I was born in east oakland in november 28, 1922. And, my earliest memories are of the family just trying to get by. There were 4 kids, of which i was one. I was the baby of the family and i had older sisters. I got a lot of stories about how mother and father used to be going growing up and how it was different when i was growing up. I can remember my dad coming home with a bunch of grocery bags in the backseat of the car filled with food, and he would say, dont asked me for thing, i just spend five bucks on groceries. Host and this was during the Harding Administration that you were born. What did your father do for a living . Well, he immigrated from russia in about 1900 or so and he made a living like many people of that era did. He had none of the language and he settled in galveston, of all places. He ran a bakery with a horse and wagon delivery. Somehow, he always managed to save a little bit of money and he bought a little bit of property. We had an easy depression years compared to some. Host what brought him to oakland . They left galveston because they were flooded out a couple of times. They went to new york and he got a job selling neckties on street corners. He would jump off just before the collector came to conduct to collect the fair. Somehow, after a few years, he owned the factory and how that came about, i dont remember. Host and you grew up in oakland, what was it like in the early years . It was slow moving. There were electric cars back then. They were usually owned by little old ladys with flowerpots inside the car. It was the depression years, so things were kind of tight. Somehow we always had a penny or a nickel in our pocket and we were never destitute. I cant compare it to today. Host what part of oakland were un . You in . My dad had a Furniture Store in downtown oakland that was enough to support the family. I went to oakland high school. About the time that i graduated, the war started. I never did go to college. After the war, many of my friends did, but i did not have a big desire to do that. I was a marine end of engineer in the merchant marine during the war. I got shot up a couple of times and i sailed around the world a couple of times. Host wait a minute. When did you graduate from high school . 1941. Host so you enlisted in the merchant marine . Yes, i didnt want to be drafted because it was too military for me. So, i joined the merchant marine as a wiper, the bottom of the line. I became a fireman and eventually an engineer. That was a little more pleasant. We were anchored in new guinea at one period and we suffered an attack from the japanese warplanes that dove down and did bullet things. I got a little bit of shrapnel in my leg. Big deal. I have survived all those years. Host so you were mustered out at the end of the war . Were you in for the whole thing . Yes. After the war was over, i wanted to visit my sister in hawaii. Being an engineer, i could get on a ship and go there. Host we are on a ship with arthur on our way to hawaii just after world war ii. Stay with us. Father here we go. Were gonna go out there in the rain. Youre gonna get wet. Alright, here we go baby [squealing with joy] father oh, yeah. Yes so much fun youre so wet. Our new years gift is a new years conversation with mr. Arthur friedman who was a mere 94 years old. We were with him growing up in oakland and we learned something about his family who emigrated from russia. He was on a ship for the duration of world war ii and he just hitched a ride to hawaii. As an engineer, you go to the union hall and you can sign up for any ships available. I wanted to visit my sister and her husband was in the produce business. After visiting, they talked me into coming back to hawaii after returning. Let me explain. As an engineer, you cant just leave the chip the ship. You are working and you have to find a replacement. I went back to the states and then i came back to hawaii and joined him in the produce business. I had no desire to go to college, even though most of my friends did go. After the war, i didnt feel that need, so i didnt. And, i have this great blue of love of fruits and vegetables from working with him in the produce business and i thought that i would like to grow some of this stuff. Well, starting a farm in california is very difficult, so i went to mexico with a couple of friends and we got a large piece of land from the mexican government. The deal was that if you could fence the land, drill a well and clear the land that you could have the use of the land for three years. Having learned in the produce business that cantaloupes are very expensive, we decided to grow cantaloupe and thats what we did for a couple of years. I got very sick in mexico and i had to come home, but it was a great experience. Host cantaloupe growing by way of hawaii. So you come back and what year is it in the states when you come back . 