I first met Uncle Ralph in 2008. I was living in Honolulu and somehow managed to be crowned Mrs. Hawaii International that year. The next step was to attend and compete for the title of Mrs. International 2008 in Chicago. We didn’t have money or time off for my then husband and our four kids to all go so I headed across the ocean on my own.
One of the big parts of the Mrs. International pageant is the husbands, however, if, for some reason, one’s husband isn’t able to attend then an alternative escort can take their place. So, the plan was for my cousin to accompany me. He lives in the Carolinas and was willing to come see me and his mom and step-dad while I was there and then be my onstage escort for the pageant. I hadn’t seen my cousin since I was a child and it had been many years since seeing my aunt and I had not yet even met my Uncle Ralph.
This would be my second time visiting Chicago. The first time was for a church conference and I really didn’t get to see anything except the airport, the hotel we stayed in, Monument of Faith Church, Chuck E. Cheese, and the snowy roads between them. (Picture from https://www.rdhenton.org/monument-of-faith-church)
Wikipedia image of the John Hancock Center.
My mom and step dad.
At that time of my visit from Honolulu my Aunt lived in downtown Chicago in a high-rise across from the Hancock. You really can’t get better than that for a Chicago visit! To top it off, my mom and step dad met me there from Arkansas and stayed a few days.
As it turned out, my cousin wasn’t able to do the trip so my aunt asked me what I thought about my Uncle being my escort instead. As disappointed as I was that I wouldn’t get to see my cousin, of course I thought that was a great idea!
My aunt and uncle were such wonderful hosts and we had such a nice time. They showed me the city, explained the transient system and took me out to breakfast at their fav local “hole in the wall” the day I arrived and then later they took me to a horigotatsu type restaurant which was a first for me. It was quite lovely and the food was delicious!
Btw, my aunt has experience with pageants and knows the ins and outs of them quite well.
One of the pageant events was a dinner for the “husbands” which Uncle Ralph was invited to and attended and thankfully enjoyed.
This was my first, and so far my only, pageant so it’s no surprise that I didn’t win anything, at all, but I love shoe biz and the stage and I had a great time. I met some lovely ladies and I was nice to the snobby ones regardless of them going out of their way to show me disdain.
My uncle gracefully escorted me on the stage and everything went smoothly.
Right after the pageant and before the after party while waiting around in the foyer one by one different pageant husbands would spot me and make a beeline for me and introduce themselves to me as if I were some sort of celebrity. I wasn’t the only one wondering why, some of their wives were too, especially the snobby ones.
Finally my aunt just had to let me in on what was going on cause she knew and was taking a moment to enjoy the scene.
While Uncle Ralph was at dinner with the husbands they got him to talk and basically fell in love with him so when they spotted me in the foyer, because of him, they just had to meet me.
Later at the after party I got to have a dance with my uncle. I get nervous when it comes to slow dances like that cause my dad was very strict and critical when it came to formal dancing with him, which wasn’t often, but thankfully it wasn’t so nerve racking after all. I also loved watching my aunt and uncle dance together. Such a beautiful couple!
The next time I got to see Uncle Ralph I had my kids with me. Tyler, my oldest who was still in grade school at the time, had memorized a song in Japanese that he liked from an Anime called
Kyo Kara Maoh. It was a long song and Uncle Ralph sat intently listening as Tyler sang the whole thing for him and then Uncle Ralph told Tyler how wonderful he did. It was a precious moment. Tyler’s grown now and says he certainly did not sing the words correctly but he did try his best.
Uncle Ralph wasn’t just a WW2 veteran but he was also incarcerated as a child along with his family in a Japanese American internment camp. He was written about and interviewed by several publications. I’ve included a few links below. I encourage you to check them out. Besides getting to see what he looked like and sounded like and learning more about him you’ll also learn more about an important part of history you might not be that familiar with. (Photo fromhttp://remembrance-project.janm.org/tributes/fumio-ralph-fujimoto.html)
I will confess, I’ve enjoyed telling people that my aunt married a Japanese man so now I’m part Japanese. Truthfully, I’m a mix of various Anglo-Saxon whiteness, so to speak, so I find it odd but funny that oftentimes people just believed me.
I would have loved to have seen my uncle at least one more time and I really wish I could be there for my aunt during this difficult time. I can only hope she just knows how much she means to me and that I love her and I wish her comfort and all the best going forward on her life’s journey.
