Journeys of a Bent Mind

I was told recently by someone that as an introvert I couldn’t speak to the experiences of an extrovert, that I don’t have the experience base from which to speak. Actually, I do. Here’s the thing about introverts and extroverts, we’re all on a spectrum from full-blown introversion on one end, to total extroversion on the other. Most of us fall somewhere in between, a mixture of the sensitive, thoughtful Uncle Sagawa, and an outgoing and hale fellow-well-met Uncle Vanya. Some of us are fully one or the other, though in times by choice we function in the realm of the other. Continue reading →

The history of Japanese on the West Coast following the war is replete with sad and horrific tales of prejudice, racism, and persecution. Many lived through hell from some who had been close neighbors before the war, but who turned after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Many never returned to their former communities because of the hostility of local residents.

The tale of my family’s return to Atwater, California, however, was different by a country mile. It was absent the anger and hatred met by many others all up and down the western border of the country. I was 6 years old, my sister 12, my younger brother not quite 5, and the baby of the family was only 3. Continue reading →

I recently re-watched The West Wing, again – We watched it during its original run on regular TV and loved it for its portrayal of life in and around the White House – We loved it for the people on both sides of the aisle in a time when “cooperation” wasn’t a bad word, and people worked to represent those who sent them to Washington – It was a very nice slice of what was supposed to happen in the corridors of power – And the main people surrounding the president were each different and likeable for their idiosyncrasies and quirks and strengths. Continue reading →

I’ve noticed something about those who are protesting the wearing of masks as a violation of their freedoms, and overreach by a dictatorial government – They’re all white. There, I did say it, they’re all white. I don’t know if there are people of color who are protesting masks, but if there are their publicists aren’t doing a very good job of getting them recognition. Just kidding, I don’t think there are many, if any, persons of color who are protesting masks as an infringement of their rights as an American citizen. They know better. Here’s what I think is going on: anyone who is protesting masks as an infringement of personal freedoms, is someone who is mistaking an inconvenience against Continue reading →

I was born of immigrants parents in a small farming community in the San Joaquin Valley of California. The year was 1938, and my sister was six years old when I arrived. I had two other sisters before me, but one died in childbirth and the second died of complications shortly after she was born. On one scale I was the fourth child, but as it worked out I was considered the second-born. I didn’t learn that until I was grown. Almost two years later, my younger brother was born. We were a family of five. Continue reading →

Recent weeks have seen a burgeoning spike in Coronavirus infections and deaths in the United States. This in part is due to a number of states reopening activities and businesses before it was safe to do so, but also due to a half-hearted effort by citizens to follow epidemiologically recommended behavior in prevention. Some states’ governors have taken the tack of denying the strength of the Coronavirus, even its existence, its virility and unrelenting power, and ignoring data showing a spike in incidents of infection, continuing rise in hospitalizations, and the escalating number of American deaths from the pandemic. Some governors are trying their best to deal, consulting specialists in medicine, health, and epidemiology. There is some success and progress in their efforts, but there is a serious void in leadership from the president on down in addressing this crisis. Continue reading →

In 1963 I earned my Masters in Social Welfare degree from the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of California in Berkeley. Mom and Dad came up for the ceremonies held in the U.C. football stadium on the Cal campus. Before the ceremonies, Dad stood in front of our basement apartment on Wheeler Street and had his picture taken in my mortarboard, and master’s gown and hood. He was so proud – my graduate degree was the highest anyone in the family had achieved. Continue reading →

Dad was an artist of sorts, with an appreciation for the aesthetic – not that he would have been able to verbalize this. Here’s my take on Dad being an artist: while most farmers in post WWII central California maintained a “co-existent” relationship with weeds, meaning they “let them go,” Dad aggressively sought to eliminate them. This was expensive and time-consuming, but it was something he did. This meant we sons did. Weeds do two things not good for crops: 1) they take moisture and nutrients from the soil that should go to the crops; and 2) they detract from the aesthetic look of the orchards and vineyards. The first is scientifically based, and I credit Dad for having this perspective given his Continue reading →

What follows is a journey through the golden meadows of my memory – a look at              my Dad in tales and anecdotes and memory traces, in no specific order – word                   images that flesh out and define the man who defines me so thoroughly…

Silence. Deep silence, and a firm set lip. Large brown eyes with a glint of spirit and whisper of darkness within them. He was a man of the earth – he had dirt under his fingernails, and mud on his work boots, even when he cleaned up. You felt it from the time he clasped your hand in a firm handshake, for his large hands were hard and callused from an age of hard labor. Yet, he was able to tie the most delicate of knots with the slimmest of fishing leader. He mostly wore khakis and a heavy cotton shirt in the fall and winter time, with an orange zippered sweatshirt for warmth, and a weathered and crumpled sweat-stained hat. In the spring and summer, khakis and a white T-shire. He was big-boned for a Japanese, though in stature he wasn’t tall by any measure. Still, he was taller than I was to become on my American diet. Continue reading →

I have to hand it to all our First Responders who daily are putting their lives on the line for all of us – And they do it in spite of the actions of those ignorant/selfish “freedom fighters” taking to the streets in defiance of the social-distancing precautions under the guise of their freedoms being stripped from them. Continue reading →