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BY: And then so you graduate from high school and then what did you do?

DR: What did I do? I think I continued... no, no, I got a job at the Federal Reserve, a real job. And they had an opening in L.A. and I always wanted to live in California. So at twenty, I packed up my bag and I told my mom, "I'm leaving."

BY: What was her reaction?

DR: Oh, she didn't want me to go, but I said, "I'll be fine, I'll be good." She said, "Okay, well, you can go with my blessing," so I went. And I had all kinds of jobs, but I quit the Federal Reserve because it was so boring. I worked as a nanny, a live-in nanny because I thought... I liked cooking and I liked cleaning house. Not because... this house I went to was immaculate, and I loved working there because I didn't have to do anything.

BY: How did you find that job?

DR: Just, you know, looking in the paper.

BY: Like a want ad?

DR: Yeah, and through word of mouth.

BY: And so what year is this, approximately? When did you graduate from high school?

DR: I graduated in '59, so this must have been about, between sixty-one and sixty-three, I think. And then I worked for a trucking company.

BY: And so you are a young, single Nisei woman living in L.A., living away from home for the first time. So talk about what that was like, that life was like.

DR: You know, I got to know quite a few Nihonjin people. And I won't mention any names, but there were some very well-known people within this group.

TI: Which part of town?

DR: Well, I lived in the Crenshaw area, and then we used to go to parties and we'd meet all these people from the valley in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills. It was fun. It was carefree, it was so much fun. I met so many people. Being a single, irresponsible person having fun.

<End Segment 14> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.