Author Archives: journeysofabentmind

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About journeysofabentmind

Gordon is a Nisei, a second generation American of Japanese descent born in 1938 whose family owned a farm outside of Atwater, California in the San Joaquin Valley. His world was abruptly changed when on December 7, 1941 Japan’s Imperial Navy launched an early morning attack on Pearl Harbor. Thus began a chain of events that resulted in his family’s forced evacuation and internment in a “relocation center” in Colorado during the war. After the war Gordon spent his teenage years in school and working on the family farm. He attended U.C. Berkeley and graduated in 1960 and went on to the Graduate School of Social Welfare at Berkeley earning a Masters in Social Welfare in 1963. He worked in a number of social service settings and last worked as a case manager for developmentally challenged clients in San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin Counties until he retired in 2000. When his wife Barbara retired in 2007 they moved to Eugene, Oregon following their children and grandchildren. Gordon lives with his wife of 55 years and close to the four grandchildren and life is just good.

XX-Files

Fox Moldy sat at his desk, his feet propped up on the lower left desk drawer. He flicked a spitwad at the poster of Elvis Presley – in his prime, of course – hitting the premiere icon just below his … Continue reading →

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The Mystic Sesame

In a land east of the sun, west of the moon, in a time very long ago, there lived a lonely cobbler and his faithful donkey. He loved to sit in the window of his shop and daydream memories from … Continue reading →

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Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down

Scene: the news desk of Continental News Network (CNN), anchor-person Tom Brokar covering the latest in news from the nation’s capitol.

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Whiskey Sour and A Wild Red Rose

David sat at the end of the bar, nursing a drink he’d ordered some four hours earlier. It was near closing time, and there were only a few patrons left after the long hyped mega-fight ended two minutes seventeen seconds … Continue reading →

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Grains of Sand

This gallery contains 38 photos.

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A Thought for Flag Day

There seems to be a large number of folks who have this curious take on what our flag means to us. It is definitely important in so many ways, and most individuals have a personal favorite thing about it that … Continue reading →

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Never Trust A Cat to Say Yes, And Mean It

Harley lay on the couch totally dead to the world, the rectangle of sunlight playing slowly around him, moving across the room as the afternoon wore on. Sudden, he opened his eyes, and surveyed the room. “Damn!” he thought to … Continue reading →

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Rock-Paper-Scissors and a Magical Game of Baseball

In the summer of 1961 Barbara and I went to Japan with a group of students from the Wesley Foundation Methodist Student Center at the University of California in Berkeley, California. This was a joint international work project with a … Continue reading →

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Trip to Tranquility Sound

Shawn sat on the wooden bench outside the train station office. The single lamp above the station platform clinked lightly with every little breeze. She held her ticket tightly in one hand, and her small suitcase under her arm. Her … Continue reading →

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Wonderland

This gallery contains 38 photos.

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