By Terry Watada It’s the end of 2016 and I find myself in an increasingly alien world. Everyone has a smart phone and developing neck pains from bending the head over to see the world on a tiny screen. Whenever I see someone walking and talking on a cell, I think to myself, “You’re not...Continue reading
By Terry Watada My concern these days lies with the Nisei. They are by and large in their 80s and 90s. Some have reached the century mark. Hardy stock, to be sure. I once asked my father-in-law (who will be 92 this month) what’s his secret to a long life. He said wryly, “Don’t die.”...Continue reading
By Terry Watada The Sansei are coming of age – that is, they’re getting old. I must admit I am at the starting line of my “golden years”. I am retired and I now qualify for many discounts. Before such considerations, I first have to decide what kind of senior citizen I should become. The...Continue reading
by Terry Watada editor’s note: Terry Watada is on summer break and will return in October. In the interim, we thought we’d publish some “classic” columns by Terry. So here we are, Christmas and Oshogatsu 1998! And the sansei are generally in their thirties, forties, and (dare I say it) fifties. Again, generally, most are...Continue reading
by Terry Watada editor’s note: Terry Watada is on summer break and will return in October. In the interim, we thought we’d publish some “classic” columns by Terry. The 1998 Powell Street Festival, 22nd edition, featured a new wrinkle this year. Besides the ever-popular salmon barbeque, tako yaki, curry beef, and fresh corn on the...Continue reading
by Terry Watada editor’s note: Terry Watada is on summer break and will return in October. In the interim, we thought we’d publish some “classic” columns by Terry. More than a little while ago I received a letter from a friend who has moved to the hinterland of the suburbs. She had been checking out...Continue reading
By Terry Watada Intergenerational trauma is real and alive in communities deeply affected by residential schools. You can’t attempt cultural genocide for 140 years, for seven generations – the last of these schools closing their doors in 1996 – and not expect some very real fallout from that. Attawapiskat is a brutal example. Joseph Boyden...
By Terry Watada “I’m here at the Academy Awards, otherwise known as the White People’s Choice Awards!” Chris Rock, February 2016 Chris Rock’s witty and quotable monologue at the top of the Oscars drew what I perceived to be a smug response from the audience. It was as if celebrities like Leonardo di...Continue reading
By Terry Watada Now where was I? Oh yes, I was about to reveal some surprising facts: surprising to me that is. First off, let me apologize to a long-ago friend of mine. I had promised to include the following subject back in 2014. It’s only now I have submitted it because either other issues...Continue reading