By Jesse Jose

A Cup O' Kapeng Barako

My column this week is very personal. It's a letter to all my siblings in Florida and to a brother in the Philippines. And though it's personal, the human-interest aspect of this story is also universal. For I believe it can also happen to any family: the spats and the intrigues and all.

As y'all know, Dear Readers, the months of June, July, August and September are favorite months for couples in love to tie the knot.  My son, Chris, my pride and my joy, and a broadcast journalist who's going to be news casting soon for FOX News Denver in Colorado is gonna tie that knot, too, with Jaclyn Rostie, who is also a broadcast journalist for ABC News in Coral Springs, Colorado.

They met four years ago in Cheyenne, Wyoming when they were both field reporters and anchors of the weekend newscast of KGWN, a CBS News affiliate.  I suppose their proximity to each other and their common interests and team effort in bringing the news to their viewers . . . planted the seed for respect for each other that became love that sprouted.

When Chris moved up to a broadcasting job in Cedar Rapids in Iowa, Jaclyn followed. And again, I suppose, that love that sprouted, grew . . .

And grew . . .

And bloomed . . .

And ripened.

A nd that finally decided for Chris to buy a very-expensive diamond engagement ring and on his bended knees, offered the ring to Jaclyn and perhaps, with all the courage he could muster, finally uttered the words what every woman longs to hear from a longtime lover: "Will you marry me?"

So, the wedding date was set.

And it's going to be on August 8th of this year.

Detailed preparations got underway. The bride's maids and the best man and the grooms were painstakingly selected, as well as the venue of the wedding and the reception and the menu, the dresses for the entourage, the tux for the grooms, the theme color for the wedding . . .

And the guests, who are going to be invited to witness one of life's happiest occasions and to partake on the feast and to share in the joy of Chris and Jaclyn, were picked.  It's a celebration!  It's a celebration of love. It's a celebration of the joining of two loves. 

It's also a celebration of the joining of two families: the Jose's and the Rostie's.  So, invitations, carefully designed and lovingly worded, were sent out. Foremost of all, to the two families that will be joined together.

So, I made sure that each one of my seven siblings gets an invitation. Simply, but elegantly scripted, the invitation reads:

            With joyful hearts we ask you

            to be present at the ceremony

              uniting

Jaclyn Eleonor Rostie

&

 Christopher Navarro Jose

On Sunday, the Eight of August

  Two Thousand Ten

 at four o'clock in the afternoon

     St. Julien Hotel

   900 Walnut Street

    Boulder, Colorado

 Reception to follow

MY LETTER TO MY SIBLINGS: More-than two-hundred invitations were sent out. The deadline for receiving the RSVP's was on the 17th of this month. All responded, EXCEPT my brothers and sisters. I thought and thought about it. I asked myself several times, "why?"  I asked my wife the same question. It was so embarrassing. My wife said, "I dunno, pamilya mo yun mga yun . . ." Since the only way I can express my emotional turmoil is to put pen on paper, I wrote this letter to them:  

Hello Everybody,

I am going to let this forwarded e-mail by Jaclyn to Maribel speaks for itself. It's at the end of this letter to all of you. 

Bakit naman LAHAT kayo hindi nag-RSVP doon sa wedding invitation ni Chris at Jaclyn?  Over two hundred invitations were sent out, but only the Jose clan did not respond. Nakakahiya naman ang ginawa ninyo. The invitations were sent to Raquel to be given to all of you, except Soc's and Kirsten's which were directly sent to them by Jaclyn.  Raquel said na ibinigay ninya daw lahat sa inyo yung invitation and you all got it.

Maribel and I were all so embarrassed by everybody's non-response to Jaclyn.  I really think that shows KABASTUSAN from all of you!  And that made the JOSE CLAN look bad at walang mga modo!  All you had to do was check either yes or no and send back your response.  May selyo na nga at envelope enclosed in the invitation and all you had to do was to seal it and drop in a mailbox.  Mahirap bang gawin yun?

I warned both Christopher and Jaclyn not to send the invitations out to you all of you there, dahil alam kong hindi naman kayo pupunta.  But Jaclyn, who wanted to give to all of you her respect, insisted that the invitations be sent out, as you are all IMMEDIATE RELATIVES and it's the right thing to do.  She was not asking for dole outs or money or anything like that. In fact, I even emphasized to Raquel na ang "IMPORTANTE" diyan, are your RSVP's. 

