<Begin Segment 4>

EG: And then came the day that you moved. How did that go?

PT: I remember that we were allowed just one duffel bag or one suitcase to carry with us. And so we carried our duffel bag or suitcase, and we walked up to, what is near the Wisteria parking lot up on, I think, it's around (16th) and Main. And I remember the buses lined up there, and the soldiers who helped us onto the buses. And my mother and I sat on one of those side benches, and it was years later when I met a neighbor of mine, she said, "Gosh, Ayako," -- which happens to be my Japanese name -- "I remember your mother just sobbing on the bus, when we were taken to Puyallup." And you know it was then, that that memory came back to me of my mother really crying on the bus. I didn't really think about it until my friend told me.

EG: You don't remember being involved with your mother while that was going on in terms of seeking to find out, "What's wrong Mother?"

PT: No. I just sat there and I remember just looking at her, but I didn't ask her.

EG: Do you remember the feelings? Were you scared or... confused or...

PT: I really don't remember... about how I felt.

EG: I can imagine it could be frightening.

PT: Yes.

EG: But I don't know. Different people...

PT: But to me, I mean, my mother was there, all the other Japanese Americans were there. It was just moving. That's the way I felt.

EG: Yeah. It had never happened to you before, so you didn't have any pattern for how to react to, just...

PT: No.

EG: ...just have to go through it.

PT: And I really wasn't angry or afraid or anything.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.