For days their curiosity had built
as they walked past the pad locked door
at the top of the stairs.
All wondered what the mysterious space held.
Even their father stood staring,
bolt cutters in hand.
The home owners had been taken away
to a Japanese internment camp.
What family treasures had they left behind?
_________________________
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This is a Flash Fiction Friday 55
hosted by Mr. Knowitall.
For more 55's pay him a visit -
Mr. Knowitall.
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The mysterious pad locked door was at the top of the stairs in a home my Mother's family rented in Hood River, Oregon. It was the early 1940's and anyone of Japanese descent was a potential spy, so off they went - entire families - to internment camps. Leaving behind homes, possessions and any semblance of a normal life. My mother lived in one of those lives left behind.
43 comments:
wow. a scary reality when that happened...had to be for those that watched as well...nice 55 monkey!
mine is up!
An event in life worthy of remembering, and stories to explore beyond the home left behind.
Wow that would have been terrible for those families. How horrible to have all your earthly possessions, memorabilia etc left behind.
I don't really know much about these type of events.. I really should educate myself more. A great 55 Monkey. I will have to do mine later..gotta go to work!! Cheers
Wow. Lots going on in these 55 words. Nicely done, MM.
-C
You ending is even meaner than the ending on the arch I finished last week.
MM....
I had a friend whose parents were interned in Kansas. It sucked!
Most excellent 55.
Orange and Black are Harley-Davidsons colors.
Thanks for playing, and have a Kick Ass Week-End...G
Impact!
Awesome 55.
Wow! That's an amazing story!
how very hard for the people who were put out.
oh my, this took my breath away. what an unexpected turn of events in this story.
We had several friends who went through it; they were so gracious.
The worst part would have been the memories never made and the stigma of being an enemy when you weren't
Nicely done MM
see ya Sunday
Moon smiles
One movie I've only seen once but has stayed forever is The Pianist, you know the guy in it won the Oscar for it. They had a bit of warning about leaving, took some stuff. But those pad-locked, I cannot imagine those who had to leave everything suddenly. So sad.
Super-Awesome 55!!
xo
So much said in so few words. What a scary experience that must have been for the family that was taken away.
You draw the reader in and make them wonder, and then Wow! What a surprise ending!
Teresa
They used to padlock me in all the time. My human isn't too smart. She lets me roam free...
What an interesting story, and a reminder to us--the POWER of fear, paranoia.
Wonder if anyone EVER researched if there WERE any spies in the many thousands of displaced families?
Thanks for this 'different' '55', well done!
Fantastic 55.
On the way to my mother's home, we must pass Manzanar, the internment camp nestled under the Sierra Nevada mountain range here in California. Sometimes we stop and stand at the cemetery pillar. So many stories are there behind bolted doors.
There were families -- those left behind -- that protected the treasures of those taken away and saw that they were returned to them. An entire village in worked together and preserved on man's farm, working the land, selling the crops, and saving the money for the family on their return.
Excellent words on man's darker side.
Oh my, I'm intigued and fascinated ... and it's true, I would love to read more!
Sounds like the first paragraph of a great novel! And, to find it based on something true in your life is even better.
Interesting and scary.. Loved your 55..
--Someone Is Special--
A sad piece of history, but then there is lots of that to go around. So well written.
Mine is up.
PG
Steveroni...No spies were ever found in the Japanese community that were imprisoned but between 5000-6000 Japanese-Americans renounced their US citizenship and returned to Japan. Most of the interned, including them who volunteered for US Military service, lost everything and when they went back to claim their land or property after the war they were not allowed to have it back. Whoever had possession of it at wars end was made legal title holder.
The Germans and Italians on the other hand were simply ordered to move away from the coastlines X number of miles they were never imprisoned unless it was as POW's.
You evoked both curiosity and dread within me. I wanted to know but didn't. The Japenese internment camps has always been a strange thing for me to understand....I guess, I can see it from both sides......
What a fabulous 55! Drew me in and then sort of broke my heart.
Wow! You punched 55 explosives there! Wow!
Awesomely moving!
My 55 is up - be it later than normal.
this was a scary 55 monkeyman..and very well written..
Well written my friend. I was shocked at the ending. Didn't see that coming. Loved this. Have a great weekend :)
Truth is stranger than fiction, and we're no better today when it comes to prejudice and paranoia.
Interesting 55, MM!
a great historical 55...so many untold stories related to WWII. :(
That's really quite disturbing.
Politically-charged (without being preachy or screechy), simple imagery revealing larger unsettling, echoic-of-current-events truths. Potent work, my friend. :)
Oh my goodness -- what a story for the family and for your mother. People have lived through such terrible things, it certainly makes us look at our own lives with fresh insight, doesn't it?
Great 55 Monkey Man; what a moment before that door.
Wow.....how very sad.
Those were very sad times and very shameful ones as well.
Those were very sad times and very shameful ones as well.
That's a moment in our history we acted shamefully. Powerful 55, MM.
And will we discover the treasures left behind during one of America's brain fart periods? :)
You know that curiosity killed the cat.
I was in a play that dealt with the subject of internment camps and many people of Japanese decent losing their farmlands when they were taken to the camps. I had the pleasure of meeting people that had been in the camps and I was overwhelmed by their generosity, kindness, strength, and lack of bitterness. I felt truly honored to be able to hear their stories. Having them in the audience was an unbelievable experience. It remains to this day one of the best theater experiences that I have ever had. I learned so much. I find it appalling that I made it through high school and never learned about the internment camps. There are some things that we as a nation should never forget and this is one of them.
I linked to you today.
This was very powerful. I see I've been missing out by not following your blog, so I'm about to remedy that - thanks to Unknown Mami.
Cheers,
xoRobyn
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