The Vietnamese- American community of Oklahoma hosted a Lunar Moon Festival in Military Park in the Asian District of Oklahoma City on the evening on September 29th,2018. Live entertainment was provided by a series of Asian American performers who appeared on a stage set up in the Park, and they included young Indian- American girls who had red dots on their brows and on the palm of their hands who danced to Indian music, singing Asian children who wore conical hats and carried sticks that they pointed into the air in unison in frequent intervals, and a pride of lions who were brightly attired who seemed to be menacing those who sat in rows in front of the stage. Apparently one of those beast later escaped his captors since a red lion was later seen making his way through the crowd in an unthreatening manner and winking both of his oversized eyes at children who smiled in response. Upon further examination the beast was revealed to be two energetic young Asian American men who were encased in a large lions costume. Presumably the other members of the pride were of a similar nature.
A line of food trucks offered a variety of foods and beverages were in attendance as well, and one of them, the colorfully named “Ohmygogi” dispensed fare that were the result of the fusion of Korean and Mexican culinary traditions. That vehicle was piloted by a enthusiastic young man, Michael Park, who told of how he is of Korean descent and was originally from Los Angeles, California, and that he had previously worked with his brother at a stationary restaurant in Houston that offered similar fare, and that the food that his truck offers has been well received at every location that it has visited in the Oklahoma City area.
In an adjacent thoroughfare known as the “Little Saigon Shopping Center” is found a elongated wall mural done by talented Asian-American and Oklahoma born artist Shei Phan titled “OKC Rising” that details in bright pastel colors the departure of Vietnamese people from their homeland and their eventual arrival in a land of oil wells and cattle that is Oklahoma. Many older Asian Americans were seen showing that mural to their children and possibly grandchildren and sharing with them the poignant but ultimately successful story that it told of the Vietnamese experience in Oklahoma. There were in place at that location a series of pop up stands, and two of them were in support of the judicial candidacies of Natalie Mai and Heather Coyle respectively. The latter candidate was in attendance at the event, and she could be seen at various locations with her husband and three young blond haired children. Coyle, who currently serves as an assistant district attorney in Oklahoma County, a post that she has held for almost two decades, displayed a judicious temperament and an admirable grace and poise as she made her way through the crowds with her children. It is possible that some of those she greeted and interacted with at the gathering may have reflected on the notable absence of those qualities recently publicly displayed by an individual who is currently a nominee for a national judicial post.
Monthly Archives: September 2018
Brett Kavanaugh Revealed
The title for the second volume of Geoffrey Ward’s biography of Franklin Roosevelt, “A First Class Temperament; The Emergence of Franklin Roosevelt” grew out of a visit that FDR and his wife made to the home of the elderly Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes after Roosevelt’s election.
The Roosevelt’s spent a genial afternoon with Holmes and they discussed a variety of subjects, including Holmes recollection of his grandmother telling him how poorly behaved the English soldiers stationed in Boston were during the American Revolution. After his guests departed, Holmes was asked by law clerk, Donald Hiss, of his impression of the new president. “A second rate mind but a first class temperament” the old man replied. And an insight into the temperament of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was seen yesterday in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee that is considering his nomination. In his opening statement, he invoked the quest for revenge by the Clinton’s as being the motivation for the accusations that have been leveled against him and asserted that the Democrats were waging a smear campaign to derail his nomination. He seemed to be threatening the Democrats when he said “That they will reap the whirlwind.” The nominee displayed a sneering disdain and rudeness more appropriate for a schoolboy than a Supreme Court Justice towards the Democratic senators who asked him questions, frequently interrupted them, and his answers were often not responsive to the inquiries that they put to him. He also repeated several times facts that are simply not true, such as that the three other people who Ford claimed where at the home where the assault took place said that it did not occur and that one of them was Ms. Ford’s close friend. But that woman has said that she was not aware that it took place, but that she believes Dr. Ford account of the incident. The assault Ford detailed took place in a room with only Kavanaugh and Judge present; the other two guests were downstairs. He further alleged that Judge’s appearance was not needed before the committee because he had already submitted a written statement under penalty of felony that said that that attack did not occur. But it was an attorney representing Mr. Judge who submitted an unsworn letter to the committee in which the assault was denied and he indicated that he did not wish to testify. Several of the Democratic senators requested that Judge be subpoenaed to appear, but the Republican majority refused to issue such a subpoena. In his recent appearance on Fox News Kavanaugh said that his life revolved around school, athletics and church when he was in high school. But he told the committee that he has always liked beer and that he had a “weak stomach” that resulted in him vomiting on occasion. One wonders if his stomach only began to weaken after he consumed copious amounts of the amber brew.
