life rattle show no. 1380

Presented on monday, February 20, 2017

hosted by Laurie Kallis

featuring

"Rudy"
by Jessica Gelar

Life Rattle Show No. 1380 features a three-part story from new Life Rattle writer, Jessica Gelar.

Jessica Gelar , the youngest of three daughters, was born in 1993 in Iloilo City, Philippines. Her parents, both certified accountants, moved the family to Mississauga, Canada in 1998. During her first year of living in Canada, Jessica struggled to understand English in her kindergarten class and wished to forget her mother tongue, Ilonggo. But as she grew up, she learned to embrace her heritage. Jessica can now carry conversations in Ilonggo, French, Spanish and Italian.

Jessica could spend her whole day playing the piano or guitar, if only it wouldn’t annoy her neighbours. She also plays the trumpet in an orchestra and sings soprano in her church choir. Jessica Gelar embraces change and has learned that struggles shape us into better people. She is a big believer in second chances and that it’s never too late for someone to learn something new.

Although all of Jessica’s featured stories connect with her cultural background, we chose to present them in two separate podcasts as a nod to the distinctly different voices of their narrator.

“Rudy” brings us back to 1989, before Jessica herself was born, to introduce us to an intriguing character who was part of the lives of Jessica's parents in the Phillipines. In these almost mystical tales we meet Rudy, Jessica’s family, and several other technicolour characters in the small town of Alegre, in the Philipines.