But Jaclyn's attempt in reaching out to all of you was foiled.  Y'all rejected her and ignored her invitation.

Hindi naman basta-basta itong Rostie family that Chris will be marrying into.  In fact, the family is one of the pillars of the town of Brighton in Colorado. The family owns a professional plaza in town and real-estate properties. They have a private plane, a runway and a hangar in their backyard, and own the small-plane airport in town. In other words, the Rostie family is a wealthy family. A well-known and well-respected family in their town. 

When Raquel told me that she had received all the invitations and said: "O sige, magpapadala kami ng pera sa kanila," I almost laughed and wanted to tell her that that's not needed.  But I didn't want to make YABANG, so I just said, "Ang importatnte diyan, yung RSVP ninyo."  I told her over and over, "RSVP, RSVP, RSVP."  Hindi PERA!

This is really an EMBARRASSMENT for the Jose clan!  We are going to be looked at as a socially-inept family.  Nakakahiya ang mga "Jose." And it's a crying shame for Jaclyn that she's going to be a Jose, too. 

Matuto naman sana kayong lahat ng konting urbanidad, mga kapatid ko.  Learn how to open your hearts ... and your mind.  Learn how to respond and reach out to people who are trying to reach out to you. 

At bawasan ang mga high-faluting na yabang, especially you, my dear Raquel!  And I am going to say it again: Kung meron masters si Jeje sa nursing, she's an ARNP, who sees patients in an office and prescribes medications to them.  I use the VA hospital here in Seattle, so I know.  ARNP's do not write out the nurses' working schedules.  And there's no such thing as having a masters in "nursing technology."  I am not knocking Jeje down.  Please get me wrong.  But I am not stupid either to believe that kind of bola.  Let's stop all these high-faluting yabang.  Because I am not impressed.  O naiinggit.  Please let's be truthful to each other.  I am your brother, and whatever good things that come your way, I'll always be happy for you.  I have no reason na mainggit sa 'yo o sa mg anak mo.

O sige na, pinatawad ko na rin kayong lahat dito sa kahihiyan na ibinigay ninyo sa amin.  But I had to say all these things that I've said. Mabuti na yung tapatan, kaysa nagbobolahan. Tumatanda na tayong lahat. Tama na yun pa-impress-impress at mga high faluting ng mga bolahan. 

God bless all of you and take care. 

THE LETTER FROM JACLYN:

Hi Maribel,

A few questions.

1.  I have not received RSVP's back from these people, if you can confirm if they are coming or not, or have them mail the card back, that would be great!

We need a final count:)

Quentin & Margaret de Jesus 

Belle Jose

Cora Jose

Joey Jose

Socrates Jose

Rose Jose

Alex & Raquel Lim

Kirsten Lim & Roderick Enriquez

2.  I'm working on finalizing the details for the rehearsal dinner . . .

Please feel free to add or subtract anything.  if you would like, I can forward a menu to you.  I also want to ask them, if there are other drinks available and price (like lemonade or ice tea).  For the wedding, we are paying for both, by the gallon.  I need to get back with the hotel this week, with a better idea of what we would like.

3.  Filipino Wedding Tradition.

Chris says you will be borrowing a veil and cord for the ceremony?  I have created our wedding program with the Candle, Veil, Cord, and Coin Ceremonies, but, hoping you can tweak it at rehearsal if needed. Also, wondering if you will have the coins also, or do I need to get them? We will get the unity candles.

Hope all is well in Seattle, things are coming up fast!!! So excited about Chris' new job and we are finalizing the paperwork on our first apartment!!!  

Jaclyn

P.S. Beautiful Seattle Reception invites!  Oh - and hoping you got the engagement pictures I mailed a few weeks ago.

So what do y'all think, Dear Readers?  Is this airing dirty laundry?  My wife said it is.  I don't think so. It's a Barako story. Blunt and honest and fearless and orig ... hindi Googled o kopya. 

My wife also said I am gonna get ostracized by my siblings for this. Ostracized for speaking the truth?  Oh well, it won't be the first time and it won't the last time, for I don't have forked tongue . . . Dear Readers, thank you for reading my column this week. That's all. JJ