John Sammon

John Sammon is a freelance writer and newspaper reporter, novelist and historical fiction writer, non-fiction book writer, political pundit and column writer, comedy and humor writer, screenplay writer, film narrator and a member of the Screen Actors Guild. He lives with his wife near Pebble Beach.

Updated March 2018

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Bay Area Man Recalls Career Exploring World for Energy in Exotic Places

Por John Sammon
28 Dez 2022

Doug Uchikura traveled the world through his job with Chevron seeking sources of energy and some of the places where he lived you may never have heard of…for example Ashgabat in the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan. “That country was isolated from the world, it was somewhat a closed society,” Uchikura recalled. The sight of an American was so rare in such places. Uchikura agreed that in a way he and his wife Maris became ambassadors of a sort. Locals formed their opinions of America after meeting the couple. “I think my wife was really good at that (shaping po…

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Sacramento Man Recounts Struggle to Become Internationally Recognized Sculpture Artist

Por John Sammon
6 Nov 2022

Yoshio Taylor will tell you and he’s told his students that to be a sculpture artist takes a special resolve all its own. “I used to tell my students, ‘yeah it’s great to have artworks all over the place but art is a commitment,’” Taylor said. “You have to have a passion, you have to persevere, you have to sacrifice. Even if you have talent someone might pass you up in your career unless you push it. You have to have determination. I was known as a workaholic and I still am,” Taylor added. “My family thinks I’m crazy. Maybe I am.…

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Film Recounting Japanese Americans who fled imprisonment through banishment

Por John Sammon
4 Jul 2022

What would be your reaction if this had happened to you? You’re told by the U.S. Government to pack what you can carry in a suitcase and get on a train with your wife and children and your grandparents. You’re under arrest because of your ancestry and you’re going to be imprisoned in a guarded barbed wire-enclosed jail somewhere in the desert of Arizona. They’re doing this to you because you and your family are (they say) a threat to national security. Or, they give you an option. You can avoid imprisonment if you abandon your job, give up your house and property a…

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Sacramento Woman Remembered for Japanese-Style Box Lunches, Giving Heart

Por John Sammon
27 Mar 2022

Mollie Oto is one of those rare people of whom it could be said was truly irreplaceable. But though her recent passing saddened so many, it remains a consolation she will live on in the hearts and minds of the hundreds of friends and fans whose lives she touched over the years. A diminutive woman physically (she was 5 foot 1 and 90 pounds), Oto left a big legacy in Sacramento. From her 14-hour-a-day work ethic to her extensive work as a community volunteer. Oto became famed in Sacramento for her high quality Japanese-style cooking, particularly her bento box lunch meals made from scratch. …

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Central Valley Artists seek to Map Japanese American Experience through Multi-Media Process

Por John Sammon
4 Mar 2022

The Yonsei Memory Project (YMP) is an ambitious plan to chronicle using art, story-telling, memory recording and sharing of dialog between generations, a connection between the Japanese American experience including imprisonment during World War II, with current struggles for civil liberties. It is a project that will celebrate the achievements and contributions of Asian Americans that have so enriched American life, and also combat hate directed against Asians, recently on the increase. “The heart of YMP is our motivation to animate our community histories and use our creativity to h…