Another Farewell
I lost another important person in my life. It was the man who helped pave the path for my career. An old colleague called me yesterday to let me know he passed a few weeks ago, which again was a news I was anticipating. He was battling liver cancer for a few years. Mr. K was a well-known journalist in Japan and was operating a production company downtown LA producing a weekly news magazine show for the local Japanese TV audience in the ‘80s. I was still a student at UCLA trying to finish up my undergrad aspiring to find a career path in journalism. Even though I had little experience, he hired me as an independent contractor. He believed in me, and for years since he continued to refer me to many meaningful documentary projects I’m proud to have worked on. Even though he was rather difficult to work for in the early years, as we both got older he turned out to be someone I could seek advice and guidance and actually enjoyed his company whenever we got to see each other and often shared meals whether in L.A. or in Tokyo.