These e-mail communiqués from a father to his adult
offspring, as collected and published by his third
child, can only be described as a hosanna sung by
Geraldine Perlas-Henderson of Houston, Texas, to her
father, Attorney Precioso R. Perlas of Manila,
Philippines.
One is profoundly moved by the intense devotion to his
children manifested in the letters written by an
extraordinary father. And one is no less affected by
the realization that his devotion is matched, heartbeat
for heartbeat, by that of his daughter Geraldine. Never
wavering from her determination to tell EVERYONE about
her Daddyeo, she painstakingly collected and compiled
and finally completed her labor of love. She has
achieved her goal and now invites the whole world to
read these letters over her shoulder. Mabuhay!
When these small miracles happen in our turbulent world
one recalls Abraham Lincoln’s words of optimism: “ . . .
. let us confidently hope that all will yet be well.”*
Dolores de
Iruretagoyena de Humphrey
Houston, Texas
* Farewell Address, Springfield,
Illinois, February 11, 1861