Tagline: Bridging Social Divides, One beer at a Time
Overview: Black & Tan is a podcast that explores a new story about beer and the intricacies of cultural understanding in today’s rapidly changing world. Hosted by Pedro Silva, an African American advocate for social equity, and Alan O’Hashi, a Japanese American from Wyoming with a passion for cross-cultural engagement, the show offers insightful discussions designed to inspire personal change.
Each episode tackles ways to bridge cultural divides by making intentional, individual adjustments to foster acceptance and empathy.
With engaging conversations, Black & Tan provides listeners with both practical advice and eye-opening perspectives about our evolving world.
Why Listen? Black & Tan is for anyone who wants to:
Learn ways to bridge gaps and create connections across different backgrounds.
Gain practical tools to make positive, impactful changes within your communities.
Enjoy lively and thoughtful discussions.
Learn simple, actionable steps to encourage understanding and respect.
It took me 75 minutes to figure out how to change the login email address on audible.
Have you ever tried to change an email address on a website? It’s a little thing, but so far, I’ve spent 45 minutes trying to change my audible.com login email address. Audible sells voiced-over books. I’m not much of a reader, but I listen to them.
I thought about my dad, who never opened up a computer nor used a cellphone. Using a battery-powered calculator was as tech-savvy as he would become.
Dad retired from his job shortly before technology displaced analog workers like him.
Seems that audible was purchased by Amazon many years ago. My “current” audible account has been fallow for quite some time, based on the expired credit cards on file.
I wanted to use the email address associated with my audible account to set up Amazon Pay on my revamped websites. Since Amazon and audible are associated, Amazon Pay wouldn’t allow me to use an email address twice.
It was getting to be very frustrating, and I contacted the Chat Help Line. I was connected to a nice person named Shyam. I could tell he wasn’t from the United States because of his sentence structure and word choice.
I thought I had two memberships and asked to delete one of them. After a few chat exchanges, he finally understood, but the reason for the confusion is that my audible account was being managed by Amazon, but I was a member of audible.
The steps Shyam provided were the same straightforward ones I initially followed. I reached the box where I typed the updated email address, and was asked to provide my old password.
Great.
I could have guessed, but likely the Amazon Artificial Intelligence squad would have protected me from myself and locked me out. As unorganized as I am, I did find the password and eventually changed the email address after 75 minutes.
I’m the same age as my dad was when he retired. For an old guy, I’m pretty good with computers and technology. I’ve been simplifying my cyber-life and consolidating accounts, canceling and deleting memberships. There will be a time when these small things will become huge encumbrances.
Buy Beyond Heart Mountain memoirpublished by Winter Goose Publishing. It is available as a printed book and ebook. Signed copies can be purchased from the author. The book was released February 27th. That week coincided with the 80th anniversary of President Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 that sent 120,000 Japanese to 10 war relocation camps, that included Heart Mountain in northwest Wyoming.
Beyond Heart Mountain book and related are now for sale.
Boulder Community Media (BCM) produced a documentary that aired on PBS that aired in December 2021. The Nishigawa Neighborhood is a coffee table book that will soon be released.
During World War II, Cheyenne native Alan O’Hashi’s family avoided life in internment camps such as Heart Mountain.
As a Baby Boomer, Alan documents the overt and quiet racism pervasive in Wyoming and throughout the United States during and following World War II. He relates his experiences to current violence towards Asians and the issue of civility within society.
The backdrop to Alan’s account is the history of the once vibrant Japanese community in the 400 and 500 blocks of West 17th Street in the downtown area of my hometown, Cheyenne, Wyoming.
*****
“My grandmother and grandfather Ohashi and their large family lived in worked in that neighborhood where I spent quite a bit of time between elementary and high school. Having been away from Cheyenne for many years, I stashed those two blocks in the back of my mind until I learned that two classmates of mine were planning to build a housing development at 509 W. 17th St. The biggest obstacle was obtaining permission to tear down an old building. It was the last structure in the Japanese neighborhood. It was the site of a rooming house operated by Mrs. Yoshio Shuto.”
Buy the Beyond Heart Mountain movie
Buy the Beyond Heart Mountain DVD is mainly about the West 17th Street Japanese community history and a general overview of Executive Order 9066 that President Franklin Roosevelt signed that relocated 120,000 Japanese into 10 internment camps, including Heart Mountain in northwest Wyoming.
I interviewed four childhood friends for the documentary. Robert Walters formerly worked at the City Cafe. He still lives in Cheyenne, where he practices law.
Terie Miyamoto and her family-owned Baker’s Bar. It was the only racially-integrated bar in Cheyenne at the time. She now lives in the Denver Metro area.
Brian Matsuyama now lives in Seattle, Washington. He resided in Cheyenne during his childhood. His family owned the California Fish Market. Carol Lou Kishiyama-Hough is in Cheyenne. She and her family purchased the Fish Market from the Matsuyamas.
Mrs. Shuto’s tenants were mainly Japanese residents who made their way to Cheyenne. She later opened the City Cafe across the street which became a gathering place for the Japanese in town.
My grandmother was a cook at the City Cafe. Next door, my grandfather was the third owner of a pool hall.
Whenever we went out to eat, the restaurant of choice was the City Cafe. It was a gathering place for the Japanese in Cheyenne. My friends enlisted me to do a cultural and historical survey of the Japanese residents who lived and worked there from the 1920s through the 1970s.
Buy a Beyond Heart Mountain cap are also available. They are low-profile baseball-style hats. Select Beyond Heart Mountain from the dropdown menu.
The logo is an adapted version of the Wyoming state flag. One size fits most.
Views from Behind the Lens 