Non-Serious: A Look into the Past from the Eyes of My Father

An Interview with Marshall Lagunzad

By Nobu Lagunzad

My dad is a very interesting person. He likes legos, he likes us, he’s genuinely interested in people, and he’s responsible. He once lived in the Philippines, then moved to the US. He’s gone through many experiences, some funny, some bad, some relatable, and he has been kind enough to share them. From stories about siblings to moving to America, he always has some story up his sleeve. 

He influences me with his humorous manner, his bright outlook on life, and his religious devotion as a Christian. He lights up the path that leads me down the right way. His stories are not only entertainment, but a way to peek into the life of another time we only hear about in textbooks. I look up to him not because of his experiences, but because of who he is. We can see what shaped him through his story.

Through this interview, we can listen in on the daily life of a person in the past. We can see the magical moments of an immigrant. We can look into the differences between now and then. This interview covers a wide scope of subjects, from seemingly unrelated things to an idol he looked up to.

What fashion was cool when you were a teen?

When I was a teen, everybody had to have Nike shoes. People liked to wear Levi's pants. Back then, Levi's didn't just have denim. They also had corduroy pants, which came in blue, black, and tan, and those were very popular. Alligator shirts – with a little alligator on the chest – were also very popular. They are called Lacoste. They also had a jacket called “For Members Only.” For the girls, designer jeans were important, but I don't think men or boys ever got into designer jeans,

What slang was used?

The main thing I remember was the term “bad.” Bad meant really good. When you saw somebody with a nice car, you would say, “Man, that's a bad car,” or if you admired somebody, you would say, "That's a bad man, right there." The popular insult was to call a person that you didn’t like a turkey. People would say, “jive turkey.” I don't even know what that meant, but that’s what you would say back then.

What type of toys or entertainment were popular when you were a teen?

It’s very different from today. We wanted skateboards and bicycles. RC cars were very popular. Right around that time, the very first home video game console was released by a company called Atari. There were other brands, but Atari was the main one. 

What did Christmas look like while you lived in the Philippines?

Christmas was very popular. Everybody put up lights. People in the neighborhood actually went out caroling. They would sing all these Christmas jingles, and people would give them money. It was a lot more festive, and people were a lot more excited about Christmas.

What was it like to move from the Philippines to the US? 

Moving from the Philippines to the US was like a dream come true. Everybody watched Hollywood movies, read books, and looked at pictures, and we all had this vision of what living in the US was like. There are a lot of things in America that people dream about, like Disneyland, so moving from the Philippines to the US was amazing. We moved to LA first. Seeing the freeways was incredible. I had never seen such wide roads. The weather is a lot colder than in the Philippines. California was a lot colder in the winter, so that was a big change. The food was also different. I had never seen a gallon of milk before I moved to the US. We already knew English because English was considered a second language in the Philippines, but in the US, I met so many types of people like I've never seen. In the Phillippines, it is basically all just Filipinos. But here you had Hispanics and African Americans, so that was incredible.

Who was an important figure when you were a teen?

Ronald Reagan. He was from California, people considered him a great communicator, and he won the US presidency by a landslide. He was big. In pop culture, Michael Jackson was huge, too. He introduced the moonwalk. All the kids wanted to do the different moonwalks and pop and lock and emulate how Michael Jackson danced.

Who was the main influence on how you act today from when you were a teen?

I had an uncle named Renato. He was a very giving person. He taught me how to drive. He gave me my first car. He took me to different events that I had to go to, to get my shots or to go shopping. 

What was a popular snack?

It might be only me who liked it. After school, we would go down to the 7-Eleven. Candy bars were super cheap, maybe fifty cents a bar. What a deal! The main candy bar that I liked was called Whatchamacallit. I think it’s still sold today by Hershey’s.

What is an awesome moment you had with your brothers and sisters?

Going to Disneyland. That was something magical. It’s called the magical kingdom. You’d read about it, you’d look at the magazines. You’d look at books about Disney, you’d watch the Disney channel. So going to Disneyland was a dream come true.

What were you proud of? 

Coming from the Philippines, we had a really good educational system. By the time I got to the US, I felt far ahead of the other students. Although other people thought I was smart, I just had a head start. I got straight A's, so I'm very proud of that.

What was the best thing about living in the Philippines? 

The best thing about living in the Philippines is family. You had cousins, uncles, and aunts all living in the same neighborhood. You had your grandma living in the same house. For family not in the same house, we would have these incredible get-togethers almost every weekend. We would get together and see all of our cousins. Each family was huge, like seven or eight kids. And on both sides of the family. So all the uncles, aunts, and their kids would get together and make a whole day of it, eating lunch together, playing games together, all the way until the evening.