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VY: Well, also I think you're kind of talking about role models, right?

MM: Yes.

VY: And wondering, for you, as you were growing up and later in life, if you had any Asian role models, Japanese American role models that you can think of?

MM: No. Actually, my mom, I have to tell you, she has been, and my dad, too, in a different way. Because she contributed certain things to my life which I wish I could emulate, and I wish I were better at it, because she has discipline up the kazoo. I mean, she was a very disciplined person. And she's spiritual, too, but my dad is very spiritual. And I got that from him. He never talked about it much, but I got it from him. So those were really good role models, I think, in terms of, in general, I don't know. I mean, there have been people that I've admired, but not really. [Laughs] Isn't that terrible? No, I just figured that my parents wer0065 the best role models. Because even I tell people, you can change your life when you're fifty. I mean, I was so shocked when my mom decided she was going to go to beauty school when she was fifty, and I was in high school or something. No, I had gym, so I had to be in college, I was married already. But to me, fifty was pretty old then, and to be changing careers at fifty, just seemed like, wow. But I tell people, "You're not stuck at wherever you are," and that's because of my mother, that she was able to do that, just do what she wanted to. But she fulfilled all her obligations until she had to, she fulfilled her obligations until she wasn't required to, like raising kids. So once we were all out of the house, then she could go to school and spend some money on herself. I thought that was really pretty good. And my dad is a role model and not always yelling at everybody. He was very quiet, and he'd let you know what he thinks, he would think about things, but he was very spiritual. So I got a lot from that, so I think that was perfect for me.

VY: That's such a great answer, I love that your parents were your main role models.

MM: I think it is for a lot of children. I mean, I think it's important what their parents are like. Because those are the ones that make the biggest impression on you at the beginning. But there have been teachers that I've admired, and different, well, I look at Taylor Swift, I admire her. [Laughs] She's the most amazing person to me, I mean, you know, that at her age she can do what she does. I think, I don't know her that well, I mean, I don't know that much about it. But it seems like she's got a pretty good on her shoulders from being so rich. So there are a lot of people to admire in this world.

Oh, and another thing that I have to say is that watching NHK, I'm glad there's a channel on Japanese. It makes me really happy to be Japanese, because you see these role models -- I mean, they probably show the best people on NHK, right? They're not going to show somebody who's a dud. But it really makes me happy to see these really normal, good people, and they're not necessarily really famous, but they're really good people that they show on NHK, so I like that. I think the best role models are those that are normal and who live a really good life. Not necessarily rich, not necessarily famous, but they're good people in life.

VY: I love that answer so much. I'm wondering, speaking of your parents and role models, what kind of values did your parents instill in you?

MM: Well, my mom would probably say, because she didn't think I actually embraced many of them, that... let's see. I don't know that they actually told me anything. I think it's a matter of example, how they lived their life, because they persevered even after. When I'd think about what they had to go through in order to give me the life I had, actually, Alan and Shoji, what they had to go through so I could actually learn to play, I mean, to play the violin. Because they had to sacrifice some things as well, because my parents, they had to... it's expensive to learn to play the violin, or to play any instrument and take private lessons, it's a long time before you start earning money. And so even when you start earning money, well, how much do you make per hour? Well, when you consider all the time I spent learning this thing, I'd probably make a penny an hour. So it's like... I don't know what else to say. It's important that you have people that you admire and stuff, that had an influence on your life.

VY: Yeah. Which parent do you think you take after the most?

MM: Probably my dad. Because I wish I could be more like my mother. Because she had a fire in her, and a determination. I think, Caitlin, you're more like my mom. She used to be really shy, my mom, but she grew out of it. And it's like your dad and I were talking about it, we kind of were laughing. Because you know why she went into librarianship? I mean, she was really, really shy when she was little, I mean, really shy until she was probably in college. And she said she wanted to become a librarian because she wouldn't have to talk to people and she worked in the stacks. And now she's got this job. [Laughs] And so Alan and I were laughing about how she's not in the stacks anymore. What was the question?

VY: It was which parent do you think you take after?

MM: Oh, yeah. And basically, I'm out in the world. But generally speaking, I think about things spiritually a lot, especially nowadays. I mean, because I'm getting close to when I might be leaving. But no, I've been like that all my life, really, if you think about it. My dad was the first one who introduced me to Edgar Cayce, I'd never heard of him. And he started me on that path a little bit. I've been a Christian, I've been a Buddhist. [Laughs] And so I know a little bit about all these different things but I mostly -- and I hate to say "new ager," but I believe in quantum physics and that sort of thing. So basically my dad was the one who... but he actually believed in Christianity, but not the U.S. Christianity, it was a Japanese form. But all Japanese have some Shinto and Buddhism in them, apparently. And I do believe in some part... a large part in Buddhism and Hinduism. Give me all these religions and I'll take the good parts, ones that I can find good.

<End Segment 41> - Copyright © 2024 Densho. All Rights Reserved.