Halloween Continues in Dallas and Down Under

  Rocco" I'm a HodgePodge" for Halloween

The grandkids are having a blast! Rocco has been to so many Halloween events and dressing in an array of costumes from a cat to Dracula to Yayoi Kusama. When I asked him what he was going to be for Halloween he said “My mom said I’m going to be a Hodgepodge!” Sofia stayed true to her LA BU BU decision. 

The big and small La BuBu

 

Down under Jude was the dragon he loved from the movie 

 

 

and Julian was a little rainbow fish.

 

Fall in Love

 

"Fall in love with someone

who want you, who waits for you, 

who understands you evenin the madness;

someone who helps you, 

and guides you, someone who

talks with you after a fight.

Fall in love with someone who

misses you and wants to be with

you.  Do not fall in love only 

with a body or with a face; or

with the idea of being in love." -TheMindsJournal.com 

Jigsaw Puzzle From Marisel and Gary

  

Got a bit distracted watching the world Series but managed to finish this puzzle. It was a good one. Thanks again Marisel and Gary! Normally I like to look at Color variation and shape but this one I needed to locate the piece from the picture. That’s Mike’s technique but he was too busy watching baseball to help me.

 

 

Kids Say the Darndest Things

 

There used to be a show on tv called“Kids say the Darndest Things” starring a man named Art Linkletter. He would interview children and they would answer questions he would ask. Their responses were hilarious. Books with these quotes were published. My daughter Aria sent me a text over the weekend about something my 5 year old grandson Rocco said. I think his story” would have ended up in Art Linkletters book! This is what she sent.

Rocco insisted that he wanted to say Grace at dinner from something his teacher at church told him. He ended it “in the name of the father, the grandfather, and Mary’s mother, egg man.”

Took us a minute to realize egg man was amen

 

 

Senior List of What Needs To Be Done

 

clean out your closets and garages now, while you can.

Go through family scrapbooks and make sure ancestors are labeled.

Record your histories, including medical information, and personal stories.

Don't assume your kids will want something...ask them now or get rid of it yourself.

At any age, get your affairs in order, document them, and give each child a copy of what you decide.

Have family conversations about your wishes at the final stages of your life, and after-death.

Happy 70th Birthday Annette

 

When my eldest daughter started Kindergarten I wanted her to join a Brownie troop. I didn’t know many people in the neighborhood but someone told me to look for a blond woman named Annette on the first day of school. Her daughter Jessica was in the same class as Aria.  I found her and after the first year of Daisies, Annette and I became co-leaders of our troop 350 until the girls became Juniors. That’s when my neighbor Darlene took over the troop. As it turns out our girls Jessica, Aria and Becky (Darlene’s daughter)stayed together from Kindergarten till seniors in high school and received their Gold awards, the highest honor for a Girl Scout. We moms grew close and shared precious times watching our girls grow up, attended their weddings and subsequently watched our daughters become mothers themselves. It’s great when friendships are born from things we did for our children. The years pass quickly. I don’t see Annette often but tonight I was able to be with Annette and her daughter and another mom From Elementary school days Marisel. I also met a new friend of Annette’s named Samantha Lurie. 

 

 

  It turns out she was Athena’s middle school English teacher.

 

Jessica and Samantha

 We all gathered together tonight, a small sweet group to celebrate a landmark birthday for Annette. It was a night of looking back at many shared memories and a time to reflect on how friendships are made.

 

 

 Happy Birthday to my long time friend Annette!

Heritage Park Sunday Morning Walk

  

Mike asked me where I wanted to go for our morning walk. I thought for awhile and said somewhere we haven’t been in a long time. He took me to a great little park in Cerritos called “Heritage Park”. We use to take our daughters there when they were little.

 

 It’s still a fun place to explore with a covered bridge, a quaint village town surrounded by water and a statue of Paul Revere. Lovely peaceful surrounding picnic areas too.

