<Begin Segment 11>

MH: What advice would you give to young people? What advice would you give to young people?

LS: To young people, well, good sportsmanship and follow your interest, do what you can as much as possible. I'm getting old now that I have to nap twice a day, but it's okay. I like to continue making friends with the younger people because many of my friends are gone now. It's surprising how the last five years I've lost, oh, over half of my friends.

MH: What contribution do you think the Nisei have made?

LS: I think Isseis have done a lot to educate the younger ones. They push their children to achieve, I think, not that it happened in my family though. My older son barely got out of high school. Of course, I had to help him. I did a lot of homework for him, and then he decided to go to college, and he signed up. He went one term, and he failed ROTC, so he didn't go back, but it was a good experience for him. I think it's good for anyone to not be shy and go ahead with what you think. I'm getting so that I'm afraid to talk to my phone. I don't do much of anything now. By the way, I'm dyslectic, I'm sure I am. I do things backwards, and I have a hard time reading. I have to concentrate. I've had eye surgery recently, cataract operation. Oh, and I take part of research, health study, University of Oregon Health University is conducting a dementia program. I'm to, they give me a complete physical and give me a pill which I take to say whether it's effective or whether it's placebo or what, but I think I'm on the drug now. I feel, I think so. I also was in Kaiser's osteoporosis study. That's been going on for five years now.

MH: You just had a happy occasion. What was that?

LS: My eighty-eighth birthday was very special. My son kept saying we ought to do something. Well, around Christmastime, I thought, well, maybe I could have a birthday party. It happened that my birthday fell on Saturday, and I thought Ikoiso Terrace was a place where I could have the party. I contacted them, and they said, "Sure, we can use it." And there's no kitchen facility there, so I had lunch boxes made, ordered them. And also I, as a souvenir, I had tea cup made. There's one behind there, and I had printed the date and eighty-eighth celebration and the date, and we served tea in that, and they were to take that home for their souvenir. Well, I ordered ten extra, but my niece took them. And when I asked for them, she peeled off all the dates, so it's a blank tea cup. I'm going to put some date on again for souvenirs for those people who didn't get to come to my anniversary. I thought I'd send that.

MH: Well, I thank you very much, Lury, for sharing your life.

LS: Well, you didn't ask the mistakes I made.

MH: What is it? What are those mistakes?

LS: Oh, well, I can't think of them right now, but then I know I've been stupid in a lot of things I wished I could do over. [Laughs] I hope this is satisfactory for your requirement. Thank you.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2003 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.