ブログスレッド
- RIDING TO 56 YEARS OF HAPPINESS
RIDING TO 56 YEARS OF HAPPINESS
7月
16日
Sam and I had been dating, but this was the first time we spent the whole day together.
Dating within our Japanese American community was the expectation and high school and college dating led to marriage in that era. Sam was cute, considerate and clearly leading the way on our life-bicycle built for two .
Completing nurses training at Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland the previous year, I debated whether to complete my nursing bachelor’s degree in either Los Angeles, where my best friend from high school was living, or the University of Washington, considered the number one school for nursing in America. On one of my weekly calls home, Mom explained, “Grandpa told me not to let you go to Los Angeles, the boys there are too bold and wear jeans!” Look, Sam is wearing Docker pants from JC Penny’s and his shirt is tucked in. I found out later, Grandpa was more than pleased.
Suzy Suzuki was one of my first acquaintances in Seattle and she was dating Roy Kido, who was from my home town area of Eastern Oregon, She planned this get away picnic with a group of us from Seattle and invited Sam and me to ride with them. Roy must have taken this picture of us. Sam never smiled much for pictures, but we are clearly delighted to be together.
I remember wanting Sam to ask me to go steady, but it was not proper to be forward about it. A month later, Sam decided to go home to Quincy, Washington, where his parents lived, to go pheasant hunting. I had cousins farming in Quincy, so I decided to go with him. My sister-in-law, who introduced us because we were taking an evening Japanese Language class together, found out about our plans and felt it was improper for us to go somewhere together over night.
Since Sam was going to be gone and he hadn’t asked me to go steady, I made plans to attend a party with his younger brother, who was my car ride to classes at the U of Washington that Fall. Saturday evening, Sam came to my apartment and didn’t leave and didn’t leave. I called my ride to the party to say I couldn’t go to the party. Sam finally left after midnight. He never did ask me to go steady!
Enrolled in the Public Health Nursing program, I was studying at Sam’s 1438 Medical Dental Building office one evening when he mentioned, “I was born on Friday, the 13th.” The Seattle phone book that year had calendars back to early 1900. I found that January was the month holding a 13th on a Friday in 1933.
I immediately shared, “My birthday is January 14th!”
We smiled and silently agreed, “Maybe we were meant to be together.”
Sam was born on the 13th and left us on the 31st. When he passed on New Year’s Eve in December 2017, the most fulfilling, heart healing condolence for me, read: “He adored you.”
Life rides on as I navigate on my bicycle built for one, leaving our OMOIDE (remembrances) legacy for future generations.
