One for the books

Finance wiz Robert “Bob” Miller recently marked his 70th birthday with a celebration that was truly one for the books. For in lieu of presents, Bob asked his close friends to give him “one or two” hardbound books — not for himself but for the growing number of libraries that he has set up in Alabang and Makati. And the hard truth is — Bob got his wish!

An American who has chosen to make the Philippines his home, Bob invited about 100 friends for dinner and a show at the one-of-a-kind, fabulous Club Mwah in Mandaluyong City. The evening began with a buffet diner, next came a special show produced by Cris Nicolas, Club Mwah’s overall artistic director and choreographer, and Poch Malilin, the club’s founder and owner. I swear you could have been in Vegas or Broadway, though in a smaller scale, with the lights, sounds and colorful costumes of the fast-paced show, dubbed Follies de Mwah.

During the intermission, Bob was joined on stage by Paul Allen, a close friend from the US who flew in just for the occasion, and who revealed that one secret of Bob’s success is that he was willing to take on difficult, out-of-the-way assignments even during holidays — till he became virtually indispensable to his boss. His efforts were rewarded when he eventually became the boss.

Taj made many hearts melt when he told Bob how great a father he has been since he (Taj) was just a few days old, “and my mother couldn’t take care of me.”

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There was no fine print to Bob’s requests for books in lieu of other well-meaning gifts.

“I have always been interested in reading and managed over the years to acquire literally thousands of books when I lived in the States,” Bob recalls. “I never threw away a book and soon I was overrun with hardbound volumes. When I realized that I had no more space, I decided to begin donating some of them to libraries in the Bay Area, 15 volumes here, 10 volumes there. By the time I came to the Philippines, I had given away several thousand, many of them to charitable institutions that sold them in their thrift shops; the funds realized helped finance their charitable works.

“One day five or so years ago when I was at the Tuloy Foundation in Alabang learning about the organization’s mission, I asked another expat volunteer if Tuloy had a library and he said he didn’t know...a couple of days later he called and said they didn’t (except for a small room with a few books that nobody read). He asked if I would be interested in joining him on a project to establish a library and since literacy is very important to me, I agreed and with the help of several other people, we came up with a project to provide Tuloy with a library and learning center. Today, Tuloy has an air-conditioned library with an adjoining computer learning center. I donated the custom-made bookcases and sourced 400 to 500 books. Many books were also donated by Rotary. We have a computerized book inventory and even a ‘librarian.’

“I get immense joy seeing kids who have never looked at a book sprawled on the floor going through one. I continue to donate books virtually every month, some I bought, some were donated by friends, others were the result of letters I sent seeking donations — from such diverse organizations as National Book Store to the US Information Agency to foreign embassies and local publishers. I was very choosy as to the types of books we placed on the shelves so I didn’t accept out-of-date books, damaged ones, and I tried to only get hardcover books because they last longer.

“When I realized that the number of books at Tuloy was at a fairly good level, I started searching for other places. I found a free neighborhood library in Makati and donated 100 books a year ago. Another place was at a municipal library in Quezon and hope to take 300 to 500 there during one of their festivals. STAR’s Büm Tenorio Jr. heard of what I was doing and asked if I would help him get some children’s books for a library in his hometown and I hope to have 300 to 500 books ready for him in a couple of months!”

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Bob’s heart is one big, sprawling library, with enough shelves to contain his awesome trove of love and wisdom. When he is praised for his literacy projects, he just shrugs the compliments off.

“I have never considered what I do to be a ‘big deal.’ I just subscribe to the theory that we all can make a difference even by doing small things, like donating a book so a child can have a little enjoyment doing something that I have done all my life...reading!” says this Omar Shariff look-alike.

We all had fun at Bob’s birthday party and we all read between the lines — the party wasn’t just for him. It was for all those who seek a better world through the written word.

And may you live happily ever after, Bob!

(You may e-mail me at [email protected].)