Drawn by Kirin to remember Grandpa today on his birthday. There are also 13 layers of the cake and yellow was Sam's favorite color.
Today is January 13th, Sam’s birthday. Tomorrow is January 14th, my birthday. Shortly after we started seeing each other every day in 1960, I was studying for my Public Health degree at the U of W school of Nursing and Sam was working late in his dental lab in the Medical Dental Building. He said something about being born on Friday the 13th. The Seattle phone book had a listing of calendars that year and I was able to find that January 13 was a Friday the 13th in 1933. That further solidified that maybe we were meant to be together.
In 1971 we decided to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary with a trip to Japan. We needed a copy of Sam’s birth certificate for the visa. We went to the King County Vital Statistics office on 4th Avenue and were amazed to find all the 1s & 3s: born on 1/13/33, Friday the 13th, at 3am, at 1303 Washington Street, Mother 23, Father 33.
Sam said, “I only had one party when I was 13 years old.” In 1964 I planned a surprise party when he turned 31. Those are the only two birthday parties he participated in as far as I know. I brought sushi to Dr. Branch's office in the Medical Dental building, one year as a surprise. We could not get Sam to come up to the eighth floor to participate. When David Branch went down to get him, Sam locked his lab door on the fourth floor and through the door said, “I said I didn’t want a party so leave me alone.”
I’m further in the mood to play a Johnny Horton CD with songs like NORTH TO ALASKA & BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS that was a Sam favorite.
ALL FOR THE LOVE OF… “Life was so sweet dear… you’ve gone and left me. All for the love of …”
Horton died at age 35, but left a legacy of his love for freedom, bravery, heroics in the building of our country. One of Sam’s last comments when asked, “What are you most grateful for today?”
His answer, “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Today, Sam’s brother and sister are coming over. Lynette is here. We can do what we want with his memory. He would have been 85 years old. Eight and Five add up to thirteen?????
![Drawn by our 10-yr-old gran...]()
Drawn by our 10-yr-old granddaughter, Kirin. I verbally asked her to help me by drawing three c's for a blog post and she came up with this in just a few minutes.
"Any fool can criticize, complain and condemn; most fools do." -B Franklin Too may of us spend our time foolishly it's true.
I've lost a partner and what I am valuing the most are the thoughts and messages I am receiving. I trust that I'm coping by going over the memories of the great 56+years we had together. I am valuing the connections. I intend to keep using my connections to help me alter the plans Sam and I had for these next few years and continue to contribute without his drawings.
Sam liked the feeling that he was ahead with his comics so the North American Post will have his comics for a few more issues. I can still continue our writing projects, but will miss his input.
I realize we have the next generation coming along. Kirin says, "I'm not ready yet," but I got her to do this as she was packing to go back home last week.
This may help me revive and continue my enthusiasm for continuing the legacy that Sam helped with - the links in history and now will continue.
In the 1980s I organized an English pronunciation class for five or six Japanese wives at the Shorewood apartments on Mercer Island. The class was with the wives of a group of young doctors who had come from Japan to work at Dr. Hakomori’s Cancer Research Lab with Fred Hutchinson Institute.
During one of the classes, Tamami complained about in-laws coming for a visit and everyone commiserated. Her father-in-law was a physician and owned a medical clinic. She was dreading the need to play the role of a proper Japanese daughter-in-law. She was in the United States where those of us with Japanese heritage had shed many of the more cumbersome family obligations and rituals. Changes were also occurring with many of the more modern wives in Japan so Tamami seemed to be looking for an excuse to be more American.
As the teacher, as a wife with grown children and with an interest in psychology, I developed my own “game”. My Masters in Psychosocial Nursing was THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN AND HOW THEY USE SOCIAL SUPPORT. Customs and rituals evolve for coping, creating connections and contributing; which are my 3 C’s of a healthy way to live life. According to historian, Richard White, in his book FOR WHICH IT STANDS, three of life’s bench marks is “making a home, launching our children and preparing for our old age”.
I suggested Tamami consider the in-law visit a short term “game”. With this new perspective, she reported to me, “It was a tremendous success.” Years later, when I made a trip to Japan, Tamami treated me to lunch at the top of one of the famous hotels in Tokyo’s Shinjiku district and we again talked about the game.
Life is a “game” and particularly in the game of marriage there is a physical difference between men and women. Successful relationships require healthy choices and gamesmanship. Our Goto-Health team is inspired to explore and pursue possible game plans as we look to a new year of possibilities.
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Drawn by Kirin to remember Grandpa today on his birthday. There are also 13 layers of the cake and yellow was Sam's favorite color.
