Granma's Pix

Playing at HohoemiGranma's house.
Mom, good for you! I got the pictures. Glad you're enjoying your new laptop!

A Dozen Years...

Today is 12 years since me & Tony's first date and 12 years since we fell in love. We keep trying to have a dinner & a movie date (about 4 times since Maiya was born) and haven't quite managed to see a movie yet. But we went out to my parent's house this afternoon. When we first got there, Maiya walked over to each of my parents and gave them a hug, it was so cute. And she's calling my mom "Mamas" as opposed to me, "Mommy." I helped my dad set up a mailmerge on his computer, taught him about folders and I helped my mom set up a new email account on her new laptop.

We managed to go out to dinner at ClaimJumper while my mom watched Maiya for 2 hours. I had a BBQ chicken salad and Tony had BBQ ribs. Tony liked his but mine was just ok. After, we went to Ben & Jerry's and splurged on iced blendeds, $5.29 each! We also went to look at new Hondas since both of our cars are 14-15 years old and his van is in the shop right now. Tony wanted me to see the Honda Fit, but I was much more excited about the Civic Hybrid.

It has been a busy weekend. We went to 3 parties yesterday. Did 3--4 loads of laundry this weekend. Tony's clearing out the front room and planning to prep and paint the living room/dining room this week. We have yet to decide on a color though. We're kind of in the same place we were last November when we painted the kitchen.

Anyways, here is a photo collage of little love notes and cards that I taped onto our hallway door one year. I also made a trail of love letters across the living room floor. Tony, Happy Anniversary - I wouldn't trade the last 12 years for anything. I love you, I love you, I love you.

Still Supporting the South Central Farmers: One Year Later

Still Supporting the South Central Farmers: One Year Later            

Rafu Shimpo column for 6/27/07

Life sure has been busy lately.  But never too busy to slow down and reflect.  I do that every year when I return to Manzanar to visit a place that represents my families’ stories of internment and incarceration.  It is a time of healing and a time to rededicate why I am active in the community.

Two weeks ago today, I took time to remember and reflect when I went with my husband Tony and my 2 1/2 year old daughter Maiya to visit what remains of the South Central Farm on the one year anniversary of the forced evictions of the farm.

I went back to visit a place that I have come to love.  In a community marked by warehouses and urban blight, the South Central Farm was a cherished poem, nurtured and tended lovingly by hundreds of people for 14 years.  It was about people coming together to plant seeds, grow organic fruits, vegetables, indigenous herbs, and to feed their families and the community.  People doing their part to help make this city and our world a greener and healthier place.

But it is no longer there.  What remains is a barren 14-acre piece of land stretching across 41^st and Alameda, that has been bulldozed over, not once or twice, but 3 times.  You probably heard about the struggle because of high profile supporters like Joan Baez, Ralph Nader, Willie Nelson and Danny Glover, or you might have seen the evictions on the news with the police in riot gear.

Last year, Tony, Maiya and I went to the farm several times a week from May-July.  Part of why I was so interested in the South Central Farm, is from my experience with the urban gardening movement in Detroit where I spent several summers volunteering with Detroit Summer’s urban gardens.  Here is an entry from my blog on June 1, 2006:

“Tonight, we went to the South Central Farm, for the third time this week.  We went to the Candlelight Vigil on Friday, the Farmer's Market on Sunday, and again tonight for the vigil we went with friends from Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress.

It is a beautiful green oasis amidst warehouse after warehouse. 14 acres of urban farm, the largest in the nation.  350 families, mostly Mexican and Central American, grow fruits, vegetables, herbs and other indigenous medicinal plants.

Tony, his teaching partner Kathy, and their students have been going more frequently, supporting the farmers.  Kathy took a 4 a.m. shift the other day, and one of their students has been staying at the encampment several nights for the last week.

We saw Julia Butterfly Hill and Daryl Hannah, who are up in a walnut tree in protest. You just have to walk the farm and see the beauty of all of the lush green vegetables and fruits, and why it should not be destroyed for the developer to build another lousy warehouse.

The other night, Maiya, Tony and I joined the procession, walking around the perimeter of the farm. Maiya walked about 3/4 of the way around by herself. Tonight's chant was ‘Save the Farm, Si Se Puede.’  I could see Maiya swaying and rocking to the beat.  It's ok that her favorite part was playing in the dirt.  She's getting the seeds of activism from a grassroots perspective, so to speak.”

We had known that the City was going to evict the farmers—that it was just a matter of time.  Police helicopters had been circling over the farm every day and night.  The Farmers had secured commitments for $16 million to purchase the land, but the offer was rejected.  So when it happened, it was heartbreaking.

