APRIL
1941
THE NEW CANADIAN
Page 3
on To the way
u
down momorr lan
Mm
V . 1 �*. V
.uru>
1 slipped through a gate .'�K.i'by and rickety with the down a long, untrodden lane. t place, to a house wonthcr-d deserted, with cobwebs used to hang and OH- early Spring breeze, and here a light used to shine. I had come'homo. ,
Xatuie ,^-kiiul. 'The (lowering lilac fear thr slorc wa^ nas srown more profuse with the years, and hangs heavy with purple 'blooms, spilling u* faint perfume everywhere, haunting the senses with bits 'of tmforgot-ten experience, The roses are in bloom asain, and the red petals have fallen as of old, 'Upon the^ dark, rich �oil, Wood red against black ebony loan, The old cherry tree cradles in it? \veatherbdaten old trunk, a happy secret of what might have been�-two hearts engraved and a date�a mere notation which means nothing to the world, biit which was an April 'victory for tw6 people one day a long time ago. These things remain,
I inserted the,key � treasured all these years�into the lock, "and slowly the door cueakcd and . a thousand echoes came to greet me but of the .sileixL empty, jsoin. JIke,t okL_f riejhcls-,, and as my eyes became accustomed to tho dimness/1 saw it all�-the dear familiar' things, the dear familiar places�-things and pl'aces which were \
sacred to me and to me alone. j
* _ "I
Yes, I would come here for this 1 \\as home. I would polish the win- [ dows and put a new coat of paint on * the walls, and hang'fresh curtains. ( Here, where life passes in an easy stream and where people are kind,
tand the days an unending stretch of roseate dawns turning , into . long
' sunny hours of golden sunshine; end-
. here I
i/JU *Jim.>u (l)iiul
� *' V*
T
Ho
\Yuui '''i oil1 \v rih \xi.ir Cnpsv \Vuui >>^ To i tic f.i id! iv
now
Si\ , Crpsv \Vind, v *.<h vour KM*' r'ous hm>h Otf to the suou bound link'
Pr.iv, Grpiv XYtm!. when miry mn s .irouiul. \YiM vou bo
You rewr hKcd O,I\.M K%m'> to vlmg
Too dgbilv 10 wch ticc: You ticnniu* of tlvm (o Wush ,nuf yiekt
IktoiL1 your chuckling ^Icc,
>ou nc\cr hkcd rhc Summer airs T<? bind \ou. Gipsv \Vind-
"I hi: Lw.V clouds tint <hikeJ t>�t *I o rioiA you Gipsv \Yind.
Proud Gipsy Wind wsrh youc.r.vsgeJ sleeves, \Vithout >ou wh.u sb.ill } do?'
Dcir Gipsv \Yind~ tc�nprmu>tis 'j>otK Mv heart .goes noith.with you"!
\vould come,- for surely where love is und the dreams', are, so, is the heart.
I climbed up to my room. Nothing was changed. Only the-dust qMhe ^ years pread- like a protective covering { -over my youthful treasures, left be-r hind in this old house when each vt us had gone on our "adventure" we used to call it�on "the road of high adventure". This was my Vroud library undisturbed: "Little, Women/' -Anne-of-Greeir Gables,"~<'Westward > Ho," "Blue Castle," "Treasury of Canadian Verse/' "Hiawatha," "Evan-, geline," and "Under the Lilacs."
I took down "Little Worrfen." ' Inscribed on the fly leaf was "To Mari, * uho is like Jo." Jo .had had courage a ^care-free buoyancy�she did :s. -And someone "had thought, in these days, that I was' like Jo. , would Jo do the things.I was planning , to do? u was an uncomfortable ; 'thought/ . .. . ~ _ !
* opened the drawers, and yellowed-! Papers scattered everywhere'* . '. . f closly written in a childish scrawl ' � � > bits of.scribbling . , , a poem � *rcangeiy reminiscent of Bliss Car- I men:'
�-�* '*!. beloved, hangs high upon the �
^""1 1 can
things . . ^stc'nps of songs:
i�df._ the sun .and the 'starlit �
"' '"" " " ~
�jv^iay marked 'A': \-: -; : ;
i* before u$-^ours 'the future! ;:; V / :
world was all sunlight and laughter, hopes and youth's sweet young dreams. And I' had thought then, that I was to became famou$�irrevocably and lore-ordained! And such stuff as these were to be my offering at that Muse's shrine. I had .only these and nothing more.
� And tC\cked away in one cpr.ner'of the drawer was a pennant and a pin -�a-pin AvhiclvSingled~me-ouVtogether--with seven "others, out of 2000 stud-entss as most likely to succeed. Most? likely to ^succeed! ,
* * *
o UDDENLY I Hated it all . .'. this p- house and thV relentless march of the years .- . . and the' dreams that were locked up in this tiny room. \ I had ' come here seeking something which" I had lost when I\went "adventuring," and the ,dear familiar "tKiiTgs^wliich'^ha'd^iieen If" sourcV o�' pleasure now turned to mock me, not unkindly perhaps, but-gently, with the powerful gentleness which is more potent than harsh words or acts.
I was no longer a part of this old house. j-I was no longer a part of this old house because I came back seeking an escape. The dreams and the hopes that had shaped this place had been-courageous onds" and not ones which were born of fear or despair or futility.,". .-*'--
I had^been happy in this house a long time ago because in that long ago, I^had Ihted my "present" believing ina gloribus future. It was not what I- had possessed, nor the kind of people about me, that had made my time here happy days, but rather that all my efforts, small and pbscure'that they were, were put forth with an eye -toward a goal.