Mark Judge is now a recovering alcoholic and has written an account of his drunken youth that includes references to a friend who may have been based on Kavanaugh identified as “Bart O’Kavanaugh” who was also frequently in a drunken stupor and had vomited in a mutual friends car after an evening of imbibing. Dr. Ford testified to encountering Judge at a grocery store some time after the assault where he was herding grocery carts in the parking lot and that he turned ashen when he saw her. Judge wrote in his book of how he worked in that capacity for a grocery store. After a testy exchange with Senator Durbin, Kavanaugh pointedly refused to answer his question as to whether or not he would be willing to request an FBI investigation into Dr. Ford’s accusations against him and his friend Mark Judge. He also revealed a meanness and pettiness after Senator Klobuchar, who had explained that her father is a recovering alcoholic, and asked him if he had ever blacked out from drinking he replied “no, have you?” One wonders how Judge Kavanugh would have dealt with such an inappropriate inquiry from an attorney appearing before him. Is it possible that the anger that the nominee displayed, and his frequent references to his accomplishments were the result of the realization that the sordid past that he had worked so hard to camouflage in recent decades was being revealed?
Periodically, the nominee referenced the fact that the American Bar Association has rated him as qualified for the Supreme Court. Yet the American Bar Association saw fit to issue a statement last night that vote on his confirmation be delayed until the F.B.I conducts is further investigation of the allegations made against him.
September Immigration Law Section Meeting
Natalia Riveros-Jacobsen, Center, Melissa Lujan, Right.
At a recent meeting of the Immigration Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association Section Chair Melissa Lujan pointed out that the tickets issued by the Oklahoma City Police Department have on them the date and time that the recipient of the traffic citation must appear in court to answer the allegations contained in that document. But perhaps surprisingly, the notice received by aliens who were faced with the possibility of being removed from the United States very often did not previously have on them an exact date and time for them to appear in the relevant immigration court on the notice that they received. That was an omission of some importance , Lujan reminded her listeners, since some aliens may have a defense to the efforts to remove them if they have been legally present in the U.S. for at least ten years, and that the receipt of a notice of removal stayed the running of those ten years. But a recent decision issued by the United States Supreme Court, Pereira v. Sessions, that was authored by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, held that if the alien in question did not receive a notice of the intent to remove him of her from the nation that had a date and time on it the ten year period was not interrupted.
On March 16th, 1896 a Texas judge was hearing a court case in what is now the County Courthouse of Greer County in Mangum, Oklahoma, when a man galloped up to that structure, got off his horse, and strode into the courtroom and said “Judge you have no jurisdiction over this case, the United States Supreme Court in Washington D.C. issued a ruling earlier today that found that Greer County is not part of the State of Texas but is in fact part of Oklahoma Territory.” The jurist left the courthouse shortly after that dramatic event and returned to his native Texas.
And another of the attendees at the Immigration Law Section meeting, Natalia Riveros- Jacobsen, related at that gathering a less dramatic but possibly equally momentous interaction she recently had with a Texas based judge. Riveros- Jacobsen was appearing before an immigration court judge in Dallas, Texas and while she was interacting with him and the government attorney who represents the ICE Division of the USCIS, she received a message via social media on her cell phone about the Supreme Court’s holding on the Perreira case and since that decision would have impact on the cases pending before the court on that date, she told the jurist about its issuance and he took a short recess from the docket that he was presiding over to read it. Riveros- Jacobsen, who practices with the firm headed by Senator Michael Brooks- Jimenez, stated that the judge said that that Supreme Court decision would impact many cases pending before him and his judicial colleagues in Dallas.
