<Begin Segment 3>

TI: So what are your earliest memories of Uptown Los Angeles? What do you remember about that?

TF: The earliest? Actually, you have to sort of pinpoint it because it's just isolated incidents where we would go to the zoo, Luna Park, I guess it is, in L.A. And about the only thing I could remember is my folks taking me there. And one time, all of a sudden I turn around, I can't find anybody, and I started crying, then somebody takes me to my parents fifteen feet away, you know, this kind of stuff. So I remember that.

KP: That's a pretty early memory.

TF: Those little things you remember. I guess I was always sort of scared without my mother or someone, because I remember one time I was sick in bed, and all of a sudden my mom was not around. So I remember jumping out of the bed, putting on my clothes, and going out looking for her. You know, this type of thing. So when you say what things do you remember, it has to be in terms of what's what, because the usual things, I guess it's usual and I don't remember those things as such, unless I'm reminded.

KP: What do you remember about your parents, your father? What kind of father was he?

TF: Oh, actually, he was, again, when you look at your parents from a child's eyes, they treat you good. But sometimes they get a little sticky, and all I know is that he used to always be gone by the time I wake up, because he seemed like he had to leave the house by six in the morning to go to work, and then he'd come home about five, and so we didn't see him that much, and since he was a janitor...

KP: Yes, what kind of work did he do?

TF: He was a janitor at two movie houses. One was the Playhouse on Seventh Street or whatever, and the other one was the Regency near Exposition Park, but all I remember is that as I grew older, sometimes I'd go help him do some of the cleaning and stuff. But life was a little different, because we didn't have a car. So when we went to the beach, we always had the neighbors invite us, you know. And so there wasn't anything really special. When I talked with my wife, they were farmers, and they had relatives right by the beach, and how they would go and do that, how they had relatives in Riverside where they were farmers, so there's an exchange of things, and we didn't have relatives. So we didn't share in on any of that kind of stuff. But in those days, it didn't mean anything to me because I didn't know anything about that.

KP: Were you close to any of your brothers or your sister at all? Do you remember being close to one of them?

TF: Well, I fought with them. [Laughs] In terms of being close, I'm not, I never was close with them like I am with my son. But in those days, I guess they put up with me as being the youngest one. Things were the same.

KP: And what do you remember about your mother?

TF: Well, she was always caring for me. In fact, I think I mentioned, I must have commented on her a lot because if her presence wasn't known, then I'd get kind of frightened I guess. Because no matter how sick I am, I'd rather go looking for her, type of thing. And so I think that's normal. In the older Japanese family, they weren't like the other families where you're always hugging and kissing and all that kind of stuff. Because I don't know if my father ever hugged me, but that didn't mean anything to me, because I didn't see anybody else hugging either. It's not the Oriental way, I guess. Nowadays it might be different, but we're talking in terms of how many years ago.

KP: Was she a good cook, and what kind of food did she make?

TF: Oh, well, actually, she was a good cook in the sense of what I like. But my father was a salt fanatic, and he used to salt everything. And so we had to put up with that, because what he says... here's an aside, they talk about high blood pressure and having salt, too much salt. I don't believe that, because I was raised on a salty diet, and then Japanese people pickle their vegetables, but a lot more salt. And so I think I was raised on salt, but my blood pressure is normal. However, I take medication for it. [Laughs]

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2011 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.