EXCERPTS FROM TODAY'S VIDEOCALL WITH MY FIANCEE', ANA ADIONG

with Ana Adiong, my wife-to-be,
on videocall today

Ana's hair covering can be explained by her travel today to the Bukidnon province, on the predominantly Muslim island of Mindanao.  Or not.  Ana retains a certain mystery.

Several people I encountered in Cebu or Cagayan de Oro told me they were "from the province," meaning the rurals, the country.  They were not born in the city.  That is also true of Ana.

She is traveling south to Bukidnon for the 17th time to visit her mother's grave March 5th, the anniversary of her death.  Filipinos, like other Asians, have tremendous respect for their parents and their elders.

Ana tells me that her two younger siblings, a brother and a sister, view her as their elder.

"They dare not disrespect me," she states emphatically.

Ana is not a Muslim or a Catholic, but a nominal member of the Philippine Independent Church, a schism of Catholicism, that allows priests to marry, ordains women, permits birth control, recognizes same-sex civil rights and does not practice confession, recognize the infallibility of the pope or believe in transubstantiation, the silly notion that the sacraments of wine and unleavened bread actually turn into Christ's body and blood.

She does not attend church.

When I told Ana that "today was the coldest day of the year here," she said:  "Why?  Are you a weather forecaster?"

No, Ana, I'm not, but neither is Tim Smith.

On New Year's Day, minutes after I posted the pic on the left of me with my mother, I called Ana.  She was in tears:

"That woman, your mother, will not die until I see her.  I love her."

That's Ana.