<Begin Segment 23>

TI: So I have to ask you how you met your wife.

KT: Oh. [Laughs] I differ from what my wife said on there. That my older brother didn't say he would send me. Giro, the mutual friend did call me on the phone and he says, "Hey, you got to do me a favor, and you owe me." A good fishing buddy of mine. He says, "You got to take my sister-in-law to this dance." So I said, "Okay, I'll come down."

TI: So you got a call, so your future wife was in Portland, you're in Seattle, and you get this call to, essentially, take this woman to a ball or to a dance. And so what were you thinking? That was okay with you, you thought that would be fun?

KT: Oh, I thought it would be fun. And then I brought my friend along with me for moral support. [Laughs] And when we got down there, we clicked. We met each other, and everything just clicked. So it was a lot of fun.

TI: So what was it about your wife that stood out for you? What attracted you to her initially?

KT: Well, I could speak to her. She doesn't hold back either. I mean, she'll speak her mind, and I spoke my mind, so we had a common trait on there. And lot of times we'll get into an argument, but, I mean, we both, we didn't hold back.

TI: So I interviewed your wife last week, and one of the things that was interesting to me was how during a critical time during her upbringing, she was actually raised by...

KT: A Swedish family.

TI: ...a Swedish family. And so I'm curious, when you met her, did she seem different than the other, like, Nisei women that you knew, or was there something different about her and how she was raised?

KT: I didn't really make that distinction, I just knew she was a lot of fun to be with. She was knowledgeable, I mean, she could speak up on all kinds of things, and that was the mutual attraction, really. [Laughs]

TI: So describe for me how you proposed to your, to your wife.

KT: How did I propose to her? I guess I did have her come up to Seattle, and she stayed with my sister. I think I just showed her the ring. [Laughs]

TI: [Laughs] Okay, I just had to ask that. After interviewing your wife and having such a good time, I just wanted to kind of get your side of the story of how the two of you got together.

<End Segment 23> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.