Having reached the eighty third year of my life, a life that has spanned most of the twentieth century, and realizing with astonishment what an adventure it has been, I have endeavored to write of some of the happenings that brought me thus far. Friends, family, and acquaintances have urged me on to complete this story of my life for they, too, find it an interesting one.
	Felipe Morales Reyes

     How, they wonder, did a little orphan boy from a small town in the Philippines find his way to the United States and the Deep South where he made a life for himself and his American family? Over sixty years later and a great grandfather three times, I feel it is time to write my life's chronicle.

     It has truly been the fulfillment of the American Dream in its best sense. I owe a debt of gratitude to many who helped me along the way and chief of these is Mr. William G. Hall, an American businessman from Honolulu who brought me from the Philippines to his home in Hawaii. It was Mr. Hall who taught me to adhere to certain principles that have made my life a rewarding one. It was his example that I patterned my life after and still do. It was Mr. Hall who first planted the idea that I should write my story. This book is lovingly dedicated to him.