<Begin Segment 11>
KN: And you still have fond memories of Kauai.
MY: Oh, yeah, Kauai, that's where I grew up, from kindergarten to... even now, I'm still part of it.
KN: Do you think Kauai has changed?
MY: Kauai? Of course, yeah. Whether the change is good or bad, but it changes, so you just got to accept it. And I have my thoughts of how to, sort of how to "improve" it, but...
KN: That's for a bigger story.
MY: Yeah. [Laughs]
KN: And you mentioned right now that you're building your dream home.
MY: Oops... no, no, it's...
KN: So you're still keeping active in your projects.
MY: Yeah, it's getting there, and I hope it turns out as so-called my "dream home."
[Interruption]
KN: I'm just so curious since everyone's story is so different. Because you're one of the few people that I've met... would you describe the Nakamura store? I've never seen it. You said you could picture it, but I've never... in Kauai. I've never seen it, and evidently it was this store that everyone knew about.
MY: Okay. Like the town of Kapaa and architecture on plantation days, it's almost like a western cowboy movie. There's a flat facade, but actually behind it is a sloped roof made out of corrugated metal. But the front is flat with a big sign, "Nakamura Store," I picture white trim. You walk in, it's almost like a (typical country store), very interesting to look at the shelves and you have all kinds of stuff.
KN: So it's like a dry goods or grocery store?
MY: Everything.
KN: Everything? So it was a true plantation store that had everything in there.
MY: Yeah, right, right. You know, (like Hasegawa General Store). That's a nice song, you probably can write a song like that of Nakamura store.
KN: How were the proprietors.
MY: There were nice.
KN: Oh, you don't have to say that. [Laughs]
MY: I mean, Paul, like I said, Mel... well, I didn't know Mel too much, but... well, I didn't know Paul, he was older. So (when you are young) you look up to older people. I thought because you admire the older guys, I thought he looked like maybe Clint Eastwood. I'm only kidding. [Laughs] Or Kevin Costner?
KN: No, he's definitely not Kevin Costner.
MY: But (Kapaa) was a nice town.
KN: We had to move because there was just, my grandfather felt there was opportunities beyond plantation work, work there. And then he moved to Hawaii and then he found real hard work. He also, someone had owned apartments, so he also collected...
MY: Oh, rent?
KN: Rent and also the pig slop. And you said you were doing that, my father remembers that, too. And you folks never got paid, it was just chores.
MY: But Kapaa town, everyone was really old fashioned. They didn't give (you a pain) shot when they pulled out teeth, and just chew on this gum and yank, just yank it out.
KN: So are all of you folks here?
MY: The what?
KN: Most of you folks are here, your brother and your sisters?
MY: No, I have... let's see...
KN: Some are, you're scattered.
MY: Two on Maui, Kimiko and Mary, there were two on Kauai, Florinda and Margaret, then let's see... three here, or four. Wait, that's nine. Yeah, four in Honolulu. (Eiko, Rosa, Fumiko, and myself). [Laughs]
KN: but it's such a blessing that you have your grandkids living with you folks.
MY: Oh, yeah, that's hundred percent. Like today we had breakfast with them. Yeah. And they, these kids are smart. Smarter than my days. [Laughs]
<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.