Yesterday, September 14, 2026, something special appeared on the dinner menu at The Heritage Downtown (THD), my home for the past three years: Paella!
For many people, paella may simply be a delicious Spanish rice dish. For me, however, it is much more than that.
Yesterday, when I saw paella on our menu at Newton’s, our in-house restaurant, it immediately took me back to my teenage years in the Philippines and to the wonderful family celebrations of my youth.
My First Three Years at THD Without Paella
I have been a resident of THD for three years. During those three years, I have enjoyed many different meals at Newton’s.
But this is this is the second time I can remember seeing paella on our dinner menu, although we have choppino in our dinner menu once in a while.
I have to admit that I may have had something to do with it.
Several weeks ago, I talked with our Chef, Joel Torres, about our Sunday brunch.
For the past three years, Grilled-baked salmon had regularly appeared on the Sunday brunch menu. I like salmon, but after eating it Sunday after Sunday, I finally told Joel:
"Chef, maybe it is time for a change." I suggested that we alternate the salmon occasionally with something different.
Joel listened patiently and told me that he would bring my suggestion to THD management, which ultimately decides what we are served for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I didn't know whether anything would come of my suggestion.
Then came yesterday. Paella! I smiled when I saw it on the dinner menu.
Maybe it was already planned. Maybe my suggestion had nothing to do with it. Or maybe, just maybe, Chef Joel remembered our conversation.
Whatever the reason, I am grateful. And I am certainly not complaining about the change!
Paella Takes Me Back to the Philippines
The interesting thing about food is that it can carry memories.
One bite can sometimes take us back decades. That is what paella does to me.
Although paella is traditionally associated with Spain, versions of paella became part of Filipino culinary culture during the Spanish colonial period.
In Filipino homes, a similar celebratory dish is often called Arroz Valenciana.
It was never an everyday dish in our household or a regular Filipino household.
We had our familiar Filipino foods-Adobo, Pancit, Sinigang, and many others. Those were the dishes we ate regularly. Paella or Arroz Valenciana was different.
It was a special-occasion dish.
It appeared when something important was being celebrated: a fiesta, a birthday, a wedding reception, an anniversary or Christmas.
And when it appeared on the table, everybody knew that this was not an ordinary day.
My Mother's Christmas Paella
One of my strongest memories is from our family Media Noche, the traditional Christmas Eve celebration.
I can still remember my mother telling our cook to prepare Seafood Paella for our Christmas Eve dinner.
The memory has stayed with me for more than seven decades.
I can almost see the table again. Family members gathered together.
Christmas decorations. The wonderful smell coming from the kitchen.
And in the middle of it all, a beautiful dish of rice filled with seafood.
Those memories are precious to me now. At 91, I have learned that memories are sometimes more valuable than possessions.
A house can disappear. A car can be replaced. Money comes and goes.
But a childhood memory connected to the people we loved can remain with us for a lifetime.
From the Philippines to California
And so, last night, I find myself sitting in my senior living community in Walnut Creek, California, eating a Spanish dish that somehow brings the Philippines back to me.
What a journey my life has been. I was born and raised in the Philippines.
I spent my early years speaking Hiligaynon in Iloilo, later speaking Tagalog at home, and eventually spending most of my professional life in the United States.
I became a chemist and earned my Ph.D. in pharmaceutical chemistry.
I worked in industry and later spent many years with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
I retired from the FDA and eventually made my home here at THD.
And now, at 91, I can sit down at dinner and discover that a simple plate of rice and seafood can connect California David with Filipino David.
Perhaps that is one of the gifts of growing older. We collect experiences, but we also collect memories.
And sometimes, something as simple as food brings the two together.
Food Is Part of Our Cultural DNA
I have written before about how our Filipino culture has been influenced by many countries and peoples.
Our food tells that story. We have indigenous Filipino dishes.
We have Chinese influences in Pancit and other foods.
We have Spanish influences in dishes such as Arroz Valenciana, Caldereta and many others.
And, of course, American influence has also become part of modern Filipino life.
But we don't simply copy these influences.
We Filipinos have a wonderful habit of taking something from another culture and making it our own.
That is why Filipino Paella or Arroz Valenciana is not exactly the same as traditional Spanish paella.
It has become part of our own culinary identity.
For me, that is what makes last night dinner at THD especially meaningful.
A Small Suggestion Can Sometimes Go a Long Way
There is another lesson here. Sometimes we think that our suggestions don't matter, especially as we grow older.
But I have learned not to stop speaking up. At THD, I may be 91, but I still have opinions!
I still make suggestions. I still ask questions. I still learn. I still write.
And, apparently, I still have something to say about what we eat for Sunday brunch or Dinner!
Perhaps my suggestion to Chef Joel contributed to yesterday's paella. Perhaps it didn't.
But I like to think that somewhere between a conversation with a chef and a decision by management, one resident's voice was heard.
And last night, that voice was enjoying paella.
A Plate of Paella, A Lifetime of Memories
As I look back at my life, I realize that some of the happiest memories are not necessarily the great historical events.
They are often the small things. A family dinner. A mother's instruction to the cook.
Christmas Eve. A favorite dish. A conversation. A smell coming from the kitchen.
People we loved sitting around the same table.
Last night's paella at THD brought many of those memories back to me.
It reminded me of my mother. It reminded me of my family.
It reminded me of Christmas in the Philippines and other special occasions.
And it reminded me that although I have lived in America for many decades, the Philippines will always be part of me.
Perhaps that is why food is so powerful. It does not need a passport.
It does not need a history book. It simply needs to be placed on a table.
And suddenly, we are home again. I am 91 years old, living thousands of miles from where I grew up.
But as I enjoy my paella at Newton's, for a moment I am once again that young boy in the Philippines, surrounded by family, waiting for my mother's Christmas Eve dinner.
A taste of Paella. A taste of the Philippines. A taste of Home.
A Thought Before I Finish
Growing older has taught me that life is not only about adding years to our lives.
It is also about keeping alive the memories that give those years meaning.
Last night, a simple dish of paella did exactly that for me.
Food feeds the body. Memories feed the soul.
And family gives both a meaning that lasts a lifetime.
AI Impressions on this Topic:
I especially like the “California David with Filipino David” idea for this post. It connects beautifully with your broader theme of aging: you have changed countries, careers, homes, and decades, but the young David from Iloilo is still there whenever a familiar food, song, place, or memory brings him back.
Moreover, this is a wonderful subject for you because the paella is more than a meal at THD, it becomes a bridge between your life today in Walnut Creek and your childhood memories in the Philippines. I would also emphasize that your suggestion to Chef Joel helped bring this dish to Newton’s. For more information on Paella, visit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paella
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