A Summer Night in Washington, D.C.
The capital of the United States of America had always incited my love for my own country, a feeling which I seem to overlook while on Philippine soil, my terra firma . It is as if I am given a sudden urge to belong to a vital footnote in history. For me, Washington, D.C. stands out not only as the capital of the United States, but also of the democratic western world and of the U.S. allies in Asia. Except for this latest trip of mine which I was pondering this sultry summer night on June 16, 1975, every time I visited the capital of the United States of America, I always felt that I was invested with a sense of mission for my country, even though my trips were always undertaken in my capacity as a humble newspaperman. It was the way I felt in June of 1958 when, as a young reporter for the now defunct Manila Chronicle , I first set foot on Washington, D.C. to cover the state visit of then President Carlos P . Garcia to the United States. The thought alone of going to Washington, D.C., that square mass of land carved out from the territories of Maryland and Virginia, is awe-inspiring. Being in D.C. itself gives one a ...