Paul Kusuda’s column
Remembering the past--part 1 of a few
Paul H. Kusuda
Interviews occasionally began with a review of my parents’ emigration from Japan.  At other times, they started with
responses to questions about how the Japanese and Japanese Americans felt after what happened at Pearl Harbor on
December 7, 1941.  Often, general questions were raised about conditions during the Great Depression or what camp life
was like when all persons of Japanese ancestry were forcibly moved out of the three West Coast states and moved to
hastily-built cities filled with people of Japanese descent.  There’s so much to say, and class periods are not long enough
to cover too much history, so sessions come to a close before participants can begin to cover many of the questions
prepared in advance.  Well, that’s life.  When things get interesting, we don’t like to stop.  When things get boring, we look
around either for help or to find something else to do.  Fortunately, the students don’t seem to get bored.

An idea came to me as I began to write this article that seemed odd.  I never knew my paternal grandparents.  Never being
curious, I didn’t even ask my father about them.  I fortunately knew my maternal grandmother and learned that she had
adopted my mother when young.  That’s all I knew; I never asked how my mother was orphaned, about her parents, or
about why there was no talk about a maternal grandfather.  Genealogical research was never an interest or concern.  As far
as I’m concerned, now is now.  Even today, I’m not interested.  My personal definition about home is a similarly detached
attitude.  Home is where I’m currently living.  So, even though I was born in Los Angeles, California, I married and lived in
Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, and moved to Madison, Wisconsin; where I call home.

That means I’ve been following basic concepts of currently-popular “mindfulness” during my entire lifetime.  I’ve been
aware of the present and have acted accordingly.  It explains the way in which I’ve dealt with personal issues, my work life,
and my penchant for advocacy for groups who meet obstacles in achieving their “…Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness…” (Declaration of Independence.)  Groups include aged; persons with disabilities;
dependent/neglected children; spousal or elder abused; juvenile delinquents; persons who suffer indignities resulting
from difference in attributes such as race, ethnicity, color, religion, sexual preference; education level; unemployment and
under-employment; war veterans status;and even groups or organizations whose functioning iserroneously misinterpreted
by a vocal few.

In recent-past few generations, changes occurred in many fields, some to the good (radio, television, communication
devices, computers, advances in medicine, dentistry, pharmaceutical products, psychiatry and related professions, labor-
saving devices and techniques) and some to the not-so-good (detrimental changes in mores and societal attitudes,
reduction in neighborliness, decline in interest other than self, reduction in courteous behavior, narrowing in concept of
“family,” fear, over-reliance on litigation).  

Years ago, parents gave their children much more freedom of movement, and societal conditions were friendlier.  
Educators were held in esteem.  They actually looked professional in attire and bearing.  Parents stood by the teaching
profession and helped their children gain as much as possible from classroom rigors.  Children who misbehaved and
faced some punishment by teachers knew they got more from their parents who almost always sided with the teachers.  
As children,being constantly made aware that rules were rules, we usually agreed and followed them.
By Paul H. Kusuda

In May as in previous years, I joined a few other older Madisonians who became interviewees
for honors-class students at the James Madison Memorial High School who had assignments
to prepare questions in advance and conduct interviews about the time of the Great Depression
and World War II.  

The students completed preparatory work, and their list of questions were given to us in
advance.  Many of the Q & A sessions were audio-taped to help students make written records
of their interviews. Results were sent to each interviewee by Instructor Robin Staley who
organizes and arranges sessions with the help of RSVP of Dane County.  A quick turn-around
was made to enable review of facts by individualized interviewees and return to students for
modifications as needed.  The intergenerational contacts were appreciated by both sides of the
age spectrum, and students wrote short thank-you notes to their respective partners.  Being
pleasantly surprised with their written comments, I’ve continued participation for a few years.
Well, quite obviously, my
remembering the past took me
on a tangent, somewhat of a
detour in thinking that was
unplanned.  That’s one aspect
of delving into memories—
sometimes, a person gets off
the track and wanders about the
territory even though relevance
might not be easy to determine.  
Next month, I’ll definitely get
back on track to review some of
the experiences my parents had
after emigrating from Japan.