<Begin Segment 55>

AI: Well, along with all these changes, in your own family, you've had changes. You have a new generation now, your grandchildren, and I was wondering if you would just say a little bit about what types of hopes or, hopes that you might have for your grandchildren and for the other future generations?

RI: Yeah, of course, my grandchildren are, what should I say? They're, ainoko is mixed generation, so they're... well, my gosh, they're one-quarter Chinese, one-quarter Japanese, and half-Caucasian. I mean, both sets of grandchildren. Well, one of 'em is a nine-year-old boy, and then the other, other family, there's a five-year-old girl, and a three-year-old boy. Well, I hope that, for them, that they'll just grow up to be good people, good citizens. Not necessarily be a president of something but, you know, have good values for themselves. And then, what I'm glad about my children is, well, I'm not too sure about my son, but my daughters, they're very thoughtful of other people, and you know, they're grateful for what services they receive and they're sure to thank them or reciprocate with gifts or whatever, a little bit Japanesey, where you're always bearing gifts. But I'm glad. It's better than not thinking like that. And, of course, maybe girls are different from boys. I don't know if my son is like that.

But when my son went to Stanford, I remember that the first year he was there I sent him matsutake, and I don't know what he was going to do with it but he immediately said he got on the bicycle and went to some professor's home and brought it to them because they were Japanese, and they were from Seattle. So, I said, well, good. He was thoughtful, anyway. And then, I'm making all these rice sack aprons and one year he said he wanted couple of 'em because he was going to a Stanford family who had invited him for dinner and he wanted to bring an apron to the host and hostess, you know, one for the wife and one for the husband. So I thought, well, good. I want them to be sure to be thoughtful, not just take things for granted.

And then my daughter, who's living in New York with a eight-year-old son, oh he's nine now. She says she wants him to learn that he should also be sharing things and think about other people. So he's having trouble with his eye, vision, so one, one of his eyes is almost blind. But I got a letter from him saying that, "I'm going to be nine years old on February 18th but I don't want you want to give me any presents. My mother said that I will receive one birthday gift from them but that I would like you to donate any money you spend on my birthday gift and give it to this organization for seeing-eye dogs, because they would help a blind person." And she said that they sent about fifty letters like that to their friends and to all my relatives. I said, "Oh, gosh, I don't want you to tell my relatives to give him a gift." But they were glad to do it and my daughter said, "Well, even if it's five dollars it's good because it's this kid saying, 'Sure, I don't want any birthday present, please donate it to this organization.'" So I'm glad that at least my children are teaching their children how to share things and be thoughtful of other people. I was proud of him. I wish I brought that letter, it was so cute. [Laughs]

AI: It's wonderful to hear about those values being passed on.

RI: Yes. You know, not always give me, give me, give me. They get too many things, anyway.

AI: Well, is there anything else that we haven't said that you would like to say?

RI: Well, I think I talked so much that right now my mind is sort of blank. I'll probably think of lot of things that I wish I had said, but it's all right.

AI: We really appreciate your time and participating in the interview. Thanks very much.

RI: I'm very glad to do this.

<End Segment 55> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.