A source asked me if there had been fighting in Batangas. Seems that while standing in the back of a truck yesterday evening, he clearly saw Japanese body parts (arms, legs, torsos...) being hauled away by several passing trucks. The answer came from VoF's 0900 broadcast, reporting Corregidor's big guns had fired at concentrations of Japanese troops on the shore of Cavite.

Corregidor Guns

The Japanese answered by shelling Corregidor with bigger guns today. At around 1800, I distinctly heard the most serious cannonading yet. The booms were loud even from this distance, and very frequent.

Tokyo's dispatch on the bombing of that city said they forced down one of ten B25s and captured the crew. Naturally, the crew made the usual "statement" calling the raid a useless political gesture. All I can say is thanks for telling us the other nine got away.

On a lighter note, one just can't take an eye off one's bike nowadays. A gentleman waiting for his coffee today kept a good eye on his bike parked right in front of the restaurant. As soon as his coffee arrived, his bike departed. Out he went after it, screaming at the top of his lungs, closely followed by the restaurateur waving the bill.

A less trusting fellow took his bike along while shopping at the Divisoria market. Spying something to his liking, he set the bike on its stand and inquired about the price. The first thing the vendor said was, "Someone's taking your bike."

Today a Japanese fellow walked into our store to buy a polo shirt. Dad, showing off unnecessarily, took the shirt and said, "We used to sell it at twice the price. It's a good shirt; good quality — American!" Without thinking, he moved his hands expansively through the rest of the store and added, "All American — good American quality." The Japanese swallowed and dashed for the other side of the store where his package was being prepared, yet I noticed that as the bill was handed to him, he reconsidered and ordered three more.

Now that the Japanese have taken our horses, an "epidemic" is dropping 20 horses a day. According to La Vanguardia, government veterinarians have been informed and are taking the necessary precautions. Unfortunately, these won't include returning them to their rightful owners or restoring their half-day work schedule. The heat, of course, didn't help.