CONTENTS

• The Boring Story Part
• The Not-Quite-So-Boring Part Involving Pictures

The Boring Story Part

It started innocently enough. Mission Control signed up for a black and white photography class and was assigned to take some photos involving interesting textures. For some reason, she decided there might be some up at Manzanar, so she grabbed her snazzy SLR, I grabbed my trusty Nishika, and we headed up north, not realizing the good folks of the National Park Service had something special in store for us.

It turned out that it was nearly the anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the creation of military exclusion zones and lead to the creation of Manzanar and the other War Relocation Centers. In observance of this anniversary, the National Park Service was hosting Shigeru Yabu and Willie Ito, author and illustrator (respectively) of Hello Maggie!, a children's book about Mr. Yabu's experiences as a child in the Heart Mountain relocation center focusing on Maggie, his pet magpie.

In addition to signing copies of their book, Mr. Yabu and Mr. Ito gave a short presentation about the book, their experiences in the relocation centers, and Mr. Ito's experience as an animator for Disney and Hanna-Barbera. Most of the talking was done by Mr. Yabu, during which Mr. Ito executed freehand drawings of Maggie as well as Scooby Doo, the latter as a tribute to Iwao Takamoto, a Manzanar internee under whom Mr. Ito worked for both Disney and Hanna-Barbera. Mr. Yabu's remarks were centered primarily on events that served as the basis for the book, while Mr. Ito talked mostly about his experiences in the industry working for Mr. Takamoto.

Mr. Yabu and Mr. Ito were joined by a gentleman whose name I did not catch, a Heart Mountain internee, who presented a slideshow he developed for an internee reunion in the mid-80s discussing the internment in general.

The presentations made by Mr. Yabu, Mr. Ito, and the third gentleman were quite interesting; if you have a similar opportunity, I heartily recommend it.

Unfortunately, since I did not have a flash for the trusty Nishika, I was unable to take indoor shots. The pictures here therefore do not include the presentation.

The Not-Quite-So-Boring Part Involving Pictures

	I've always found that trees make good victims for 3D photography. There is usually a branch poking off in some strange direction with a leaf on it that you didn't notice when you took the picture that winds up looking like a leaf levitating in the middle of nowhere. Given that, I figured that pictures of old, gnarled trees might also be interesting. As you can see, the result is less than whelming.
	A row of signs marking the positions of barracks in block 14.
	Mission Control tells me this is the cafeteria that they are rebuilding.
	A more interesting gnarled old treed.
	Here's Mission Control standing by the block 34 garden. I think the little squares she's standing amongst are markers placed by internees.
	Mission Control standing amongst some bushes. I believe this is in the vicinity of block 32.
	Here's a view of the garden by the mess hall in block 34.
	Another view of the block 34 garden. That's my car in the upper right.
	The hospital garden.
	The front side of the monument in the cemetary. Another for the "didn't turn out as good as I thought it would" file.
	The rear of the monument in the cemetary.
	Being a cemetary, there are, of course, graves. What caught my eye about the one in the foreground was the Elvis action figure propped up against the headstone.
	Mission Control pays her respects at the pet cemetary.
	The pet cemetary.
	There are two guard shacks at the entrance: a small internal shack and a larger external shack. This is the view from the inside.
	Here's the firetruck parked outside the auditorium.