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MA: It seems like back then, too, like you were saying, it was more of a community, everyone sort of knew each other as well.

MM: Uh-huh, but it certainly is not like that anymore. Yeah, those were the days. [Interruption] In the first place, my mother didn't have to be strict. I was the only one that she had trouble with; I don't think she thought I belonged in that family. But she was lucky to have my two older sisters and my brother. They were all, you know, I mean, I was, too, but I was kind of... I don't know, I think I enjoyed doing this and that, whereas they were more on the quiet side, and you know, those two were just like that. And my brother was very quiet, too, but I don't think the boys, all the boys were really good, good guys. And like Dick, he was here...

MA: Dick Yamamoto?

MM: Yeah, Dick and my brother were the same age, there was about four of five of 'em that were, always stuck together. But this is something that I don't think Dick even remembers, but this is something that I think it should be in, in there. Not because I said it, but you know, in those days, nobody had cars. You know, we wouldn't have any place to park 'em anyway, because all of us lived in hotels or restaurants. Anyway, that one day when they were gonna go camping, okay, nobody had cars in those days, and so my mom and my sisters said, "Hurry up and come to the window." And so we all went to the window and -- well, my brother was already downstairs, and so we kept looking and pretty soon, here comes Dick and Tom and his friends, and they had frying pans, you know, tied to their... [gestures to shoulders]. And all of 'em, there was about five of 'em, then, this is right on Riverside, the busy part of the town, one, then the next one, there's five, five of them, and then my brother came last because he was the last one. And they're all riding, and they're gonna go camping. And do you know, my mother almost had tears in her eyes, and I said, "What's the matter? He's gonna have a good time." And it wasn't that, it was, oh, you know, it's too bad that they can't have cars and they couldn't go in cars. But I said, "No, now those boys, wait 'til they get a little bit older. They're gonna appreciate it a lot more." Because none of 'em could afford to have cars, but yet it was so cute to see them, all of them with pans hanging off. But the kids these days, boy, they wouldn't be caught dead with a pan, but it's just something that in those days, they had to do it. But they used to do a lot of things like that, but, but they enjoyed it. It was a little bit different, you know. Now they gotta have cars with this and that. Oh well, to each his own. [Laughs]

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2006 Densho. All Rights Reserved.