Since that decision was issued, the USCIS has been sending notices that have specific dates and times on them, the attendees were told, but that some of those hours were at times that the immigration courts are not in operation. A discussion followed as to whether or not the attorneys and their clients appear at those time so as to ensure that they are in compliance with the notice to appear. As the meeting concluded, Lujan directed those present to several decisions issued by US Attorney Jeff Sessions who has supervisory authority over the immigration courts as well as another US Supreme Court decision on the subject that was recently issued. The text of those decisons had been e-mailed to the Section’s members.
Beto O’Rourke And the Spirit And Style Of Bobby Kennedy
The late Theodore White was an American journalist and author who was perhaps best known for a series of book he wrote about presidential elections in the period between 1960 through 1972. White was an admirer of both John and Robert Kennedy, and enjoyed access to them in a manner that would lead others to question the objectivity of his writings about them and their respective campaigns for the presidency. In his work concerning the 1968 election, titled “The Making of the President 1968” White wrote movingly and insightfully about Robert Kennedy who was assassinated that year as he campaigned for the presidency. White detailed how Kennedy travelled tirelessly throughout the nation during that campaign, and often seemed to pay different roles depending on who he was interacting with. But there was a unifying thread found in his efforts that year, and White wrote “Above all other themes in his campaign, beyond any program, the fire that burned most hotly in him was for the underprivileged – for the minorities, for the Negroes, for the Appalachians, for the Mexican- American. The enemies of Robert F. Kennedy had already made him a saint in the black wards of America; a hundred TV visions had captured the fires of his impatience, his swollen, throbbing sympathy for people who ached, hungered, or were sick untended or had no jobs. The blacks knew it; and they clotted as they waited; old and young.”
It is possible that in the future that the current senatorial campaign being waged by El Paso Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke will inspire similar writings about how he has reached out to people of color and the crowds of blacks and Hispanics who currently flock to his campaign event in the Lone Star State have sensed, just as their some of their great- grandparents did about Robert Kennedy, that his concern for them is genuine and that he shares their anger about the way they have been treated by President Trump and the GOP.
And as White detailed about both Kennedys, O’Rourke, who is fluent in Spanish, has displayed a gift for symbolic gestures and an ability to turn an adverse public political moment to his advantage. Shortly after he began what then seemed a quixotic campaign against incumbent GOP Senator Ted Cruz, the candidate ran marathons through both sides of the Texas- Mexico border area and has visited immigrant children who are being held in ICE custody. After Ted Cruz raised the issue of O’Rourke’s arrest as a young man for drunken driving, the candidate turned the matter to his advantage by pointing out that as white man he was given a second chance and that such opportunities are not routinely afforded to blacks and Hispanics who run afoul of the law and that he will work to ensure that they have such chances. O’Rourke has reached out the growing Muslim community that is found throughout Texas, and spoken publicly about the contributions that Islamic immigrants have made there.
GOP Senator Lindsey Graham has memorably said that if someone shot Ted Cruz on the floor of the U.S. Senate it would be difficult to get a jury composed of his senatorial peers to convict the assassin since the Texan is so intensely disliked by his colleagues, and former President George W. Bush has publicly said of Cruz that “I don’t like that guy.” Cruz once called GOP senate leader Mitch McConnell a liar, and it is not surprising that McConnell and his allies have neither forgiven or forgotten Cruz for doing so. And what GOP operatives in Texas ruefully describe as the “ unlikable factor” of the incumbent senator is said to be inuring to the benefit of the charismatic O’Rourke and the enthusiasm shown at his political events has prompted talk of “Betomania” among those who cover Texas politics. It will be interesting to see if any Democratic leaders in Oklahoma seek to replicate O’Rourke’s inclusive political style in the Sooner State.
“For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction,” students of physics are told is one of the elemental rules of that science, and it would seem that Trump and the GOP’s attacks on Mexicans and other immigrants have resulted in a reaction that may propel Beto O’Rourke into the U.S. Senate.
