My Life with Nobi

Book excerpt: My Life with Nobi is a story of two people whose lives were such that they had little or no chance of meeting had it not been for World War II. She was born and lived her early life on the Island of Hokkaido, Japan while I was born and lived my early life in Little Rock, Arkansas. I have always thought that she was given to by God, not because I deserved her, but because we were two lost souls aimlessly going through life. Our story takes us through the problems of Army Regulations prohibiting us from showing affection to the Japanese women and a few times where racial prejudice raised its ugly head. There were times when I had to be approved by her guardian before I was permitted to kiss her goodnight. When all of the problems were solved our love for each other grew and span over a period of sixty-two years. Our story includes how we raised our children, the heartache of losing one to a dreaded disease called Systemic Lupus Erythematosis, and the problems of everyday life like the middle class family that we are. I am not too proud of the period immediately following my return from the Vietnam War. I was sick and needed the help of a psychologist to put my life back together. It was because of the love for each other that we got through this period.