After the eviction, we continued joining the Candlelight Vigils held nightly around the farm.  No longer able to go inside, we walked around the outside of the farm with a declining number of people.  Eventually, life got busy again and we stopped going.  But the farmers did not quit. 

“Displaced, but not defeated” became their new slogan.  I realize that it was because the farm was about more than just food and gardening, it was about human spirit and the community.  Just like our Japanese American families started life over again after coming back from camp, the farmers have had to start over again. 

In the past year, the farmers have created the South Central Farmers Community Center & Gallery across the street from the farm and hold a South Central Farmers Tianguis marketplace with artisans, local merchants and live music on the first Sunday of every month.  They also sell fresh produce at the Leimert Park Farmer’s Market every Saturday, and at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market and Atwater Village Farmer’s Market every Sunday. 

They continue to challenge and fight legal battles with the City.  They have reorganized and set up a nonprofit health and education fund whose mission is to preserve, maintain and cultivate farm land in urban areas.  They also provide educational programs and activities about urban farming techniques, and healthy living and nutrition.

Going back to what remains of the farm after one year was difficult and emotional for me.  Seeing the barren dirt absent of all the lush green plants and trees in my memory, I couldn’t help but get choked up and teary-eyed.  I thought about my grandfather who was a Cantaloupe farmer before World War II, who never farmed again.  And about all the families who had to start new lives.

But, hearing how the farmers have continued to fight and to grow gave me hope.  And as Tony, Maiya and I walked back to the car, looking at the farm, I saw thousands of tiny bits of green shoots poking through the dry dirt despite the lack of rain this year.  It’s something that bulldozers, police in riot gear, politicians and greed cannot erase: the power of nature and the resilience of the human spirit.

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Jennifer "Emiko" Kuida has been active in the Japanese American community for the last 15 years.  Her web blog can be found at http://kuidaosumi.blogspot.com.  For more info about the South Central Farmers Health and Education Fund and to support the farmers, see www.southcentralfarmers.com and www.southcentralfarmers.org.  Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.   © 2007

Whirlwind Weekend

Tony's parents Fran and Don stayed at our house this weekend to visit. On Saturday, we went to Tony's Godmother Valerie's 60th Birthday Party. On Sunday morning, Tony and I made a Father's Day's Day Brunch for our families. Then on Sunday night, we went to dinner with Fran's family and long-time family friends.

Maiya and her god-cousin Erin

Fran & Valerie

Fran, Don and Maiya. Maiya's eating ice cream - a rare treat!

Three Monkeys Sitting in a Tree
Maiya with cousins Kevin & Kyle

Tony and Maiya on Father's Day with my parents and his parents

Fran, Maiya, Grandma, Cousin Robin & Aunt Gail

Dinner at Billingsley's in West LA with extended family & friends

Maiya at the end of a busy weekend!

This blog entry is dedicated to blog lurker Cousin Patty.
Come on, click the comment button, you know you want to!

Leo Carrillo Day Trip

Last weekend I took Maiya to Leo Carrillo State Beach for the first time. My brother Darin's family went camping for one night--and we joined them the next morning. We only stayed a few hours but it was fun playing in the sand and running around the beach. It brought back many memories of summers camping at Leo Carrillo. In fact, Tony reminded me it was where I had my first kiss the summer before 9th grade in the caves. I didn't tell Maiya that story, although I did share how much fun playing there with my cousins as a kid.

Celebrate Good Times

Two exciting things yesterday. First, is that Maiya's Bubbe & Zeyde (Grandma Fran & Grandpa Don) are here in town this weekend visiting from Idaho. Maiya the host did her best to entertain them last night (hyper crazy hammy girl). The second exciting thing is that Grace Lee Boggs, our 91 year old friend and mentor from Detroit was on Bill Moyers Journal on PBS yesterday talking about grassroots activism and social change. I was at our Family Literacy Awards Ceremony/Parent Recognition Dinner for work so I missed the beginning.

Ok, folks this is a short blog today, but here is some cute video from dinner the other night with Kool & The Gang (I thought it was The Commodores or Earth, Wind & Fire--and I think Tony might have scoffed at me).


And in case I don't get to blog again this weekend--Happy 3rd Father's Day to my best friend, Maiya's Daddy! You can see from the video how much he enjoys his girl. It warms my heart to see them playing together.

Mama's Day Off (Photo Blog)

I was off work today. We were up at 7:30 am. For breakfast, we had toast, juice and apples. We watched Sesame Street, played with stickers, and played with a stuffed bear and Maiya's Japanese/English speaking Yumi doll while I vacuumed the house, unloaded the dishwasher and did the dishes.