Upcoming Hearing On Kavanaugh Nomination
In the Sherlock Holmes short story “Silver Blaze” the fictional detective observes that it is sometime significant when something does not occur, such as when a dog does not bark when someone is at the door. A similar point could be made when a witness with possibly relevant evidence is not called to a hearing. Apparently the only two witnesses who will appear before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee late next week are Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Doctor Christine Ford, who is the party who had made the allegations of sexual assault against the Supreme Court nominee. This despite the fact that Ford has stated that another individual, a high school friend of Kavanaugh’s, Mark Judge, was present in the room when the event took place. While Judge has denied that the event did not take place, and that he did not want to testify before the committee about it, he could be subpoenaed to appear. His actual testimony under oath would possibly shed new light on the controversy. An interesting ploy was put forth by a Kavanaugh ally, Ed Whelan, who tweeted last week that Dr. Ford was mistaken about who had actually attacked her, and that it was not Kavanaugh but one on his classmates who bore a marked resemblance to him. The name of that individual was included in that communication. But that defense was rejected by Dr. Ford, who said that she knew both young men at that time, and that she is certain that it was Kavanaugh. The Democratic committee members may wish to inquire if Kavanugh was aware that Whelan was planning to make that argument publicly and smear the name of the Kavanaugh look alike as a result. It has been reported that Kavanaugh as a young attorney on the staff of Kenneth Starr’s office that was investigating then President Bill Clinton, had drafted questions for his boss to put to Clinton that asked in graphic detail about his interaction with intern Monica Lewinsky. In recent days, as detailed in the Washington Post, has been ensconced in the White House where staffers playing the roles of different members of the committee have been rehearsing with him the questions, including the hostile ones, that he will probably be receiving next week. But the Post reports that the nominee has not done well with some of those inquiries and replied on several different occasions that he would not answer those particular inquiries. “ I will not answer personal questions,” a defiant Clarence Thomas told the same committee more than two decades ago when his nomination to the Supreme Court was being considered, and several perceptive observers wondered why he was so reluctant to do so.
And while the scheduled hearing is said to be allowed for both parties to testify and allow the committee’s members and later the entire Senate to determine who is credible, statements made by individual GOP senators indicate that they plan to confirm Kavanaugh’s nomination regardless.
GOP leader Mitch McConnell has been recorded saying to a partisan group that “ we’ll plow right through this,” and that Brett Kavanugh will be confirmed. Senator Lindsey Graham has dramatically stated that he is reluctant to “ruin Brent Kavanaugh’s life over this,” despite the fact that the nominee is currently a sitting federal judge and will presumably remain at that post in the event that he is not confirmed.
Baker Mayfield Leads Cleveland Browns To First Victory Since 2016
“ I will marry you when there is a Polish pope,” long time Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee was supposed to have said to his long term girlfriend, Sally Quinn, who was a reporter at that publication, whenever she raised the issue of marriage.
And when the College of Cardinals convened in Rome and in fact elected a pope from Poland, John Paul II, Bradlee and Quinn did in fact tie the knot and became one of Washington’s premier power couples.
And it would seem possible that similar promises were made on a variety of subjects that were to occur after the Cleveland Brown’s of the National Football League finally won a game. That hapless team had not won a game since Christmas Eve in 2016, and had long been somewhat of a punch line due to its inability to prevail on the gridiron. But that changed last night when the Browns defeated the New York City Jets in Cleveland. Quantities of free beer and other alcoholic beverages that had been held in storage in anticipation of a win for Cleveland were opened to celebrate that long waited for event. The Cleveland Police Department saw fit to encourage the populace to remain calm as they drank that beer, and later issued another statement advising the celebrants to be careful if they would be driving on the city’s streets as the festivities concluded. Initially, the Browns were behind, but after starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor was injured and Baker Mayfield replaced him and through several passes that resulted in a 21 -17 win over the team from the Big Apple.. The jubilation that filled the Cleveland area after the victory also resulted in thousands of replicas of Mayfield’s football jersey being ordered by fans. And when Mayfield was interviewed by the local Cleveland media after the game, he went out of his way to praise his teammates for the team’s victory. What was termed “Bakermania” soon engulfed Cleveland, and he is now the toast of that Rustbelt metropolis.
