<Begin Segment 27>

TI: So Alfred, you have this large extended family, so you have your three children, grandchildren, and now great grandchildren. When you think about your life and all the things, are there certain messages that you would like to, say, give to your great grandchildren? I mean, because they're young right now, so they really can't communicate with you. But in the future, if they were here, older, sort of like in high school, what are some of the things that are important to tell them?

AM: I never expected to really live this long. When Nancy and I first got married, I was thinking, "I wonder if I'll ever see my kids graduate from high school." And then I'm, the next thing is they're getting graduated, and the next thing I'm thinking is, "I wonder if I'll ever be, live long enough to see grandkids." And then that goes on, and here you are, you're looking at your great grandkids. We have done everything that we were able to do for our children. And I think one of the strongest things that Japanese families have is to take care of your family. And by the same token, it's reciprocal, it comes back to you. So I got daughters that dote on me, and a son that dotes on me, and kids that dote on me. And by the same token, we're doting on our kids, too. So just in that alone, I think it's been pretty good.

TI: That's, that's good. We're reaching the end of our time, and so is there anything else that you wanted to say before we end? I want to make sure that we end about the same time Nancy does, so is there anything else that you want to finish?

AM: I don't know. I guess, you know, people ask me, says, "How you doing, Al?" And I say, "Well, little as possible." "How are you today?" I says, "Well, I got up and I saw the light from the outside and I can still wiggle my fingers." But you know, when you get older, you have a different philosophy, and lot of things that I grew up with, and you see the changes, and it does change your personality a lot. And like you say, well, I used to have an outgoing personality when I was a lot younger, and then when you go through life, for some reason, there's things that, that alter that. I still have a lot of empathy and a lot of sympathy for a lot of people, and I'm still a good-hearted old guy, but there's lots of things in this world that just don't settle good within me. I think that probably goes for everybody, but I always say what I think.

TI: And is there anything in particular that, that doesn't settle with you right now that you're willing to share, or would you rather leave that unsaid?

AM: Yeah, that's been one of my problems. I always pretty much say what I think, you know.

TI: [Laughs] Well, maybe we won't get you in trouble, we'll stop right here.

AM: One thing, I'm just too old to worry about it. [Laughs]

TI: Well, Al, thank you so much for the time. This was really, I think more useful than you realize in terms of information.

AM: Well, I hope it didn't get too boring.

TI: No, this was excellent. So again, thank you on behalf of the Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho for doing this.

<End Segment 27> - Copyright © 2008 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.