At 9:30, I made my 4th attempt to go to the gym this week--but my first time to actually work out. (Last night, I got there 10 minutes before closing, last Wednesday, Maiya freaked out at the Y's Childwatch and wouldn't let me leave her, so I didn't get to work out but we did sign up for swim class this summer. Last Tuesday Maiya got upset when I was leaving the house, so instead Maiya, Auntie and I ran errands and went for pizza.) Anyways, Maiya had a lot of fun at Childwatch playing outside on the playground today. We ran into a little boy and his mom who we used to see at the Y a lot. I got in an hour-long workout (first time since January!) and when I went to pick her up, she was so busy with Legos that she didn't want to leave. We shared apple slices, ran around the courtyard at the Y, and watched people swimming.

After the gym, Maiya & I came home for lunch about noon. We had leftover pasta from last night, shared a bean burrito and some soymilk. Daddy got her this hat last night at In-N-Out. That's bean burrito all over her smiling face. I love this picture.

Then, I tried to get Maiya to take a nap (she dozed for 20 minutes in the car before noon), but she wasn't having any of it (it's a new trait this refusing to sleep thing). I went on the computer, nursed her a lot, and Maiya played with playdough and alphabet letters. About 3:30 pm, Auntie Keiko came over and brought Maiya some cute shoes and clothes and did some more alphabet play with Maiya. Then, we met Daddy at Johnnie's Pastrami's for dinner. Auntie and Daddy had pastrami, and Maiya and I shared an apple and a chicken sandwich. Yum.

Then, after dinner we went to Trader Joe's. I went grocery shopping while Daddy and Maiya took a nap in the car. We came home and I put away 3 baskets of clean laundry and straightened up the bedroom. We watched some great insects on PBS, then Daddy took Maiya for a bath--and more alphabet play.

And that's it for today. It's after 10 pm and Maiya is having a tantrum so I better go put her to bed. Tomorrow is a work day. Still to come, more dancing video, pictures of our trips to Leo Carrillo, Sesame Street Live at the Kodak Theater, LA Zoo, and more! Sure would be nice to get some comments once in awhile so I could know if anyone is out there reading.

Backyard surfing with Daddy

Daddy bought a skateboard recently. He'll have to tell you what kind it is. He has been taking Maiya for short rides on his back. Cute pix.

Playing Around

Just monkeying around in our bathroom! Eee ee!
(I got tired of our old shower curtain so this is our new one.)

What do you do with 101 yogurt cups? You can stack them up high...

...Or you could build a pretty wall on a Sunday morning.

Lately, Maiya has been confusing the words "poo poo" and "pee pee." Yesterday, she was wearing 2 cloth pullups (like underpants), one diaper cover, 2 pairs of "Hello Kitty" underwear (her request) and her monkey PJ bottoms (seen above). That was 6 layers, all at the same time. It was a crackup. In other news, we picked 8 strawberries from the backyard today, signed up for swim class and had a big tantrum. Tonight I'm off to the spa with Lily. Peace. Out.

