<Begin Segment 12>

SY: I really want to hear, because you had mentioned to me that you'd written a piece about camp.

TF: Oh, yes, I'll read that. It was when I was... it was my oldest sister and myself, and I snuck out of camp one day. And the railroad tracks were going by, and then the song that was always so popular was, "Gonna take a sentimental journey, gonna set my heart at ease." And I could just hear that in my mind. And my sister is braiding my hair and fixing it, and I'm saying, "Itai, Neesan" -- meaning "eldest sister" -- "please don't pull my hair so tight when you're braiding it. It hurts. Don't be mad at me, Neesan. I told you about my exciting adventure today because I wanted you to know about it. Oh, please, don't tell Mom and Dad. I mean, he'll only yell at her. He'll say she's not being responsible in looking after me. I don't want him to be mad at her for something I did wrong. I didn't know you'd get so upset, I mean, I'm sorry I worried you. I promise I won't ever do it again, honest. It was my first time. Hontou. You know I always try to do what you tell me. I wasn't thinking. It was such a beautiful day. I was down near the train track and a train went by and I waved at the man in the caboose. I wanted to be on that train and see what they see. I wanted to see something besides these tarpaper barracks. Well, I was very careful. I didn't see anyone so I crawled under the barbed wire and crossed the railroad tracks and walked on the road for a while. Gosh, Neesan, there was nothing much to see, I mean, nothing pretty. No lawns, no flowers, no trees. Oh, just this long, dusty road. The sun was so bright. Oh, it was so hot. When I looked way off in the distance, the road seemed to shimmer and looked like a lake. I got so thirsty and hot and tired, but I kept walking 'cause I was hoping for something beautiful to see. Then I saw this dusty path and I followed it because I saw a small shack with a tree and some grass near it, and a dog. It was so nice to see this dog. It was wagging its tail when it saw me, oh, really friendly. He came over to me and let me pat him. I miss my dogs from home, Neesan.

This shack was really small, a small country grocery store. I don't know who shops there. I didn't see any other houses around. You know, it didn't seem that much larger than our old outhouse back home in Hardwick. Neesan, this store was worse than the barracks we live in. The floor was just dirt. Once I went inside the store, you could even see the hot sunlight show between the cracks in the wall. It was dark, no light bulb. The owner and his wife and two children, a boy and girl younger than me, they stared and stared at me and I was scared. I don't think they ever saw anyone who looks like me, an Oriental. Well, I stared, too. I don't think I ever saw kurombo before. I heard about kurombo, Negro people, but I never saw one or talked to one before. Funny. We just looked and looked at each other, and when they smiled at me, I smiled back. I felt bad because I had no money to spend, and I really wanted to buy something here. I thought the food and drink would taste better than here, than in the mess hall. Neesan, they were so nice. They gave me a penny candy and some soda. It was so delicious. Of course I thanked them. We didn't talk to each other, just stared and smiled. I didn't stay long. I said goodbye and hopped and skipped, walked, and then ran back towards camp. I wasn't paying attention, so I didn't see the jeep on the road when I was trying to sneak back in. When I finally saw the jeep, I couldn't find any place to hide by the side of the road. There wasn't a ditch or a shrub to hide behind. And even though the soldier had a gun and looked scary, he was nice and helpful. He even helped me crawl back through the barbed wire. I didn't want to get caught by those scary guards on the towers with their machine guns pointed at us. See, Neesan? It's okay. I'm safe and I had a really good time today walking outside of the barbed wire."

SY: That's great. So tell me when you wrote that. It's such a vivid piece.

TF: Well, there was a time when my husband was -- I've been married twice, and my first husband, not then, it was the second husband and he had pneumonia, so I was sitting for days just at the hospital. And then that's when I thought, just sitting there, I never tried writing anything. I don't really enjoy writing anything, and then I was writing some of my thoughts. I'm glad I did it, but it's not something I...

SY: It's wonderful. And it's... I mean, is it purely from memory?

TF: Uh-huh.

SY: So it actually happened, and you remember sneaking out.

TF: Uh-huh, and then sneaking back in.

SY: Wow. You were very unusual to...

TF: Probably I was braver than I thought, or stupid. [Laughs]

SY: Precocious, I think, is the word.

<End Segment 12> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.