California Girls State
My teachers at Manual Arts High School voted me to represent the school at California Girls State. It was exciting for me and great fun as well as educational. I remember experiencing the dorm life at Davis University and touring the State Capitol. We had a wonderful advisor who told us that everyone wants to run for president but if we wanted our group to be represented, we should pick other positions as well. I ran for State Superindent of Schools and won!
My mother had asked my uncle to drive me to the Greyhound bus station in Culver City and I remember him saying he wouldn’t be able to pick me up to go home but it didn’t really register with me. When we returned from our trip, everyone got off the bus to waiting arms and big hugs from mothers, fathers, and families. I remember all the happy voices and although I didn’t see this one reunion, a mother’s voice said, “Welcome home, we missed you.” Her voice was strong and loving and I was bewildered because there was no one waiting for me. I had to act quickly to approach a girl I knew to go to a relatively nearby school, Jordan High School. I asked her if she could ask her parents to give me a ride home. Fortunately, they agreed without asking me any questions.
Many years later when I had retired from teaching, I worked as a volunteer docent at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. I learned about the hardships suffered by the Japanese Americans during and after WWII. My parents were always at odds with each other and separated during the time I was in high school. I realized that it took courage for my mother to ask her brother-in-law to give me a ride and a tremendous sacrifice to give up a week’s pay so she could stay with my little brother and I could go on a trip to Sacramento.
To this day, I am occasionally visited by voice that says, “Welcome home, we missed you.”