Although I’m no Woodward or Bernstein, I took a journalism class and loved it! It was challenging to stick to the “who, what, where, how, and why” of a story – and even harder to be held to a strict word count! But it made me “stick to the point,” despite my love of wandering around a subject.
Here are some of the stories I wrote.
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MY DAD’S EXPERIENCES AS A YOUNG JAPANESE-AMERICAN DURING WORLD WAR II
My Dad was a teenage Nisei (first-generation Japanese) living near Portland, Oregon when World War II broke out. His father had died years before, and he and his Mother and brothers and sisters were taken to an internment camp in Heart Mountain, Wyoming. Although he rarely spoke about his experiences, and never in much depth, he had opened up with a friend of mine who was writing a paper about someone who had lived during WWII for a class she had taken. My brother and I found his notes after he died, and this is a short article about what we found. I wish we had talked about his experiences, but I’m very thankful I have this remembrance of him. Read pdf »
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FIRST FLIGHT
When we were asked to write a short “feature” article, I remembered a friend of mine was taking flying lessons. I asked her about her “first flight,” and found it was a little more than she’d bargained for. Read pdf »
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A PLACE OF OUR OWN
For an “investigative” article, I wondered if a non-profit organization in Kansas City, ReStart, Inc., an interfaith ministry with the homeless, was spending their money as advertised. I’m not particularly good at dispensing bad news, so fortunately I discovered that they are, in fact, spending their money on programs and services that do benefit the homeless – both on an immediate, short-term basis as well as providing facilities and services to help individuals and families get back on their feet. I interviewed people at ReStart as well as others in the government who are responsible for funding. I looked at their financial filings as well, and to my relief, found they do a good job of spending their funding wisely. Read pdf »
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GETTING AS MUCH AS YOU GIVE
In thinking about an interesting person to profile, I didn’t have to look further than the lady I volunteered with at Children’s Mercy Hospital. My company at the time,(VML, Inc.) had a partnership with Children’s Mercy to man an “Art Cart” for the kids awaiting treatment. It was incredibly rewarding to see how much fun they had, not only making things for themselves, but for their parents and siblings. We reported in to Melanie each time, and I realized how much joy being with the kids brought her. Read pdf »
