How They Met
In 1947 the Philippines was in the midst of trying to rebuild itself. My mother was encouraged by a friend to have a pen pal. She chose a name from the Philippines Free Press. This newspaper only listed names of the potential pen pals without pictures. She chose Rudy Valdez because he had the first name of a popular Filipino actor at that time. They ended up corresponding for six months.
In September of that year, my father's ship was going to be stopping in Manila so he told my mother that they should meet. He had already expressed in his letters that he was ready to settle down. He sent her a cable and told her the date of his arrival.
It was love at first sight as my mother tells me. My father came back a second time and they got married. My mother left her country when she was 20 years old. She left her family and hasn't been back for 62 years.