Moustache that are currently out of print. History has a longer shelf life than other writings and it is hoped that these essays, despite their age, continue to delight and inform." Ambeth R. Ocompo Feast of Teesa de Avila, 2009 - from Amzon