<Begin Segment 31>

LH: Well, I want to sort of reel back a little bit toward after you graduated from high school and decided to go on to college. What was really the impetus for you to decide to go to college and, you know, after all that, and then choose the direction that you wanted?

[Interruption]

LH: Well, I want to go to again, sort of going back to that question, sort of when you decided to go to college and also choose the direction that you mentioned, what influenced that?

FF: Well, actually it was my peer group, I think. The main thing was that I didn't have no intention of going to college, 'cause I felt "being still poor," that you wanted to make money and make a livelihood. But then when you find out that your girlfriend is gonna go to college and leave you flat, and gonna be away from you, and they're going to be academically ahead of you, if you, whatever you call it. But I thought about it, and my friends who would say, "Well, hey if you don't go, go to college, you're gonna be left in the back seat," so to speak. And I said, "Well, I'll try." And I like, I liked going. But the point was, I didn't think I could afford it, and there was no scholarship at that time, but then I just so happened to get a part-time job at weekends at the Rainier Poultry, which I, I worked there, and I think that helped. That was part of, the economics was sort of part of it, but then peer group pressure, too, 'cause I'd say the majority of my good friends were going to go to the university. Some knew just about what they were gonna be, such as pharmacist or doctor or... in my case, I wasn't too sure. I was in the arts, I said I will not forego my art, and I would like to be an art teacher, but I wasn't too sure. So I took the, supposedly, the fine arts course and commercial art they called it at the time, and both two degrees I was seeking. And when you got them, though, that was fine, but it doesn't mean that you're gonna have a good job and have finance. But, as I graduated, of course, I had to serve my two years, military, so that really made up my mind. I wanted to be a teacher after, because I did sort of some, not teaching, but some, that type of thing in the military, as a cadre or whatever you call it. But I was happy to think that maybe I might really like to teach high school art or whatever, and that was my goal. But as far as the community direction, our age group seemed to be interested in higher ed, so when we did graduate, I had no intention to sign up for the university. But, as you listen to your peer groups and what they're doing and what their plans are -- I was about a quarter or two late after they -- but at least I felt they were my guiding light, so to speak. And I thank them for it, because I always maintain that without their help, I would've been really in bad shape, but supposedly... and I wouldn't have married my wife, which helped me through it. She wasn't an art major, she was an accountant and she became a CPA and I was just an art major person, and not knowing what my future's gonna hold. But it all worked out for me and I feel lucky that way.

<End Segment 31> - Copyright © 1997 Densho. All Rights Reserved.