Memorial Day

Yesterday, I had hoped to go see the memorial at Arlington West created by the Veterans for Peace--every weekend volunteers put crosses in the sand, one for each soldier killed in Iraq. We didn't quite get there--but the sad thing is that they put it up every weekend, and not just on Memorial Day, because every week people are dying in Bush's senseless war. And while over 3000 of American troops have died, close to 20,000 have been injured, and over 650,000 Iraqis have been killed. Rest in peace.

~~~

Maiya and I did however go to Venice Beach together. It was surprisingly empty, especially for such a beautiful day. We had a delicious lunch that Tony packed for us while he and his friend Hector rode their new skateboards on the boardwalk (I'll ask Tony to blog about being 3 times the age of most of the skaters-his words). Maiya and I enjoyed sharing lunch, hanging out, digging in the sand, and putting our feet in the icy cold ocean.

After we went to the beach, we went to Hector's. He had just bought a little wooden boat and let us test it out in the Venice Canals. Here they are carrying the boat 1/2 a block over to the canals.

It was very fun. Do you see that we have one regular oar, and one broken pizza oven spatula? I know, I know, Maiya is not wearing a life jacket, but I overcompensated by asking Tony if she was ok about once every 10 seconds, and turning my head to check her halfway between every 10 seconds, and trying to feel assured by the fact that the water was barely 2-3 feet deep, but praying that we wouldn't have to jump into the brackish, dirty water, and trying to keep the boat going straight with 1-1/2 oars, and trying to keep from complaining about the pain in my arms and shoulders, and trying to keep from laughing because it was just so much fun.

Let's work together to end the War. Peace. Out.

Vote for Reid!

Check out this cute video and vote for my cousin Rod's son, Reid. Reid is trying to win a trip to the Austrailia Zoo--he wants to be the next croc hunter! Steve Irwin's wife and daughter are going to judge the top 50 vote-getters. Right now, Reid is in the top 30, but he needs your votes. You can vote once and hour and I've voted about 10 times so far. He's a cutie.

http://freetrip.australiazoo.com.au/?p=watch&v=6goa3exv

Post-Pilgrimage Fun

After spending all day at the Manzanar Pilgrimage, afterwards, we went back to the motel and hung out in the swimming pool for 2 1/2 hours. Hanging out with us were children of the Manzanar Committee, two boys, Sam (age 6) and Miro (age 3). The big pool was "icy code" as Maiya kept saying, but it didn't keep her from going in the pool about 10-15 times. We were going back and forth between the jacuzzi and the big pool. It was lots of fun. Even though it's been 2 years since we did swim class at the Y, Maiya enjoyed kicking and paddling around the pool, with me holding her trunk and walking back and forth in the shallow end. She also had fun jumping from the edge into my arms over and over again.

The day after the pilgrimage, we drove up to Whitney Portals, which is about 11 miles from Lone Pine, and is near the base of Mt. Whitney. They have a little pond stocked with trout, which we watched people catching fish every few minutes. It was great that in addition to taking Maiya to the pilgrimage, we were able to go to the mountains and had a little bit of fun before heading home.

Mama's Day for Peace

This beautiful child made me a mother... these are some of my favorite photos. May 2005.

Did you know that mother's day originated as a call to peace? http://mothersdayforpeace.com

KuidaOsumi the OG

I just remembered that this site was originally a geocities page! So, if you want to see where we started from, take a look from the early days (last updated March 2002): http://www.geocities.com/kuidaosumi. The look has changed (hopefully for the better), but the content and ideas behind it are pretty much the same nowadays. The main difference is the addition of Maiya into our website and our lives.

I just updated the main website and added some photos to Maiya's Home Page. If you haven't seen it, it's a month-by-month look at her cute smiling face, and the slowly, but surely increase in the length of her hair. And no, she hasn't had a haircut yet!

I've been wondering what to do about kuidaosumi.com. I don't really update it much anymore--there's some linking issues I haven't felt like dealing with. I've been documenting our lives for over 7 years, but only updating the site every 3 months or so. I need to renew the domain name--don't know who else would want it but I don't feel real inspired to update it, given how much easier it is to be here on blogspot. What should I do? Let it go? Keep it for posterity? What do you think?

Manzanar 2007

Maiya's 2nd trip to Manzanar

Meeting Grandpa Walt on his way to
Lake Crowley's Opening Fishing Weekend.

Beating the 90 degree heat.

Visiting with traci at the Manzanar Committee's tent.

This is Ken Koshio. He performed Sukiyaki at the pilgrimage.
Stay tuned for photos of me with his son at the pool.

Dancing the Tanko Bushi with daddy.
Going for a ride with Mama after the pilgrimage.

The big taiko drum after the pilgrimage.

This year we drove up for the weekend, leaving on Friday evening and driving up to Lone Pine. As usual, we stayed at the Dow Villa Motel. On Saturday, we went out to the pilgrimage. I acted as stage manager, a role I filled for many years when I was active with the Manzanar Committee. This year's pilgrimage was dedicated to Sue Kunitomi Embrey, the chair for over 35 years, who passed away last May. Over 1,000 people came to the pilgrimage this year.

After the pilgrimage, we went back to the motel and spent 2 1/2 hours in the pool (photos to follow). That night, Tony & Maiya hung out, went and got a pizza, while I went to the Manzanar After Dark, a program for young people that I started back in 1997. It was organized by our friends Traci & Mari. They showed our friend Tad's film, "Pilgrimage" which led into the intergenerational discussions. It was pretty amazing that close to 250 people attended the evening program, culminated with poems written that evening by participants. It was really great that we were able to take Maiya again this year. She had a fun time playing with rocks and some other children who came. Hope you will join us next year. Peace. Out.

Join me for a Cuppa Soy?

Welcome to Cafe Maiya

I'm not sure exactly what Maiya's saying, but one thing's for sure, she's supporting immigrant's rights, joining the Great American Boycott, and she's sure about it.

Happy May Day!!