Reading 2

• Jose Paciano Laurel lost his father when he was about ten or eleven years old and was raised by his mother in Tanauan, Batangas
• The Laurels were close with the Rizal’s of Calamba thus, Jose was also named Paciano after Jose Rizal’s older brother
• Jacoba taught her children ABCs but school bored the young Jose
• Jacoba engaged Jose on tutoring


  Jose was given private lessons instead of attending school
• Jose would just play either the guitar or violin instead of studying
• He spent three years on fifth grade
• Speaker: 'Quote'
• One teacher even said “this boy won’t amount to anything. Kick my grave if he does”
• When he was younger he also wanted an anting-anting (amulet)
• He would spend nights at the cemetery waiting to wrestle with a café to fully own the anting-anting (amulet)
• Jose never got one
• One morning, he was found by the cemetery keeper lying on a tomb, foot tied to a cross with wound on his head
• He never explained what happened to him but he thought that maybe one of his friends hit him leaving him unconscious
• When Jose was also about six or seven he slipped down the deep well in their backyard
• Fortunately their cook saw him and yelled bringing his father and their driver to rescue him