Wowowee contestant finally meets American dad
NEW JERSEY –A former Wowowee participant’s long-time wish to meet his American father finally came true.
Barry Bogert Jr. became an orphan at 5 years old when his mother died of cancer.
Last year, Barry Jr. was a contestant for the talent portion of “Wowowee” called Willie of Fortune. It was there where he told his sad story on television.
He said his father was an American serviceman stationed in the former US base in Olongapo. His father, Bogert Sr. left him and his mother before he was born.
Greg Rosas, a TFC (The Filipino Channel) subscriber and Filipino business owner in Seattle, Washington, decided to help Barry Jr. find his dad.
Barry Jr., became a US citizen and came to Seattle last week with Rosas’ help.
Last Saturday, together with a crew of Good Morning America, Barry Jr., went home to his family in Paterson, New Jersey.
Balitang America reported that Barry Jr. could not stop crying the moment he laid eyes on his father whom he has never seen since he was born.
His father told him that he is home now, and he will make up for the time he's lost through these years.
Barry Jr. also met all his cousins, aunts and uncles and grandmother too. They welcomed him with a barbecue party.
The father and son bonded immediately but they only had one day to spend with each other. Barry Sr. decided it was best for his son to start his life in the West Coast.
Barry is now back in Seattle and working as a dishwasher at Rosas' restaurant. He said he wants to bring his fiancée and 2 kids in the near future. Balitang America
Printer-friendly version
Send to friend
Share your views
One more thing.
One more criticism of Balitang America:
There is absolutely NO way "the father and son bonded immediately". That never happens in situations like these; such bonding, if it occurs at all, takes time. Please don't lie in your reporting, just to make something sentimental.
"His father told him that he is home now, and he will make up for the time he's lost through these years." What a load of crud! Lying from the father this time. Barry, Jr.'s home now, and his father will make up for the time he's lost? By sending the son far away--and you can't 'make up' for abandoning your child, at most you hope they can forgive you. Face it, if it's up to the father, Barry and Barry, Jr. will not being meeting up again in this world.
A Pandora's Box?
While this man finally gets to meet his father, it does not seem that the father wants much to do with him. His father lives on the East Coast, yet feels his son should live on the West Coast, thousands of miles away. Rosas was kind to do what he did, but I hope - for the son's sake - that the father was not pressured to meet a child he never wanted to meet. If the guy knew Barry, Jr.'s mother was pregnant, and abandoned both of them, that does not bode well for a future father-son relationship.
Not to mention that Balitang America sucks, and is willing to report on anything to do with Filipinos, no matter how absurd, presumably because Filipino Americans are too apathetic to provide the show with legitimate content.
so happy for him..
i wish someone can help us also. My twin sister and I are looking for our biological dad since we're 15 yrs old. Now, we're already turning 25 yrs old this year. But we are still putting our hopes high. We're still wishing that we'll get to meet him someday. I hope someone will help us as well. thanks!