At the start of the First World War in Europe the German Kaiser was reported to have instructed his forces that were facing the British Expeditionary Army led by General French to “destroy that contemptible little army.”
The British soldiers who served in that force soon embraced that characterization of their army, and began to call themselves the “Old Contemptibles,” and some of their uniforms with that term inscribed on them are found in many British War museums today
And after a commentator on a sports channel described the University of Oklahoma’s football team that Mayfield was part of as being “ Pretenders” in 2017, Mayfield carried a sign months later that read “Pretenders” when he disembarked from the team’s bus at the Rose Bowl to play Georgia later that year.
And while Mayfield has yet to play in a full professional game, it would seem probable that he is on his way to a great career as a quarterback
The “Boys Will Be Boys And Later Supreme Court Justices” Defense of Brett Kavanaugh
One of the more intriguing defenses being put forth on behalf of Brett Kavanaugh in recent days might be described as the “boys will be boys and later Supreme Court Justices” rationale which holds that the hormone and alcohol fueled behaviors of high school boys should not be held against them in later life. That assertion has been made by several commentators who ride the televised airways courtesy of Fox News, and several Evangelical Christian leaders, including the Reverend Franklin Graham. Kavanaugh, who worked for Kenneth Starr when the Whitewater Investigation evolved from an inquiry into a land deal in Arkansas into a scrutiny of then President Bill Clinton’s sexual relationship with a female White House intern, and as columnist Clarence Page recently reminded us, the future Supreme Court nominee zealously encouraged Starr’s interest in that illicit but consensual relationship. “Rex est lex livens ”- “King is the living law,” was a Latin phrase used in support of the unlimited power of monarchs for centuries, and since that time Kavanaugh’s take on executive authority has evolved to a somewhat similar position, which may account for his nomination by the Trump Administration that may soon be in a conflict with the Mueller investigation that will eventually be heard by the Supreme Court.
“Do right, but don’t write,” Louisiana Senator Huey Long counseled in the Bayou State in the 1930s in recognition of the dangers of having written records that could be troublesome if they were unearthed by political opponents. And a similar admonition should possibly have been given to the young Kavanaugh and his fellow students at the elite all male school that he attended, Georgetown Prep.
Pages from the yearbook that was published the year he graduated have made their way onto social media in recent days, and the boasting about excessive underage drinking and misogyny that are found there are truly astonishing. The Supreme Court nominees friend and alleged accomplice on the assault of Ms. Ford, Mark Judge, has a crass quote on his page that indicates some women have to be struck on occasion. He is said to be also responsible for a notation under a group of young men that read “Do these guys beat their wives?”
On his page the nominee is described as being “ the Keg City Club (Treasurer) – 100 kegs or bust.” There is also a cryptic reference to “The Devil’s Triangle” and the question “have you “boofed yet?” on his page that could possibly constitute prurient inside jokes shared with his classmates. One wonders what the talking heads of Fox News would make of the implications of such writings if Kavanaugh was of the Muslim faith or had attended an Islamic school or had been nominated for a post by a Democratic administration. The fact that that such a document could be published in the early 1980’s is indicative of the smug self satisfaction that is found among the privileged young white males in the Washington D.C. area. And the “boys will be boys defense” is also an indication of such privilege, since such dispensations of what constitutes criminal activity is not routinely advocated for or extended too the less fortunate members of our society, particularly young African American males.
