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AI: Well, and then you had three children.

HK: Yes. Three boys, and one, the oldest, which gave me the most thrill when he was born, because he was the first, and the, a boy, he was riding a bicycle when he was about twenty, or eighteen, or twenty, and he was hit by a car, and he had brain surgery and a broken leg, and whether it was caused by the accident or not, I don't know, but he developed mental problems. Schizophrenia, I think, and so he, he's under medication, he's disabled, and he lives by himself, but he's under, he gets state compensation and Medicare and so forth, so that he lives and because of the whatever he gets, he pays (his) brother rent, and (his) brother owns the condo. He bought the condo and then he set him up, so he pays (his) brother rent, and he has a caregiver who, whose own brother is also disabled. So he's a caregiver for his brother and also for our son. So he gets paid for that from the state. So he's off of my hands, our hands. My wife continued to work, because she couldn't take him around, and then, so I was his caregiver for many years, over ten, I think, and I would cook for him and would see that, look, check his medication. And yeah, I was taking care of him, because whenever he went to a halfway house or boarding care, it's a business for them. And they skimp on food and everything, and they live in very crowded quarters, and so he didn't like it, we didn't like it, he would come home. So it was much easier to have him home and take care of him, and so right now I don't have to worry too much about him, although he calls us once in a while. But the caregiver is good, and, yeah. So he's fairly independent. He does volunteer work, and goes to adult care place, and that's how it is with him.

And then I have two others, one who owns a home himself, and then owns this condo, and into other things. He climbs mountains and he's climbed Mount -- we saw that mountain coming. Shasta, I guess. He's climbed that several times. He's climbed Kilimanjaro and Kenya, and I don't know whether he's gonna do anymore of that, I hope not, but he has a dog, a boxer, which keeps him very close to home. [Laughs]

And then I have another son, who has taken up writing, and is a writer and producer of a very successful musical show. And it's been traveling from town to town in Northern California, all over California. He got this civil liberties grant to do this, to travel, and he's worked all the L.A. area, and now is doing the show, four shows at East West Players, and it's been sold out for weeks. And every, shows that they have done is sold out, packed to capacity. And so it's a very successful show, and it's called The Camp Dance, the dancing that the Nisei did in camp, and then the songs that they listen to, of the '40s, and some of the Japanese songs that were popular then. They have a couple of singers who can do Japanese songs, and Nisei really like, like all those songs. And then the message is that these Sansei and Yonsei people really acknowledge the, the work that the Nisei and the struggles and the, the experience in the camp that they went through, and they're saying thank you to them. And this really hits them hard. And so they cry and they laugh, and it's a really, a very wonderful show for Nisei audiences. And he's had great success. I've never been in a show that was that successful, ever. I don't think any actor has. So these actors are so happy, you know, every time they play it's a full house. And they have a great musician, piano. And so he's doing very well. He works, day job he has, he works for an Asian Pacific healthcare venture. And it's to provide health insurance, health coverage for Asians, Southwest Asians who don't have insurance. And they get, his job is to get funding from any, any place. And he puts out a newsletter, but that's his day job, but he's working hard on this other... so he and his wife -- he's the only one married, his wife is the lead singer in this group, and she's a wonderful singer. So they work very well together, and the whole group works well. So that's a big success story. [Laughs]

AI: Well, that sounds wonderful. I'd like to see it myself.

HK: Oh, yeah. They want to bring it up to Seattle, and he got another grant from civil liberties, and I don't know whether that, that must be for California towns, California, limited to. But Seattle they would have to have some fundraising. So if you, my wife gave you the sheets. She's the biggest promoter. [Laughs] And there are people in Seattle who are related to some of the performers and have friends, and they, they would like to see it, too. Yeah. So maybe you will see it. [Laughs]

<End Segment 30> - Copyright © 2004 Densho. All Rights Reserved.