1952. Host did you come back to the bay area . Yes, my wife and i were married about 1947. She was from chicago. After about five years of living in hawaii, they get island fever. We decided to come back to the states. And, i had some very good friends that assisted me in all of these years of growing up. The important lessons to me in life, if i could boil it down, my secret to life is if anything comes your way, yeah, i will do that. That has been my guidance all these years. Host so you said yes and you are back in the states in 1952 . Well, 1953 or 54. Host it doesnt matter. So, you are back in the bay area . Yes. My brother had an appliance business in oakland and needing to do something, i joined him in the business. Host what was it like in the San Francisco bay area in 1952 that is different from now . Or, just paint a picture of what it was like. Well, the traffic on the bay bridge was about the way that it was this morning. Very light. There were no backups and no rushing and people took time to do everything. And, the bay area that i remember, when we were growing up and first got our licenses and our first cars and all of that, it was probably pretty much like it is today. There is always a new experience every morning. And, moving right along. Host yes. After mexico and after being in the appliance business for a couple of years, i just wanted to drop out. So, i sold my interest to my brother and this is moving pretty fast. Host where is the appliance business . Downtown oakland. Host how long were you there . Five or six years. We had to come back from mexico because i got six and the sick and the kids had to go to school. So we came back the dates are hazy. Host it doesnt matter. When we come back, we will come back and have more life lessons from Arthur Friedman. Stay with us. Arthur friedman for this new year has taught us to say yes in life. Thats his counsel from his 94 years. He grew up in oakland and was in the merchant marine and he farmed cantaloupes in mexico and did an appliance business in oakland. Now, hes going to go off to teach. Host that one of our employees started this institute of human abilities. A pretty fancy name. They were weekend seminars and he wanted me to become one of his teachers. Of course, i said yes. So, the principal of the seminars was the recognition of individual responsibility. We had fancy names like communication and things like that, but actually they were built around the idea that you do what you want to do and you dont do what you dont want to do. And, i became quite involved in that. That led to a little lecturing. People would get me to talk, but not like this fortunately. Host what were you topics your topics . In this business, which was mainly maybe 15 employees, i wanted to put my philosophy into practice. They had to name their salaries and working conditions and vacation times and what they wanted to do in the business. That brought me mail from all over the world. Host so you called an employee is and said, name your salary . Yes. I told him to tell the payroll person what they wanted and thats what they were going to get. Host did people take advantage of you . Youre not taken advantage of if you are willing to give what somebody else wants. I did get a couple of shockers, yes, but as it turns out, people that were being underpaid were performing below par. When asked for more money, they did a much better job. Host so this was in the late 60s and early 70s . Yes, around 1970. Host and that was the culture, shall we say . You were lecturing them and teaching them what . What were you suggesting that they do . To become responsible for their own lives. Dont blame city hall when something goes wrong and recognize that those are choices that you made. If it turns out great, you can take the credit and if it turns out poorly, you take the responsibility. Not the blame, but the responsibility for your actions. Host why not blame . Because blame is a negative connotation. It just didnt turn out the way that you expected. Responsibility sort of denies guilt. Blame encourages guilt. So, we used the term responsibility and not blame. Host so guilt is a negative thing. What do you do with failures and regrets . Moveon. Move on. We watch the tv guy joel wolstein wolstein olstein and his philosophy was to drop it and move on and let it go. I subscribe to that. If you try to blame someone for the mistake, you create guilt. If you made the choice, you are responsible for the choice. It is marvelous. It is okay to lose, but lose and move on. Host one Amazing Things i find is that i dont see bitterness in you. As you go through lies, and im sure there have been losses, how do you keep from turning better . What do you say thats bitter bitter . What do you say . How can i become bitter toward you or someone else . If we are playing golf and you hit me in the head with a golf ball, i chose to be on the golf course and i cant blame you for the action. Host how do you forgive yourself for mistakes . By realizing that i made those choices. Host what is the best part of living in the bay area right now . Getting to come to the studio and talking about myself. Host what else do you enjoy . What will you encourage user viewers to do in the new year . To say yes to whatever propositions come their way. Host Arthur Friedman, thank you for coming