<Begin Segment 18>

TI: And then your wife, what kind of job did she have?

YM: She didn't do anything in camp. She was a lady of leisure. [Laughs]

TI: [Laughs] How was, I thought they encouraged people to have jobs.

YM: Well, she worked, she worked at the canteen for a while, I guess. But actually, she didn't really work that much that I know of. I left early, so she was there a little later, longer, and I think she did some work there.

TI: And so how did she --

YM: She certainly wasn't living on my pension. [Laughs]

TI: So how did she spend her time? It sounded like you were pretty busy doing things.

YM: Well, it was just, I suppose what all the others did, kind of kept to themselves and tried to keep busy. There's not much you can do there. You learn real quickly that this life is a little different. And I think you also learn that complaining isn't going to get you anything.

TI: Right before you went to Gila River you got married to your wife. And so what was it like being at Gila River as a newlywed?

YM: Well, no privacy, absolutely no privacy. We moved in with another couple, nice couple, but you forget about all that, this is it. We don't know what a honeymoon is, really. [Laughs] But that was, you take it in stride.

TI: So everywhere you went, there were other people. There was just like no place to just...

YM: That's right. That's the way it was. We were too busy trying to cope with what we had. But I think the good, I think I was happy that I got involved with being assistant block manager. It kept me busy, and I enjoyed it. I think it was a good thing for me, because I don't like to sit around too long.

<End Segment 18> - Copyright ©2009 Densho and the Twin Cities JACL. All Rights Reserved.