GOOD SAMARITANS

Two months ago, I lamented the fact that, like Sid the Kid, I wouldn’t be skating anytime soon. Recently, however, I was finally feeling energized enough to take to the ice with my Xena at the outdoor rink at the Markham Town Centre. Let me amend that. Terry actually brought the wrong pair of skates and had to watch from the sidelines as I circled the rink. Not exactly the date we expected but then again, nothing has been normal these past few months.

Our local arena at the Thornhill Community Centre has public indoor skating on Fridays. Last year, when Terry and I would go, we were surprised at how many old folks were out for a skate, including our neighbour Tom who is 78 years old although you’d never guess it looking at his smiling face with nary a wrinkle.

Tom and his wife of fifty years, Ruth, live almost directly across the street from us and they act as a two person neighbourhood watch for our entire area. Whenever we are away visiting family or friends, they are there to pick up our mail, cut our lawn, even shovel our driveway.

Their spirit of generosity belies the very difficult of circumstances surrounding their youth. Both were victims of Canadian internment camps for the Japanese back in the Forties. It seems hard to believe in this day of civil rights and freedom that people could be treated so unfairly.

Born in 1933, Tom was the second youngest in a family of nine children. When he was three, his father died leaving his mother to raise her family in a depressed area of downtown Vancouver. Luckily some of the older children were able to get menial jobs to help support the family.

Prior to World War Two, there were about 23,000 Canadians of Japanese ancestry in British Columbia, of whom 80% had citizenship status. Since the outset of the immigration from Japan to Canada at the end of the 19th century, many Japanese people were unwelcome and were subject to racism and discrimination. They were denied the right to vote and laws barred them from various professions. Their eligibility for social assistance and permits for forestry and fishing were also restricted. The intent was to force them to return to Japan.

In the spring of 1942, the Canadian government stepped in and callously rounded up most of the Japanese families in the Vancouver area and moved them out to interment camps scattered across the country. The government gave the internment order based on the unfounded speculation of sabotage and espionage following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941. Tom was moved with his mother and youngest sister to a compound in Greenwood, a small mining town in south central British Columbia. The rest of the family was sent to more secure camps in Ontario.

Tom is reluctant to talk about those dark years of his life. He does recall how families were herded together in barn-like non-insulated buildings. At an early age, he learned how to split wood for the pot-bellied stove that was used to heat the cramped quarters. Outdoor toilets and public showers were woefully inadequate to service the 1,000 detainees that called Greenwood home for four or five years. No school facilities, games or even toys were provided for the impoverished children.

When the war ended, detainees were offered either a ticket for Japan or a train ride to a destination east of the Rockies. Tom and his mother and sister came to London, Ontario and paid for food and shelter with the money earned by an older brother who found work in a tannery in St. Thomas. The Canadian government had promised the Japanese Canadians that their property and finances would be returned upon release; however, these assets were sold off cheaply at auctions. Sharing living arrangements with other families for the next five years seemed only natural to Tom.

Not surprisingly, he struggled academically. However, the nurturing environment of a one room school house helped Tom gain self confidence. He came to Toronto in 1948 where he went to a vocational school to learn the printing trade which served him well as a career.

Good luck has shone on Tom and his wife ever since those difficult years. He’s a big sports fan and has lots of autographs to prove it. He also has some amazing connections to the sports world.

Back in the 80’s, his wife worked as a legal secretary in an office that was often frequented by Harold Ballard, owner of the Maple Leafs. He befriended Ruth and often would give her tickets to Leaf games. In fact, when he learned of Tom’s interest in CFL football, he generously paid for an all expenses trip for Ruth and Tom to a Grey Cup game in Vancouver. And here I thought Ballard was a heartless man.

Tom even has a close association with Don Cherry. It all began when Ruth had the original idea of knitting a vest for Cherry’s dog Blue. Don was touched by the gesture and that began a friendship which even included friendly visits to Don’s house for coffee or a wobbly pop.

Indeed, we live close to Good Samaritans. Their ability to give back to a society that shunned them mercilessly as children is a wonderful lesson in forgiveness and charity for all of us.