“I always loved running,” said Jesse Owens, the four-time Olympic gold medalist. “It was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs.”
I know one man who’ll nod his head in agreement, make the thumbs-up sign, smile and say, “Yes! That’s why I run!” Dr. Vicente Verallo. One of Cebu’s top dermatologists, he’s a busy man. Visit his Chong Hua clinic and you’ll notice the long hours he works. At home, he is happily married to top Cebu cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Susan Verallo. They have eight children. At work, at home—life is hectic. Still, the one thing Dr. Vic never fails to schedule?
Their white socks turned brown. Hair, disheveled. Frowns covered their faces. They sprinted. Scrambled left, front, right. They banged 22 shots. Then 19. Then 24. Dirt stuck glued underneath the soles of their blue Nikes. Their legs, spring chickens at the first point, wobbled. It was tiresome, grueling and, after over 185 minutes, they still had not finished.
Don’t you find her pretty? She is. I hope you watched her semi-final match against Maria Sharapova. If you had to choose one to date on a romantic, candlelit dinner, who’d it be? The blonde or the dark-haired beauty? I know my favorite dentist, Dr. Nonito Narvasa, will choose Maria (he’s professed obsession over her), but I’ll go for Ana—not Anna Kournikova—but Ana Ivanovic.
Jacinto Gayanilo Mendez II is a cowboy. No, “Jake” is no grandson of John Wayne nor does he own a ranch at the Alamo in Texas. Like you and a million others, he was born, raised and schooled in Cebu City.So, he’s a cowboy? Yes. Jake owns two horses named Barrack and Maxim. Peer inside his bedroom and you’ll spot four brown hats and pairs of leather boots. He wears gloves, chaps, blue jeans, a thick belt and, yes, the cowboy must-have tool: a revolver.