Controversy Regarding Allegations Made Against Brett Kavanaugh
“Always remember, if an FBI agent lies to you, that is just good police work, if you lie to him or her, it’s a crime,” is a warning that criminal defense attorneys in Oklahoma City have been telling clients for decades who are under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And it is noteworthy that Judge Kavanaugh’s accuser has requested that the FBI investigate the allegation that she has made against the Supreme Court nominee before she testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee. That federal agency’s trained personnel are often able to uncover previously unknown facts and possibly other relevant witnesses when they interview people. The information that has been revealed by the media’s coverage of the controversy has already revealed many facts that would be of interest to an investigation of the veracity of Ms. Blasey Ford’s allegations. For one thing, the individual who she asserts was present when Kavanaugh assaulted her, Mark Judge, has written extensively about his alcohol fueled antics during his time at the elite Georgetown Prep, and even written a novel on the subject that includes a drunken character that may have been based on the current Supreme Court nominee. A copy of Judge’s page on that school’s yearbook features a quote from Noel Coward to the effect that “ certain women should be struck regularly like gongs,” which is indicative of his youthful character as well as the ethos in place at that institution at that time. While Judge has issued a statement denying that the event took place, he has also said that he will not agree to testify before the committee. Is it possible that if he were placed under oath or was interviewed by FBI agents that his recollections may be less categorical? There is also a film clip that has been unearthed of a smiling Brett Kavanaugh in 2015 saying from a podium at what may be an alumni gathering that “What happened at Georgetown Prep stayed at Georgetown Prep, and that is a good thing for all of us.” In a surprisingly short period of time after Blasey Ford’s allegations were made public, the White House released a statement in support of the nominee by women who have known him who said that he was not the type of individual who would do something like that. But a group of women who knew Ms. Blasey Ford at that time and moved in the same privileged circles as she and Kavanaugh did have also signed a document attesting to her veracity and their belief that her allegations were true. It is also surprising that Kavanaugh himself is not demanding further investigation of the alleged incident if he is truly blameless.
“The more things change, the more they stay the same” is a rather sardonic saying often heard in France and other French speaking countries. Those who are old enough to remember the Anita Hill- Clarence Thomas hearings in 1991 recall how Oklahoma native Hill bravely told of Thomas’s boorish behavior towards her and how she was treated with scorn and suspicion by the white men who were on the Judiciary Committee. Utah Senator Orin Hatch wondered aloud if she had gotten the idea for some of her allegations from the novel “The Exorcist” and the other senators questioned both her credibility and stability. Witnesses who would have lent further substance to her allegations were not called and his nomination was rushed through since the Republicans feared that additional facts, such as that Clarence Thomas did in fact rent pornographic videos and one of them was titled “Long Dong Silver.” Hill had testified that he had told her in graphic detail of his enthusiasm for a porn film that featured a character of that name. The 1994 book “Strange Justice, The Selling of Clarence Thomas” by Jane Mayer and Jill Abramson detailed numerous instances that lent credence to Hill’s story. Senator David Boren of Oklahoma, who voted for Thomas’s confirmation, later said that he regretted that he did so.
Several of those senators are still serving on that committee, including Chuck Grassley and Orin Hatch, and their unwillingness to postpone the final hearing to allow the FBI to conduct an investigation of Blasey Ford’s allegations may reflect a similar worry. Hatch has already said publicly that based on his knowledge of Kavanuagh’s character that Blasey Ford must be “mixed up.” In recent years several different prominent Americans, including Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby and some esteemed Catholic clerics , have been revealed to have a side that was not shown to either the public or their close friends.
It is possible that Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination will soon be approved by the Republican majority of the U.S. Senate, especially since it does not appear likely at this time that Blasey Ford will appear before the Judiciary Committee this Monday as requested. But there will surely be further fallout from Blasey Ford’s allegations in the future just as there was from the story told by Anita Hill about Clarence Thomas in 1991.
Another Visit To Ding’s Asian Fusion In Bethany
Bar at Ding’s Asian Fusion in Bethany
Interior of Ding’s Asian Fusion in Bethany
In the appropriately titled “City of Devils” author Paul French tells the story of the two men who presided over the criminal underworld in the Chinese city of Shanghai before the Second World War, Jack “Lucky” Riley and Joe Farren. Like many individuals who have prospered in innovative ways in large and dynamic cities, neither individual was a native of Shanghai; Riley was a former boxer and U.S. Navy Veteran who had escaped from Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and Farren was a Viennese Jew who had fled the anti Semitism that characterized the Austrian capital after the First World War.