Quietly I closed the door behind me, and retraced my steps. from Memory^ Lane/- The lilac swayed a sad farewell; In my hand was the key-to ,'th. � chouse.. Without a back-\vard glance, I. .threw it oVcr my shoulder .-. .. for I shall never come
t
�-��;thf ul ; exuberance when the j again. ~
I
KNEW a boy once, nnd his name was Masao. lie fell in love one'day when he was still* very young, To him, then she was the epitome of charm and desirability, a shining jewel among all the girls he had ever, met. Then his mother found out. His mother was an old-fashioned Issei. Can you guess what happened after that? You can pretty well tell, can't you, that the knife of parental displeasure fell hard on the two young innocents, cutting them apart forever.
Perhaps, he would have outgrown her anyway, if he had been left alone
to adore her in-his own way. Perhaps she was to have been the Only one in his life. How was he to know? Especially as he never saw her again except from a distance. That distance lent her glamour that perhaps she did not really have. She seemed to him ns the one precious treasure he had lost through the unsympathetic,intolerance of one who, of all people, should have understood his need. His mother1 should have been his best friend when he "was going through the exquisite throes of his first love 'affair,
The young must go through All the stages of^physical,^.mental, and- psy--chological growth before they can be truly adult.' If they'are denied the natural outlets for their young and wholly unconsciovis animal spirits, theirw altogether , delightful yet excruciating sensitive, adolescence, what .can you expect but moody frustration. Tlrey must dance and sing and worship and study. Sports, parties, girlfriends and boy.-friends, these they' must take in their, stride as they study and grow towards manhood and
Hi, /VM K. .��St5ift3h��s:A5,r.�!W,fi,^?.r,r,s.rj^r^^?N5i
womnnhood.
It would be a good idea if the younger Nisei? and the growing San-sois could have a more tolerant understanding from the parents and guard' Jans about these ever-increasing Dances. At present, dancing is the form of social recreation thnt is most popular with 1ho younger crowd, or even the older one. If the parents would only keep to themselves their old-fashiond fears concerning the alleged promiscuity of chcok-to-chcck dancing ,tho young would not find such forbidden thrills in it.
I do not countenance open defiance of objecting parents. Defiance makes for unhappiness all around, but, if we could get the tssei to stage a few parties foi'v the Nisei and. have the former watch the. latter have fun un-trammellcdy laugh in wholesome enjoyment of dancing and a bit of flirting, I am sure there would be a better understanding of the needs, of the Canadian-born. If we could teach our parents -to dance, then they might see how" it is with tl\e young.
It is humiliating and tragic when you feel your parents don't trust you - with a-givl or a boy, I ani sure, that is the best way to start a smoldering "^intcige" a1gl?ii^r^ir"aKd^any~kind~~of ^legitimate Issei authority. To prevent such misunderstanding between parent an'd child, here's a wee hit' o' advice that I offer with true deference to the wisdom and sympathy of adults who would see our point of view if they knew more aboxit it:
Trust the young's inherent .good common sense, and they will repay a
thousand-fold with gratitude and consideration.
- 0 Listed here for your convenience are new telephone numbers of prominent business firms and professional men. .
BuhkaShokai
PA 0318
250 Powell Street
Canadian Japan- p * ese Association
320 Gore Avenue
Columbia Studio v .PA 5610
- ' 313 Main Street
- Empress Cafe- 7-1 - -. PA ~2029'"-'
32$ Powell Street
Fuji Chop Suey PA 9740
311 Powell Street
Dr. T. l<uzuhara PA 3913
1?3 Kast Hastings Street
T. Maikawa Stores .-:. .. PA 9557
-3C9 Powell Strict f>� 9558
Matsumiya&Nose - .MA 7438
- 229 Powell Ktroet ,
Mikado Taxi '.......L, __.>A 1545
251 Powell Street
Japan and Canaclap * Trust Savings
3&S Powell Street
Dr.-E. Miyake PA 3718
1-93; Kast"; Hastings..Street-
Dr. M.\Miyazaki PA 8511
IS3 East Hastings.Street-
Nabata Transfer MA 8702
222 Gore Avenue -; ; -
The NevT(Zanadian :.'.PA 8431
'; 3i6'. PovreH Street . .
Nippon Club :: PA 8928:
362 Altxander Street
Nippon Auto
Supply PA 7"7
, 20S Aloxandei: Street
Powell Bakery _ PA 7629
342 Powell Street
Powell Dnjg Co. * PA 5038
:m Powell Street
Seis^ndo CoY �!� r
Powell Street
Dr. H. Shimokura PA 1915
l\\st Hastings Sti'fct
�rtaKkahSa;r ^5949
21^ J'owell Street
Sun Nom King ' . PA 5856
3^2 PowcU Street
Sun Pekin PA 9610
?~*t I'owcH Street
Hajime Suzuki PA 3016
" 377 PowelI: Street
Takahara Drug Co. , PA 2954-
202 Main Street
Taishodo Co. PA 6644
301 Powell .Street
Tammy Bike Shop PA 8653
112'-Main 'Street'
Uchida Stationers PA 2712
:, - : 3J7 Powell Street"- -
Vama Taxi � - PA 5454
. 205 Gore Avenue ~ : ' : -
