PC Woman Unties Knot to Her Past

Adopted mother seeks child she placed for adoption

By Merritt Patterson j.... . ~."

Contributing Writer

Susan Morrison serves count-

less cups of coffee with a warm
smile at Kuby's in Snider Plaza
and puts her tips in a cup
adorned with a photo of herself
taken 52 years ago when she
was 2 and living in Japan. It
serves as a reminder of where
the money goes and why she
continues to wait tables day
after day .
Susan is half Japanese. It took
a lifetime and a reunion with
.bride with her biological family
her high school sweetheart to
fully discover her heritage and
come to terms with her past,
present, and future.
When Susan was 15and liv-
ing with her adoptive family in
Dallas, she was smitten with a
local radio DJ, 18-year-old Bob
Morrison, Because of the age
difference, her mother prohib-
ited her from seeing Bob. But
he didn't give up without a
fight. He circled her home in
the radio station's van with a
light up sign that read; "I love
you." Despite his efforts, her
mother won out and eventually
~II~
COURTESY PHOTOS
g>-3 ~
Susan Morrison poses with her biological mother, Toshiko, during a trip to
Sendai, Japan, SuSan'sbirthplace •.'.
-----~-----------------.-' -.--
0
O::i
t:r.:l
:;:0
01
the possibility of reuniting his
..-
~\O
before they ieft on the trip. He N
0
~
enlisted the help of a newspa- 0
0'-
per reporter in Sendai, and
when he discovered that Sendai
was the sister city to Dallas, he
got a little help from then-
Dallas Mayor' Ron Kirk.
Ultimately he was able to find
the one W()I1l~I1.in the"'wpdd
that could answer every ques-
tion Susan had about herself
Susan met her mother,
Toshiko, for the first time in a A photo of Susan as a child with her
hotel room in Sendai and was adoptive parents. "0
told that she was conceived as >-
the result of an affair with an letters and sends fmancial sup- ~

both youths went on with their
lives.
At 20, -Susan gave birth to a
baby boy on April 15,1972,but
was not prepared to parent and
placed him for adoption. She
went on to marry and divorce
with occasional thoughts about
Bob and the burdensome ques-
tion surrounding her biological
family.
Flash forward. One day in
1996,Bob, also divorced, dialed
the last number he had for his
true love: Susan's mother's
home. Miraculously she passed
the message on to Susan and
the two lovers were finally
reunited. They married in 1997.
They chose to honeymoon in
Sendai, Japan, Susan's birth-
place. Bob began to research
American soldier. Her mother
had written to the biological
father letting him know of the
pregnancy but the letters went
unanswered. Living in poverty,
Toshiko tried her best to care
for Susan but after two years
knew she could no longer
endure the hardships. She
placed Susan for adoption with
a loving American family sta-
tioned in Japan while the father
was serving in the Air Force.
Susan learned of the agoniz-
ing guilt her birth mother lived
with and was able to put her
mind at ease by sharing her own
experience ofplacing a baby for
adoption. Susan eased
Toshiko's pain by relating to her
firsthand.
Susan frequently exchanges
-
7:
port to her Japanese family,She
returned in 2005 for another
o
joyful reunion. j
t:r.:l
Susan, knowing that Toshiko (F;
is growing older, hopes that the "i:'
t:r.:l
son she placed for adoption 34
years ago, who she is unable to o
"'0
locate, will have the opportu- t'"'
t:r.:l
nity to meet his biological fam-
ily before it's too late.
Even if that never happens,
she has Bob. He gave her the
past she needed, allows her to
live and love in the present and
have hope that one day a certain
gentelman will show up asking
questions. She has a lot of
answers for him.
Merritt Patterson is a
freelance writer who lives
in the Park Cities.