<Begin Segment 24>

FF: After we got out of the gate they take you to the train depot in Klamath Falls, Oregon, right across the border from Tule Lake, California -- it was right on the border there. Put me on a train, gave me $29 and that was it, and my one luggage. And I'm saying to myself, "Holy man, it's, is this all we get?" And it was hard to believe things were happening so quickly, and then you're feeling so inadequate, and feeling so poor. If it wasn't for Seibo to accept me at his house part-time to live with him until Mom and Dad came out -- and then to go over, go through the whole poor situation again. And the loss of pride that they had by having to live with a family and pay a little bit upstairs. We had the bathroom upstairs and a bedroom, that's all. And Mom shared the food once in a while with the people of the house. But she couldn't take that too long and so finally found an apartment, which was nice. And I tried to work. I couldn't, couldn't, I wasn't a good gardener, 'cause I hated manual labor. [Laughs] But all of the other kind of labor kind of jobs that I took, I tried to help out, or fend for myself and I think... 'cause I knew Mom and Dad had nothing and that really made it tough.

So all of us brothers and sisters got together to pool our money together for monthly, to pay for apartment. And that was difficult for the folks 'cause they're the ones who normally provided for us and now they lost all their humility maybe or pride and they have to accept to survive. And I really, I think as the baby of the family, for some reason I, I took it up, took it very seriously and took it real hurtful for my folks to go through that. Because I felt that I... I don't know, I felt this inner feeling what they're going through. I think it's 'cause I see... after they both came back to Seattle, I could see them just not that happy. They make the best of it, but I could sense there was no future, no money to start the tavern again, no owning of any property, nothing to offer the kids. And I think when they can't leave a legacy, I think that really hurt my dad. In fact, Dad didn't die of a heart attack or diabetes, he died of just old age and just heartbroken. I think he, and that part, it bothers me a lot. Mom was more resilient, she knew how to socialize, she knew how to talk to you. She had a concession at a tavern -- a food concession -- so that people that come from the, drink beer, they would come to ask her for chicken and all these other kinds of things, but... and she knew how to socialize, she enjoyed that. But Dad was left in limbo, and he didn't have that gift of gab, he was just a hard worker. I think from that standpoint, it was good for Mom to be that way, but it was sure tough for Dad, and myself, being so close to Dad, and my mom, too. But Dad -- in my own way I just felt that was really tough.

<End Segment 24> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.