A Confused Despair is a work that cannot be placed in a predefined section. Indeed, it is nor a traditional novel,  neither a paper or a collection of tales or poems. Actually it is a sort of mosaic, a puzzle of fragments of our society, an assembly of passages of poetic prose, episodes drawn from news, promotional inserts, first-person stories, pieces of dialogues. All these parts are shown as the visions of an homeless philosopher that is able to read others’ thoughts. Fragments that, once put back together, constitute a merciless and sarcastic portrait of today’s world.

I am a formidable foe to my unbearable circumstances, which dare to challange me, but I, in turn, crush them ruthlessly, with my full inner force. The more they challange and try to overpower me, the confidently I came out with an ever fresh energy. I feel pleasure in throwing my life into the orbit of circumstances and then taking it out successfully from difficult situations with an ever increasing courage. Every “throwing” increases confidence and every “taking out” brings back new experience and thus instead of letting my life to be on the mercy of my circumstances, I have compelled the circumstances to be on the mercy of my life. This is The Mirror of My Life.

Words on Wood is a collection of poems written by me from 1972 to 1985. There is no real common theme, although most of the poems reflect my feelings of love, pain, happiness, sadness, discontent and harmony in various relationships I was involved in during that period of my life. There are also poems written about nature and the everyday trials of living life.

In Three Children’s Stories, “Tommy Gets A Tyranosaur” is a moral tale. The hostility between Tommy and his parents is mediated by a mischievous pet tyranosaur. “Umbrella Picnic” is about a family enjoying a picnic in the rain. So do all the creatures. Charles keeps it all in order. “Where I Live Now” is about a little girl who rationalizes her traumatic experience with fire. No pictures included!

A View on the Street is verse-like commentary on life, death, ghosts, bugs, typewriters and microcomputers.

The stories in A Century Past were written because the stories needed to be told. They were not written for profit nor for some economic necessity. If you enjoy reading Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, and Raymond Carver, then you should enjoy these seven additions to Literature. I hope that you will like at least a couple of the stories in this selection. A lot of work went into them, but I feel good that they are in a place where they can be read.

The aim of Communication Relations is no less than a mapping of the territory for which the term “communication” may serve as a title. Our key contention is that communication is a life function. And as such it must be comprehended in ways centering on the fundamental characteristics of living systems.

Beyond Pearl Harbor is my story about the three years spent as a prisoner of the Japanese, together with my mother and two brothers. It is a story about the fate of thousands of American, British, and Allied civilians imprisoned by the Japanese in Manila and an auxiliary camp called Los Banos. It tells how the American and Philippine Red Cross provided funds to pay for our food, after one month when we were left in camp without any provisions by the Japanese. We had to rely on outside relatives and friends to bring food packages to us until the Red Cross was able to organize. I describe how the camp organized committees to handle our needs; food kitchens, schools, hospital, security, entertainment, everything necessary, as the Japanese did nothing. I tell of the way we survived the dirt, crowding, indignities, and eventually starvation, with our elderly dying for lack of food and the children scavenging the Japanese garbage cans for scraps until forbidden by the commandant. Finally I tell of our glorious liberation by tanks of the First Cavalry, who freed us on February 3, 1945 and later when the 37th Infantry arrived with food and supplies. Our troubles were not at an end, as the Japanese started lobbing shells into our camp, killing and wounding many. Pearl Harbor had been bombed for one day and all the world knows of it. The Philippines wee bombed daily from December 8th until the 30th, when Manila was declared an “Open City ” and the Japanese marched in. I am hoping that this part of history will not be forgotten.

It’s been the best of times and it’s been the worst of times. So I take you on an unforgettable roller coaster ride, it is my life as a mental patient and philosopher of sorts. God has taken the edges off my anger and sorrows, like the stone I once sculpted I’ve been chiseled down and hopefully made more beautiful. My trust is with him. I’ve been honed down so much I now can see beauty in the dust of a sun-ray and find peace in a rose petal slipping through my fingers. I was battered as a new born child causing me to have many dysfunctions. With my imagination, wit, and stout heart I found ways not only to survive but to enjoy life, if you enjoy seeing an old twisted healthy tree, you may enjoy my story, The Upper Room with a View. To see out my window I must bend and focus away from the dumpster to seek the beauty of the lake and mountains. In God I have trusted and been rewarded with a rich life of abundant love, great appreciation for his world and the creative life within it.

The “bits” in SM are about everything and nothing. There is some hard information like the alleged amount of TV watched by an average American in 1988, and where one can buy a spaghetti sandwich. Old adages like “you are what you eat,” are explored, along with questions like: is dancing exercise, how much smoke is in a cigar, what is history, does happiness help you focus better, is a TV more important then a refrigerator. There are tips on living well; words from Asia, commentary, on contemporary American life, and on Modern Art. There are no jokes, no pictures, no answers. NOTE: This manuscript is missing from the library collection.