BIG SHOES TO FILL
8月
6日
Left photo is daughter Kelly around 1970. Right photo is Kelly's daughter Kaori, 40 years later around 2011 or 2012. Both look like they are about 2 or 3-yrs-old.During their Seattle summer visit to Seattle from their home in Montara, CA, we couldn't find Grandpa Sam's shoes. Then as they were packing to return home, Kaori came walking down the stairs wearing the shoes.
They were under the mattress where they had slept and Kaori had hidden them.
Go to seattlesamurai.com for info about how and what those shoes helped to produce.
The photo's are included in Kelly Goto's, soon to be published book, SEATTLE SAMURAI. We are planning a book launch for Fall 2024! Go to seattlesamurai.com for a preview.
The sentiments that we see in "Filling Grandpa's Big Shoes" and wanting to remember are being organized in the eight chapters of her book. They are the sentiments of Bushido (Way of the Samurai) Code: Courage, Mastery, Honor, Loyalty, Integrity, Respect, Honesty & Compassion.
Grandpa was of Japanese Heritage, but chose to live and create a future in the United States of America where the Western Cultures & Eastern Cultures; Northern Cultures & Southern Cultures of our more than 192,000 year estimated human history has developed.
The book features. the more than 240 Cartoon Strips Grandpa created every week from 2012 to a few days before he passed on New Years Eve 2017, which was the one about "The year of the dog" for 2018.
Grandpa was a husband of 56 years from Christmas Eve 1961 to New Years Eve 1917. One day around the year 2010, we had an argument about what kind of car we should choose. I thought we should get a car that would impress our business potential in a multi-level marketing program with Shaklee Nutritional Supplements. Grandpa was the one who had talked me, because I was a nurse, into developing our side business to help with college expenses and good health because he needed to deal with potential Diabetes from his early 40s. Yes, he wanted help with finances, but he was determined to stay humble and get a modest white car that was not showy.
I remember parking at a scenic rest stop on my way to a business meeting on Hood Canal. It was clear, making more money in life was not what I wanted in life either. I wanted to figure out a way that Grandpa could find fulfillment with his art. I had known about his heroes who were cartoonists - Walt Disney, Al Capps, Charles Schultz, Gary Larsen, Hank Ketcham and etc.... I was also aware of the financial difficulties of the North American Post. It dawned on me that Grandpa might be willing to do comic strips. Grandpa agreed and of course he didn't want to be paid.
Since I was also helping develop revenue for Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington, it dawned on me that the once a week comic strips for the NAP could pay for a JCCCW Ad. I talked to Tomio Moriguchi and the deal was made.
Grandpa wouldn't start submitting his cartoon strips until he had a 6 month head start. The first one was in September 2012 and the last weekly ones were featured in September 2018 when the NAP reorganized to twice monthly. Grandpa was pleased to be contributing $1000 a month, to leaving a legacy for 100 years in the future. The vision is that JCCCW with it's premier Japanese Language Program and Kintsugi Japanese Garden will be cited with Seattle Tours in the 2100 years.
