Densho Digital Archive - Rose Niguma Interview (denshovh-nrose

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RN: And my youngest, my brothers didn't look upon me as an artist. They looked upon me as a sister. But my youngest sister knew that. And so whenever she found something about art, she'd write to me about Picasso, and what, he has a huge sculpture there and what I thought about it. Well, I didn't tell her exactly what I thought about it, but I know Picasso was a little bit left. I don't think he liked our capitalistic country. I don't think he did very much. He never said it, but I felt it. Well, then she told me Kuniyoshi, quite famous. He came to this country in 1910, and he came from a province where my parents came from, so my sister sent a reproduction of his artwork to me. So that way, she kept in touch with me with the art in different areas. And finally, when she passed away, she left me her house, hundred thousand dollars, and I know why. She had read Less For Life about Van Gogh how hardship he had. She didn't want me to undergo that. She wanted me to continue with my art, so she left that money so I'll be a little bit more secure. That's the way she did it for me. But she wanted me to continue, but I haven't painted for a year because I fell down that darn basement stairs. I didn't fall because I fell. I tripped over something. But luckily, I didn't hit the concrete. I hit the railing. So I thought I looked, I felt my chin was dislocated. See, your chin have a hinge right near your ears, and my cheek was this way, still open. But I thought, oh my, I can't help myself because I avoided doctors as long as I could for anything I need care. This time, I looked at myself, I looked at, felt my chin. I said, "Oh no, I need help." So I put a little thing together [inaudible] put three days' cat food because I thought after three days I'll be out. So I called a cab, and I went to Seventh Adventist Hospital, and there was a doctor and nurse there attending to a patient. When the doctor looked at me, he said, "Why didn't you call 9-11? You're going to Emmanuel trauma." Before I could say anything, they must have medicated me because I was on the ambulance, and I headed out toward Emmanuel. And they did a very job on me because I didn't feel pain. After, you should feel pain.

But they gave me pain around the clock and, but I just didn't have any appetite. I didn't, food didn't appeal to me, but I was feeding myself through the IV. And I think there was some fat on my, around my middle, and I think I was eating that, so I didn't need any food. So one of the young doctors look at me, said, "You're skinny." Somebody else would say, "You're skinny," just to make me eat, you know. It didn't bother me at all. "Skinny, so what?" I thought to myself. But they put two great big dishes of Jell-o and another dessert. They don't do that at hospital, but they did. They thought I ate it, but I didn't eat it at all. It was my cousin. He's helping me, came there to see me. And he's so busy running around, teaching and all that, that by the time he came to see me, he hadn't had his dinner or anything, so he was hungry, so he ate both of them. But I think the doctors knew that I didn't eat it. They must have. So there was a cute little nurse with bangs, little short, little on the plump side. She'd come into the, my room, and she didn't say anything. She looked at me, then out she goes. So just couple days before I was to leave, my cousin said, "You know, it's going to be terribly expensive the longer you stay there." And one of the doctors there was very nice. He understood me. He said, "I could put you, get you out of trauma, put you in the regular hospital bed, but the cost would be the same." So my cousin was telling me because thinking of the expenses and his mother had been in a hospital for some sort of ailment she had. It was very expensive. So he knew that. He was telling me. And two days before I left, I don't know what happened, but I became very hungry. So I asked this little nurse with bangs, she came in the evening shift, so I told her, "Could you get me a toast with butter on it?" She was so happy that she heard it, so she got it for me. And then she told me, she says, "If you hadn't asked for that," they would have fed me through my stomach. So she was very happy for me. I thought, oh my. And I never ate a buttered toast that was so good; otherwise, you know, I don't even pay attention to what I'm eating. But that toast was truly delicious, and she was so happy for me.

So a couple days later, I left, and I'm glad I did because I wasn't covered. But I had saved in case like that because taking care of my brother, I covered him all over stuff. He won't have any problem. But me, I've always been strong and healthy. I rarely have problems, so I never thought anything would happen to me until I leave this world, but I would have to go and fall down the stairs. But at that time, I invested in my investments $50,000, came back to my bank. That was for me to have teaching plantation and all, fix a house, sell it, and go to another area if that's what I thought. All this plans went up in smoke. Well, I'm glad I had it because that help me pay the hospital bill and other things. So growing up in the depression era, it really helped. It made you frugal. You think ahead. So my hospital bill is completely paid for except I have a doctor bill, just a few left now, and I'm covered. I'm completely covered now. My cousin helped me. He says, "You should have done that while I was painting away." I should have, but I wasn't thinking about anything like that, see. But I learned my lesson, but it's kind of late, but I'm glad it helped.

Everything that's negative in your life becomes positive, and I'm also glad even that when I was in, interned, I never thought our country would ever lose. It never occurred to me that we'd lose. There were some dissenters, but most of them were very loyal, hardworking, and I felt proud of them that they were like that in such a negative situation, but they were. Well, I could say more, but I can't think of anymore to say. But we did run across hurtful discrimination, but other people have I know because when the Swedish came over a long time ago, they weren't treated very well, so I know that. But our problem is we look like we do, so we've been here over hundred years. I haven't changed my looks. I look like what I am. But I'm telling you, I have young relatives that look, they intermarriage and they show more Caucasian, and I'm sure they won't have a difficult time as I have. Our time is over. Most of us will be leaving. That's why we're having this oral history. I hope I did contribute something useful. But after all, I'm not young anymore, see. So I may have missed some things, but I think you'll have a general idea of what I'm talking about.