 

 

Little Tokyo Wanderings

 

Saturday October 25th, before and after the “Fish Men” event we wandered around Little Tokyo. We were happy to see so many people enjoying the area. We walked to the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center where the weekly Farmers market is held. Fun to look at specialty mushrooms, produce selection and crafts. We took a peek at the lovely Japanese gardens there.

 

 

 Later in the afternoon we walked to our nephew Trace's  gaming/hobby store L.A.Wargames located at 333 N. Alameda street in the Littke Tokyo Galleria. Again we were pleased to see this three story mini mall bustling with people.

 

 

 If you haven’t had a chance to wander this area of DTLA you should treat yourself to a visit.

The Fish Men Of Southern California

  When I was a child growing up in East Los Angeles the “Fish man” as we called him would come by in his truck every Wednesday. My grandma Jingu (mom’s mom) lived with us. She would go out to the truck with her small coin purse and the fish man would open the back of the truck where there were fresh fish lying on beds of ice. There was a scale and paper to wrap the fish. On Wednesdays for dinner we’d have fresh fish and gohan (hot steamed rice). Often a big plate of sashimi. Grandma was in heaven! Down the street from us lived Sachiko and Satoshi Kojima. They were older than me but we knew them because on Sundays we would all get a ride together to go to church together in Little Tokyo. Their father was one of the many “fish men” that delivered fish to Japanese communities after the war.

 

 We attended today’s event at the Japanese American National Museum Annex Democracy center in Little Tokyo. The event was called “Fish Truck Family Reunion.” I posted recently here how the Fishman used to deliver fish in his truck to our neighborhood in the late 1950’s and ‘60’s in east Los Angeles. The event today featured stories of how over forty years, Japanese Anericans owned fish trucks and delivered fresh seafood, rice, and other Japanese goods to homes across the Southland. They also provided a valuable community service by bringing a taste of home six days a week to Nikkei throughout the greater los angeles area *(nikkei-people of japanese descent livng outside Japan)

 

 

This special event featured testimonies from the families of half a dozen former fish truck operators, with rare photographs and home movies.

 

fishman order sheets for New Years day Oshogatsu feast

 

 I was able to see photos of our fish man “Mr. Goto” that sold fish every Wednesday to my grandmother.

 

 

 

 

 I was able me to see a picture of my friend Sachiko Kojima who lived on my street and was another fish peddlers daughter.

 

Sachiko and her boyfriend (featured in Cruising J-town exhibit)

Sachiko talking about life as a fishman's daughter 
 

 

They showed an interview with Sachiko talking about her remembrances of her dad’s hard work and long days delivering fish and Japanese specialty items to grateful homemakers in the days when there werent markets easily accessible. Imagine having a truck with fresh fish coming to your street once a week.

 At the end of this event they photographed all the family members of the original fish peddlers together. 

 

the family members through the generations of the fishmen

 

 

They developed an association so they could work together and each have their own designated area of Los Angeles to sell. Their days started early driving to San Pedro in the beginning to buy fresh fish. They each bought their own trucks.Their day would end late and then they would have to clean the truck before the next days delivery.

They also sold 100 lb. bags of rice and various canned Japanese specialty food items. In those early years of 1950's and 60's there were not the Japanese specialty markets we have today and many if not most nisei homemakers did not have cars.  The convenience of the home delivery fishmen was invaluable.  The family members spoke of how there was a common thread amongst the fish peddlers. Their father's enjoyed their customers and wanted to please them. They took special orders for the New Year's feasts for the Japanese homes.  Days before they would start delivering specialty orders for the Oshogatsu New Years feast.  On New Year's morning they would make special deliveries so the homemakers would have fresh "sashimi" bought on that day.  The fishermen were the people's people as their daughters described. They liked to talk and visit with their customers. One woman whose father passed away in 2024 at age 100 said every night my dad would have a glass of "Crown Royal Whiskey" and a cigar.  I think that was his secret to living a long life!  

 

 

 A wonderful nostalgic day of childhood memories of the fish men who brought us fish straight to our doorstep.