on mosaic and joining us. Good counsel. We will be back with a couple of 13yearolds who i think are in the studio. Stay with us. Welcome back. We are grateful to father time, Arthur Friedman for being on and sharing with us. For another perspective for the new year, we have 213year olds. 213yearolds. What did you hear mr. Two 13yearolds. What did you hear mr. Friedman say . To take your opportunities and not to hold back. I like what he said about the merchant marine. They had the most dangerous jobs and the highest death rate because their ships were fragile, i think. Host you can see mr. Friedman nodding offset. When he was growing up in the bay area, did you hear anything that was the same or different from now . Well, there arent that many furniture shops and i dont know that many people that own many furniture shops. Host there are not too many small businesses, now it is in malls. He said something about not having a lot of traffic on the bridge. Today was an exception, but usually there is a lot of traffic in the city. Thats true. Host so, your mother is sometimes the host of mosaic and a pastor and you live in San Francisco. What is the best part of being 13 and living in San Francisco . There are a lot of opportunities. There are our programs, drama programs and sports programs and you can really expand your horizons and try something new. Host what are you interested in trying new this year . So, i am in eighth grade and going into high school and i love playing sports. I want to expand and be as swimmer and move from being a swimmer to other sports. Host what about you . Im going into eighth grade and somebody told me that in high school they look at your seventhgrade grades and eighth grade. Im trying to concentrate on school a lot because i really want to be able to go to a good high school. Host so you are graduating from the french school. What high school do you go to . Do you choose . You have to apply to high school and then in march, you find out where you have been accepted. Host do you have one you hope for . I want to go to saint ignatius. Host i hope this helps. Teddy, what about you . I dont know where i want to go yet. Host all right. If you are 13 and growing up at this time, what are some of the best parts about living in 2017 do you think . At 20162017, growing up, theres a lot of technology. Getting your point across and being able to speak with your voice really helps with the technology that has come around. Host what technology do you like . I like my phone and the computer. Really, any technology. Host teddy, talk to us about high tech stuff. What do you like . I like racing video games. Im an avid car enthusiast. Cars are mike dasher like my obsession. I do a lot of simulations on the computer and a lot of Different Things on my ipod. Host what you like about automobiles . Whats the deal . I dont know how it got started, but it kind of just happened. Host and that is it . Since you are talking about cars, you can talk about swimming. Swimming is a big part of your life . I have been swimming since i can remember and ive been on a team since about fourth grade. I am actually in absolutely in love with swimming. I go to a meet every other weekend. Host could use one for . Ypac. Ypac . Where do you swim . Ive been to reno and napa. Host what do you swim . The 100 butterfly in the 100 free. Host teddy, what are you hoping for in baseball this year . To when more than we did last year. Host so you had a bad experience . As you look forward to being 13, what is hard about being 13 . Well, i have a lot more i have to do a lot more than my little brother. But i mean, we both have pets. Host more of what . We both have pets and we have to cleanup cleanup their boxes. He often needs my help when cleaning his cage. Host so your brother needs help. Being 13, whats not so great about it . The stress of school. Being in eighth grade, it is hard to balance having enough time to do what you want and getting all of your homework done and projects and High School Applications and getting it all done. There arent enough hours in the day. I can agree with that except for the High School Application part. I havent had to do that, so i dont know if it is harder not. Host but it is coming up. With all the pressures coming at you, what you think mr. Friedmans counsel would be . Just say yes. Probably. Host i am hugh burrows with mosaic. We have two other people joining us on the set. Who is this . This is my little brother. Host just wave and we will wish everybody a happy new year. Have a great one. Father here we go. Were gonna go out there in the rain. Youre gonna get wet. Alright, here we go baby [squealing with joy] father oh, yeah. Yes so much fun youre so wet. Own liam mayclem who is here to talk movies. And more this morning. Welcome liam. Liam. You interviewed Jennifer Lawrence and chris latest movie, host welcome to bay sunday. I am your host, kenny choi. We have some great movies. One has Jennifer Lawrence and who is the other . It is chris pratt. The movie is passengers and its awesome, i got to talk to them. Take a look. [ music ]. Hello