An Eden for Mely

Intended guests got a preliminary phone call followed by a faxed invitation pending receipt of a formal one which was still being printed in New York! Paing Hechanova, children Renna, Raffy, Raissa and Diana and their spouses were just not taking chances of any miscommunication as they invited hundreds of friends to celebrate with them the birthday of their dearly loved Mely.

For this, the NBC Tent was turned into a veritable Garden of Eden with a vast orchard overhanging with apples–big, red and luscious enough to tempt all the Eves and Adams present. In keeping with the "Garden of Eden" motif, Mely was in a stunningly elegant green gown, as were all her daughters, and the entire floor space was covered with red and white rose petals over which the Hechanova grandsons, outfitted in Little Lord Fauntleroy suits, kept running hither and thither.

Further, on each table was a miniature orchard overhanging likewise with big, red, luscious apples which looked real for biting into. After all, didn’t Oscar Wilde write "The best way to deal with temptation is to give in to it"? Eve and Adam certainly did!

Via Mare’s chef prepared a superb menu whose entree cleverly catered to both the cholesterol-conscious and the "reckless gourmets". Thus, the pine-nut crusted tenderloin was served on the same plate as the seabass with its orange-balsamic sauce.

At my table, the vivacious Tereret Tambunting Liboro, Mellie Ablaza and Helen Ong, Sony Lopez Gonzales seated just across, and Mely herself, wore eye-popping dazzlers with which to open a jewelry store beside 6750 along Ayala Avenue. But all that glitter was counter-balanced by the civic-minded invitation which read: "In lieu of gifts, a donation to the PGH Pediatric Ward would be highly appreciated." By the same token, Fr. Pat Lim intoned before dinner: "Lord, make us mindful of the hungry, and make those who are not hungry hunger for God."

A wonderful orchestra, a top-rated singing quartet, an equally top-rated songstress and emcee Johnny Litton enlivened the scene at the huge Tent which, stripped of its Garden of Eden decor, harked back to the basketball court and the games which had sparked off the romance between the dashing sharp-shooter Paing and the soigné socialite Mely Concepcion.