Farren oversaw his criminal empire from the restaurant and club that bore his name in Shanghai that featured entertainers from various part of the world and a clientele that included Russians who had fled their homeland and found refuge in Shanghai, European diplomats who were assigned there, and gangsters of various ethnicities. The author describes in considerable detail the opulence of Farren’s establishment, which featured imposing metal doors and lacquered wood paneling that was embossed with historical Chinese images and contrasts it with the grim living conditions of most of the residents of Shanghai at that time. The opening scenes of “Indiana Jones And the Temple Of Doom” are set in an opulent nightclub in Shanghai filled with shady people and may have been inspired by Farren’s establishment. And Farren’s was a popular place to be and be seen, and often gangsters and corrupt officials congregated there and did sordid deals that French details. While both Farren and his place are long gone, the ornate interior of Ding’s Asian Fusion on 39th Expressway in Bethany may serve in a sense as homage to it and places like it geared towards the affluent that were shuttered by the Chinese Communist Party when it took power there in 1948.
But the owners of Ding’s, Sophia and Leo Chang, assert that their place was not modelled on any other place and that they did not receive guidance from anyone who is steeped in the history of Shanghai when they planned it. And while the Bethany area is not home to gangsters or corrupt public officials, on Sunday Ding’s hosts a variety of local residents for lunch who can be observed interacting with one another in a friendly fashion amidst lacquered walls and a cut stone setting.
In the course of his televised travels the late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain was often in Asia where he enjoyed eating street food that combined foods from other nations that he celebrated as exemplifying culinary “fusion”. In his several expeditions to the city state of Singapore he devoured fare sold by what were termed “hawkers” that were influenced by the Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian communities that are located there.
And as Ding’s Dings Asian Fusion’s name indicates, the menu there combines Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other Asian fare in a flavorful and thorough manner. The extensive liquor offerings there are equally diverse and include both cold and warm sake, a Japanese wine made from rice.
And while it has only been in operation for slightly over a year, Ding’s is in the process of developing a customer base due to its quality food and drink as well as it intriguing décor.
Mural by Bob Palmer In Frederick, OK
New Mural in Frederick by Dr. Bob Palmer
In the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City there is a room filled with ten large murals done by Thomas Hart Benton in the late 1920’s that are collectively titled “America Today.” Texas is the subject of one of them, and it features smoke, oil derricks, cowboys, and several Native Americans. In the recently published “Figures In a Landscape” novelist and travel writer Paul Theroux writes of his visit to see those murals and concludes that photographs and images on social media can not really do justice to them, and that to really appreciate them they must be seen there. The muralist travelled throughout the nation prior to painting them, we are told. The author writes of the detail found in the mural that features cotton growing and also being picked by African Americans in the South.
And Theroux further concludes that “ Benton’s work arises from a tradition of storytelling and reporting from the road. Those murals are news and they are also a mirror of life witnessed firsthand. Benton showed us who we are as Americans.”
It is possible that in the future similar conclusions will be made regarding the murals made by Dr. Bob Palmer of Bethany regarding the state of Oklahoma. The peripatetic Palmer has travelled throughout the state in recent years, and his murals that tell some of the story of the communities where his murals are on permanent display in public places. One of his murals in Bethany details the role that the 39th Street there played as part of the iconic Route 66 that travelled from Chicago to Los Angeles and served as a thoroughfare of hope for thousands of people left homeless by the Depression and the Dust Bowl who made their way West seeking a better future. When one of his murals in place on Western Avenue in Oklahoma City was painted over by out of state property owners there was a widespread protest of that action.
The muralist most recent work was placed on a building in Frederick, which is the county seat of Tillman County in southwest Oklahoma . Palmer, who is a native of the somewhat similar community of Walters, reported that he was struck by the number of people who drove by to view him and his assistants as they painted and that he would welcome an opportunity to do additional work in downtown Frederick. His mural includes an image of the Ramona Theater, a stately structure which is on the list of historic buildings maintained by the U.S. Department of the Interior, dairy and beef cattle, a water tower, and the Abernathy Boys, who were two brothers in Frederick who embarked on a journey to New York City in the early decades of the last century that attracted nationwide attention. And like most people who have travelled in Frederick area, Palmer said that he greeted warmly by everyone he encountered there.
Against the Grain 