RIP Uncle Ralph Fujimoto! I am so glad my children and I had the honor of meeting you and being a relative of yours through my beautiful aunt. Thank you for your service to our country! You are loved and missed!
Uncle Ralph and Aunt Shirley
Note: I have wonderful pictures of the time I spent in Chicago with my aunt and uncle but they are not currently accessibly to me. I had them, at one time, on my original Facebook but it was suddenly deleted due to hacking so when I am able to access my pictures from that time I will try to remember to post them on here. I am actually quite disappointed that I can not do this now. If my aunt or others have copies of them or of their own that they will send me I’ll be sure to post them on here. For now I have mostly copied and borrowed what I could find.
Also, I apologize if the links don’t work by just clicking on them. If they don’t you can copy and past them and they should work that way just fine.
Here are some links where you can find more info about Ralph Fujimoto. One of them centers around his 100th birthday, the others are about his life and the Japanese American Internment camps.
I’m an Gen X-er, but I get it and I’m “woke AF”, lol! No really! Okay, never mind.
Proceeding forward,
um,
I’m not actually fluent in emoji’s, but I do okay, I guess. I’m not a emoji fan as in I don’t care for emoji plushies, toys and stickers. I love love looove plushies, just not emoji ones. Just wanted to clear that up. But I do like using them to communicate sometimes. (The emojis, not the plushies. I just want to hug the plushies and if I had a lot of money I’d give them away as gifts cause they’re awesome and super soft and cuddly and I can name them George. JK! Lol)
Anywho,
the point of this is that the “old” way isn’t always the “right way” or the “best way”, it isn’t always the “wrong way” either. It just isn’t the for “everybody way”. One of the “old ways” that was wrong is that a lot of folks thought “their way” was the “everybody way” and that screwed a lot of folks up. If you disagree, just ask your local pharmacists about it.
I did have trouble communicating most my life, I held a lot in, so I get it. But my journey is a bit different than this one.
I’m happy people have found unique and fun ways to express how they feel and what they want to say.
Some folks are afraid the digital age has cursed us with cyber bullying. I can’t disagree, however, there’s always been bullies, and I’m sorry to say, there will always be bullies just like there will always be heroes. It’s something we have to continually adapt to and figure out as we journey on.
Communicating through social media, VR, gaming, LRP, emoji and symbols, music, songs, lyrics, poems, dance, and so on, is still communicating and is not less if it’s effective.
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Do You Speak Emoji By Lorenakoran 3/19/2020
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Do you speak emoji Can you see what I say Does the pictures touch your heart In any kind of way
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I’m the kind that can’t find The words to express myself Speaking and writing it out Was never any help * So I sat quietly on the sidelines A perpetual wallflower at life’s dance Till this electronic age came along Giving me a voice, giving me a chance
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Do you speak emoji Can you see what I say Does the pictures touch your heart In any kind of way
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The old world worked for some It was a happy way of life Now they complain about things Saying it’s removed and full of strife * But that wasn’t everyone The unhappy had to be quiet Not all of us were satisfied Inside of us was a roaring riot
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Do you speak emoji Can you see what I say Does the pictures touch your heart In any kind of way
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So now the tables turned And people just like me Have a way to express themselves Without all the anxiety * The Boomer and the X-rs Don’t seem to understand Things aren’t necessarily worse They’re just no longer in their hands.
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Do you speak emoji Can you see what I say Does the pictures touch your heart In any kind of way
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meme me, GIF me, say it any way you can, lip sink, VR, anythings okay language, obstacles, near or far away, we can communicate cause, we rule the day
This was inspired partly by things I’ve been through combined with things other people felt, their stories, and their frustrations. Thankfully I don’t feel or see myself as a monster, but I’ve been through times where I was close to it. There is hope for people who feel they’ve been taken over by their inner monster, there are ways out, ways to be freed. Some find it in religion, and or religious practices. Others through friends, seeking professional help, medication, and some with “feeding” themselves with all things positive. I’ve been successful using various methods. Using the same process over and over again may work for some but for others it’s helps to change it up and find what works. I encourage people who have had their inner monster or inner demons take over to pursue help and get their negative side in check. It’s not good for the person and others in their life if they don’t learn how to reign the monster in and take control of it, instead of it controlling them. Some may see this as spiritual, and if that helps, fine, but it is more accurately something on the order of trauma, chemical imbalance, mental illness, and so on. When religion goes from helpful to harmful is when the person needs medical and psychological treatment and the spiritual leaders ignore it or demonize the much needed treatment. When that’s the case, it’s time to move on and get the help that is real and not superstitious in nature.
