Newton, Elaine, 1943-

Elaine Mariko Okamura was the sixth of seven children born to her parents in Honolulu, Hawai'i. She tells of her father, who left Japan to find his father in Hawai'i, and her mother who was born in Kauai but was sent to Japan as a five-year-old to care for her grandmother. Her father owned the only grocery store in their area, and she recalls him doing his calculations on the abacus. Elaine's knowledge of Japanese helped her to become a stewardess for the Pacific Rim for Pan American Airlines. After stopping in Vietnam, she met her future husband, Wayne Newton, who was returning to the U.S. after entertaining the troops with Jack Benny. After dating for two and one-half years, they married and lived at the ranch near Pecos and Sunset. She describes Las Vegas in the 1980s, the Strip, the restaurants, and fashion and recalls attending the inaugurations of presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. She speaks of discrimination in the past and of anti-AAPI violence in the present.