Six months after my mother passed on, Michael and I both agreed to come back to the States. Marlon, my youngest brother who has a Downs Syndrome is living with us. Now that mother is gone he is the only one we need to take care of. He always told me he wants to come to America with us. I wonder sometimes if people with Downs Syndrome know how to dream, and here is Marlon letting me know he wants to come to America.

Well, let me tell you a little about Marlon. When he was born mother knows he has a disability. He looked different and had developmental delays. He couldn't do anything by himself, he has to be assisted to roll over or supported to stand up. He was almost like a rag doll – no strength in his muscles whatsoever. I was 11 years old when he was born. After his first birthday I remember us taking him to the beach, dig a hole in the sand deep enough for my little brother to stand up to his lower chest. Then we heap the sand back in the hole. Watching for his cue that he's not happy about it anymore we would then un-bury him and take him for a swim. That was his “therapy” that we continued to do until his muscles gained strength. The warmth of the sand acting as cast for his lower extremities probably did his muscles good. He started to roll and crawl before his second birthday. Then he started to walk and we were elated. He had speech delays as well. He made sounds but never a word as far as I can remember. When I went off to college in 1977 he still didn't talk, he was 6 years old by then.

The beach where we took Marlon for his therapy:

Mother takes him to church with her on Sundays when he was older. He is a quiet little boy, never bothering anyone during service – he is in his own world. Looking back I would have wanted to be in his “world” to see what it would have been like. Years later mom told me that one day Marlon suddenly raised his hand and said “pisaluk” --pronounced PEA-SUH-LOOK-- in Visayan. And for a while mom didn't understand what he meant or what he wanted. And every time Marlon uttered the word, mom would just repeat it to him. Until one Sunday at church – in the middle of worship and praise songs – Marlon raised his hand mimicking the song leader, who, with eyes closed and right hand raised to heaven was saying “Praise the Lord” and “Hallelujah” in between songs. Mom was watching Marlon who was looking at her with a big smile. Without skipping a beat still with hand raised, he said “Pisaluk” as if telling mom “this is exactly what I mean when I say “pisaluk.” Since then, whenever Marlon says “pisaluk” mom would echo “Praise the Lord” back at him. Marlon was in his twenties when he “talked” where he can be understood....Praise the Lord, indeed!

When my parents came to America in 1994, Marlon was left under the care of my sister and her husband who took really good care of him. Sandy, my brother-in-law, worked at a big school and office supplies store in Pampanga. One day he needed to bring home a box but Marlon laid claim to it. He started cutting and snipping the box into uniformed rectangles. When asked what he's doing he told them he is making checks. When he had a stack he would then tie the “checks” into neat bundles. He would examine the bundles making sure all four sides are uniform and tidy. He is always busy cutting, snipping, and tying his “checks.”

After 8 years Mom and Dad came back from the States and settled again in our hometown. Marlon continued his hobby of check making. Whenever he gets a box, he would carefully examine it, sniff it and touch each corners with his palm and then he goes to work. He would pile all his bundled “checks” and somehow knows when a bundle or two is missing. He brought a lot of “checks” with him when he moved in with us. And here too he continued his hobby of making “checks” so much so that it didn't take long to have stacks of checks in the house. JJ and I did a lot of pleading and coaxing before we can throw some of the bundles away to reduce the clutter. I provided a large “balikbayan” box for him to put all his checks.

Last Christmas I gave him a box of colorful strings to tie his “checks” and he couldn't be happier:

Marlon, I found out, can be taught to do things. One day I told him that we normally do a lot of baking in America and it would help if he knows how since he wanted to come to America. I asked him if he would like to learn to bake some muffins for breakfast that morning which he eagerly said yes. It was a messy experiment but he did well, and yes, the muffins were tasty.

He loves to be around children. Maybe because mentally they are his level and he also likes to tease them. Well, he teases us adults too. He is very caring and very concerned for everybody's welfare. He loves to tag along with us when we do our Saturday feeding program for the children of Nasa and Talisay. Whenever we go on a trip, he makes sure everybody on the trip are accounted for before we could leave. He'll make a roll call every time.

Marlon loves to swim. He would spend hours on the shore among the waves. He would beach himself and let the waves beat on him. That seems to be his favorite pastime. When he comes home from the beach he would be sporting red eyes and even darker skin. And then he does it again the next day and the next. He seems to know when rain is coming or when there's a bad weather. He'd forecast it and lo and behold here comes the storm the next day or two. Our neighbors would be drying out rice on the street and Marlon would tell them to get ready for it is going to rain. Most of the time he's right. The neighbors wonder at how Marlon could tell...I don't. My brother is a gifted man. Where else can you find a person with Downs Syndrome who can speak Visayan, Tagalog, Kapampangan and understand a bit of English? And yes, even dream of coming to America!