On the wee hours of January 17, 2004 after the birthday party of Mr. Tony Cardenas, a van-load of San Estebanians, driven by Ms. Luz B.
Espejo went to Eagle Mountain Casino to press their luck. The lucky one was Tata Paniong Eala. He got the magic touch from one of the slot machines and hit the "Triple Diamond" jackpot. He took home a pocket full of "green" for safety. CONGRATULATIONS!.
Generous as always known by many, Willy "Boy" Esperanza (Monterey Park, CA) started "chipping in" to buy goat for "Polotan". Mac Eleccion (Chino Hills, CA); Poly Esperanza (Corona Hills, CA); Edwin P. Eala (Hawaii) and others gave also their shares and of course Tata Paniong Eala took care the rest to buy 2 goats. Arthur Eala (Porterville, CA) and Winston B. Europa (China Lake, CA) picked-up the goats.
As I watched their every move cleaning the goats, and preparing for the stuffing, while others stood up around the "Bon-Fire" they built to warmth themselves, I said to myself... Our small town like San Esteban, should we always work together as a team like this...success will prevail. You could hear the laughter of the women group from the inside exchanging pleasantries and camaraderie.
Let us remember to give special thanks and sincere gratitude to Nana Elvie P. Eala for her hard work preparing foods and delicacies for all. It was a happy and wonderful gathering and everyone enjoyed before having its parting of the ways.