Well, I had no intention of going on like this but it’s important. I do want to also add that any suicidal thoughts need to be called in to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline wither it’s for yourself or someone else. If it’s for yourself, please do not think about it twice, call before you can change your mind. And for those who believe that someone is being a drama queen or king, it’s better to call for help cause if it turns out they were being serious, well, you’re gonna have a lot of heavy regret. If they are just being dramatic and seeking attention, let the hotline give them the attention. They may learn a lesson this way. Bellow is the link and phone number to call if needed.
Often we question why God allows us to suffer.
Sometimes we can easily see how it was for the best, how the suffering made us a better person and so on.
However, some times those reasons are murky or down right impossible to see.
You see, when a human can’t explain why they are allowing another human to suffer when they have the ability to stop the suffering, telling that suffering person and the others wondering why, “have faith in me, I work in mysterious ways,” is not an acceptable answer, it’s not okay, and people who do this are bad. Plain and simple.
But, when God does this, we need to accept that answer blindly, we need to have faith.
It’s not abuse because it’s something God is doing, not people.
When people do it, it’s abuse.
In other words, do what God says to do but don’t do what he does.
The late Dr. Stephen Hawking is a good example of great knowledge coming from suffering.
-God allowed Stephen Hawking to have ALS
-so he could become an outstanding scientist
-and discover that there is no God.
Presto!
I know! Right! On a more serious note, there was a period of time that Dr. Hawking believed that there most likely was some sort of god or creator. However, over time he came to understand that it didn’t actually take a creator/god to cause the big bang and all that was put into motion from there.
From what I’ve read and understood about Dr. Hawking, his realization that there isn’t a god didn’t come from a place of pride, obstinance, bitterness and so on, but from keeping an open mind and an ability to keep questioning everything, even things he himself felt he knew. He never got to a place where he couldn’t learn more, learn better, see mistakes, and better his understanding.
I’m bummed that he passed. I don’t know how much he was or wasn’t suffering. I’m not educated much on ALS. But if it got to be too much than I can be happy for him. Instead of thinkin he’s in a better or worse place, I know his legacy lives on in the lives of many of the living in the here and now and the future to come.
Does God have a plan for your life?
Do you know what it is?
What you really need to be asking is, do you have a plan for your life?
Do you have a list of the steps you need to take to get there?
If you really feel you need to believe in a god or gods, fine, but you still need to find your path and create a way to accomplish it.
You also need to include giving back and passing it forward and the steps you need to make that happen along side of your goals.
If it makes you feel better, I’ll go ahead and tell you that it’s gods will, or the goddess’ will, or the gods and goddesses will… for you to make your own way, to pave your own path, to set your own goals, to help others along the way, to overcome obstacles, to find inspiration when you start doubting yourself, to keep building, keep moving, keep believing in you, rest here and there and catch your breath, than carry on, keep going, keeping your goal in your sight.
Remember people like Dr. Stephan Hawking, let their tenacity inspire you to keep going even when everyone around you knows it’s over and your goals are impossible. If you can’t find people who will encourage in person, find them online, with caution, and find them in videos, books, magazines, shows, fill your mind with the stories and tales of people who went against the odds and succeed and let them help you push out self doubt.
I love that Dr. Hawking got to experience Zero-Gravity!
Just thought I’d give you a head start! 😉
When I bring this up people still go on about why God is good and so on. I usually don’t go on anymore about it with them because if they are willing to excuse a being who turns a blind eye to the horrors so many are going through, than what more is there to say. They melt into circular reasoning. Carrying on with them becomes redundant and a waste of time. Not that the person is bad, or isn’t worth my time, maybe there are other areas where we can communicate with reason. The way people defend their imaginary sky daddy is the same as the way people in cults defend their abusive leader. It’s rare for someone to just get it and detach themselves. Maybe they will think about what was said later, maybe not. So, I usually move on to the next subject and hope they can do the same.
I want to get into more vlogging and become more comfortable doing so. I haven’t done a vlog in a while now and I sure had a difficult time doing this one. But I was determined. Gotta start somewhere! I am convinced the next one I do will be better. lol No really! 😉
Also, if you would subscribe to my YouTube channel I would really appreciate it. I’d really like to get 1,000 plus subscribers so I could make a few bucks. They won’t do paid ads for channels with under 1,000 subscribers. So, it would certainly be helpful! The kids and I could use a few extra dollars.
Here’s the video –
Here are the quotes I read at the end of the vlog.
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