<Begin Segment 10>

RM: Can you tell me a little bit more, you mentioned this parking garage that you worked in in high school.

JY: Well, there was a lot of empty lots in Chinatown. There was an upper lot and a lower lot, and it's all filled with buildings now. We used to park cars in there. In fact, we started charging, and we found out we got more money by not charging, just tip alone. In fact, James Wong Howe, who was a cameraman, he used to come in with his Duesenberg and give us five dollars every time he comes in. [Laughs] So at the end of the day, there were two or three of us, we just put the money together and split it and go down to Philippe's, if you remember that, ten cents for a hot beef sandwich, we eat two sandwich and a salad for twenty-five cents in those days. Philippe's still exists down near Chinatown, down Alameda and Ward Street, I believe.

RM: How did you get that job?

JY: We just... one of the boys lived there, Bill Wong, who was married to Jenny, we just took over.

RM: No one questioned you?

JY: No questions asked. They were happy that we were taking care of the people's car. Of course, we listened to the radio and siphoned gas out of their car. [Laughs] For my cousin, no, there was an upper lot. We had a long hose, we were bad boys.

RM: Did anyone ever catch you doing that?

JY: No. [Laughs]

RM: You mentioned you also used to turn back the clock in Chinese school, or turn it forward?

JY: Yeah, after the... he owned a Chinese restaurant, Soo Chow on Los Angeles street, and she would come and teach Chinese for a couple of dollars a day. After he comes and when he's kind of half asleep, we'd turn the clock maybe a half an hour or an hour more. [Laughs] After we leave, somebody else comes in, and she leaves, too, and we turned the clock back.

RM: What other things did you do besides siphoning gas and turning back the clock?

JY: Listening to the radio off of cars.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2015 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.