<Begin Segment 11>

FK: If I asked you if there was a legacy or a message that was important to you to get out to other people as far as your experiences with life, what would that be?

SO: You mean my, which part are we...

FK: Well, I have a sense, I have a sense from what you've said so far that there's, that it's really important to you that you touch other people and leave some messages for them as far as the things you've gone through and what you'd like to see what happening, what's happened. So I was wondering if you had anything that, philosophically, you'd like to say as far as, to future generations or people that are here now.

SO: Well, I think you're doing a part of it right now, Frank. That is, your leadership in terms of the Japanese American community, I think, is well needed. If you weren't occupying the president's role, I think the organization would suffer, because I think in terms of, maybe it goes back to what I said just a moment ago, to be able to remain in contact allows groups of people to work collectively rather than working by oneself in a laboratory. That is, I think the direction of the Japanese American community, as I have understood it somewhat from afar, is something, I think, that needs to be told to everyone. You may or may not know that Jerry and I kept a fairly close contact, and Jerry would let me know all the things that were happening, mentioning names I hadn't heard of before, but if that -- and Jerry was good in terms of telling others what it was to be what he was, and he didn't try to make a big deal out of it. In fact, at one point, I can remember very early on Jerry telling me he'd been the president of the organization for twenty years and because no one wanted to take the job. This was long before your time, but anyway, and then there's another small incident that's connected with Jerry. Jerry's daughter, Kathy, I think her name is, went to the University of Washington, and Jerry's the one who told me about this special program that -- excuse me, not program, but special, the degree that the university was going to award -- and he called and asked me, said, didn't I go to University of Washington? I said yes, and he said, well, this is happening. Those of us in the Midwest, we get very little news of this kind because there's not the Japanese population to warrant, probably, even those couple of lines. Although there is one interesting tidbit to this; my son, one of my sons, Lorne, who was in the news business, and he's down in Tampa, Florida, he said they got this notice of this happening at the University of Washington on the newspaper line, so at least someone read, else, besides the Northwest people, read about it. But the people in the Midwest, far as I know, it never happened. [Laughs]

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.