Sean Cummings Irish Pub And Vito’s Ristorante In OKC

“Gaelic and garlic don’t mix,” is a phrase sometimes heard in New York City where large number of Italian Americans and Irish Americans have historically resided, but in Oklahoma City there has recently been  a convergence of two establishments, Sean Cumming Irish Pub and Vito’s Ristorante, in the same structure on the 7600 block of  May Avenue  that suggest that those diverse ingredients can in fact mix.
Sean Cummings, who is the proud  proprietor of the  former place, opened  at it’s current location some time ago, and it has a loyal clientele  of patrons who enjoy its Guinness and Irish food, Irish memorabilia,  as well as occasional Irish singers whose  songs often tell of the troubled history of Ireland. In the men’s room is a whimsical poster that purports to tell of the “Urinals of Dublin.” Like most operators of authentic  Irish pubs, Cummings, whose parents were from the Emerald Isle, is a gregarious man  who enjoys operating his place and greetings his customers with warmth and enthusiasm. His place was selected to be one of the purveyors of beer at the recently held Asian Night Market  Festival  in the Asian District of Oklahoma City, and it was reported in the local media that the kegs that  dispensed brew  there for him included  the  strong  Japanese beer Tsingtao  in accordance with the spirit of that event. It is possible that the strength of that amber brew accounted for some of the attendees saying that Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, who spoke at the  official opening of the Festival, was wearing bright orange tennis shoes when he did so.
Vito’s Ristorante   is owned and operated by Cathy Cummings, who is the wife of Sean Cummings, and she recently told of how  much  of the Italian fare she offers originated in  foods that were prepared by her family in an Italian eatery that they operated in Kansas City, Missouri, and that she has created her own recipe for tomato sauce  that is greatly enjoyed by her patrons.
“In vino veritas” – “In wine, truth” was an ancient  Roman maxim, and Vito’s offers a wide variety of Italian  wines  that have possibly produced some surprisingly honest statements by its patrons since it began its operations late last  month. It had formerly been located  at another location several blocks away on the other side of May Avenue.  In addition to being operators of popular public houses, Sean and Cathy Cummings  are committed political activists who  are frequently seen at gatherings where people come together to  attempt to address  the problems that confront the less fortunate. Cathy Cummings   was the Democratic Party’s nominee for the position of Oklahoma’s  lieutenant governor several years ago, and is currently the mayor of the Oklahoma City suburb of The  Village.  And  the legacy of  Sean and Cathy Cummings  will include their public service as well as the establishments that they operate that have contributed to the ethnic diversity of  Oklahoma City’s  public houses.

New Mural In Altus, OK

Lindsay McKenzie  At Work On Her Mural In Altus.

“ Sunflowers”  is the name by which a series  of paintings  created by Dutch artist   Vincent Van Gogh have  become known to students of art history. The first group    was painted in Paris, France, in 1887,  and the second series was done in the following year in  Arles,  for Van Gogh’s friend  and fellow artist Paul Gaugin when both men were in  that French town  seeking to create an artistic community there.  And visitors to Altus, Oklahoma,  may be reminded of those  celebrated works  of art  when they view the large mural that is being created by local artist  Lindsay McKenzie that features several different large flowers in bright pastel colors. That work of art is being painted on  a wall located behind a store, The Enchanted Door, that is located on the Altus Town Square, and has generated  much interest in social media, and  in time may become a symbol of  a resurgent downtown in that Southwest Oklahoma community, just as the Ferris Wheel that was recently put in place in the Wheeler neighborhood on the banks of the Oklahoma River has become symbolic of a  revitalized South Oklahoma City.  The vitality and optimism that is found in the yet to be completed mural is  indicative of the talent  of Lindsay  McKenzie who is a folk artist whose work graces many places in Altus, including the  local schools and other public places. And a Facebook page that is maintained by the artist reveals that much of her work , like most artists, is inspired by her environment, and she has created  painted images of cotton fields,  combines, farm sheds, and other things  that are found in the  rustic areas that surround Altus.   The increasing popularity of public murals  is revealed by the fact that McKenzie reports on her Facebook postings  that she has completed almost fifty of them to date.  The neighboring community of Frederick has recently had a mural painted on a downtown structure that detailed its rural heritage that was done by Bob Palmer, a peripatetic artist whose work is now found throughout the state, particularly  in  towns  that are on the historic Route 66 that made it’s way through Oklahoma.
Ralph Stearns, a muralist located in Wichita Falls, Texas, has  left his artistic vision on many places in the community’s in the Lone Star State that border Oklahoma, and while many of them reflect the heritage of those places, he is perhaps best known for the enormous image of the iconic film  gorilla  King Kong that  is found on a building   in downtown Wichita Falls. Kong is holding a  young woman in his hand in that creation, but she is said to be based on a local woman  and not on Fay Wray. More recently, Stearns has ventured into sculpture, and created what he called “Wally the Wood Duck,” a multi-colored  16 foot long and 8 foot high  wood decoy that has recently  been seen floating in several waterways in the Wichita Falls area. And due to the degree of artistic and cultural  interaction that occurs between Texas and Oklahoma along that part of the Red River it is possible that images of Wally may make their way onto murals done by McKenzie  and other artists  in the Altus area and  possibly replicas of him will be found   in lakes there as well.

“Inglorious Empire” By Shashi Tharoor

The late Will Durant is perhaps best known today  for the multi-volume “ The Story Of Civilization” that he co-authored with his wife Ariel and for which they were awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1968. Durant  obtained an undergraduate degree from St. Peter’s College in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1907  and a PHD from Columbia University  in New York City  in 1917. In Durant’s autobiography, which  was published in 1977, he would write of giving a  presentation   while he was on a lecture  tour  in the Oklahoma community that bears his surname. And  one of his works that is not widely known in the U.S. was  titled “The Case For India” which was published in 1930  and was critical  of the British rule of India. Durant wrote “ The British conquest of India was the invasion and destruction of a high civilization by a trading company, The British East Indian Company, utterly without scruple or principle……”   That quote is included in  Indian author Shashi Tharoor’s    recently  published  work,  “Inglorious Empire; What the British Did To India.”    Tharoor, who was a member of the Indian Parliament  for several terms,  makes a powerful case for his assertion that the British  looted India for the more than two centuries it ruled that subcontinent  and that the supposed benefits of their rule have been greatly exaggerated. “ Divide and rule” was a maxim often cited  by the English officials who  presided over  India, and the author offers compelling evidence that they heightened the divisions they found  there between different faiths and social groups in a manner that still hinders India today. And in virtually every chapter Tharoor quotes  Durant as to the misfortunes visited upon India and its people by the British authorities,  and  he also has   several quotes  from the great American Populist  leader William Jennings Bryan to that effect as well.  While some historians credit England for imposing unity upon the subcontinent, the author  points out that there had been able  Indian leaders who had sought such unity prior to the arrival of the British and that similar leaders would probably  have in emerged in time. Tharoor   is scornful of the revered English leader Winston Churchill and includes quotes from him regarding Mahatma Gandhi  that indicate the contempt he had for him and   for Indians in general.
While  students in the French colonies in Africa learned to read French in textbooks that  informed them that “They were the children of the Gauls,”  and were encourage to think of themselves as French,  Indians were always “subjects, not citizens,” Tharoor reports. He also reminds his readers that the United Kingdom did not  leave India a united nation and details the haste in which  the British departed their former colony in 1947  resulted in an independent Pakistan that has gone to war with India on several occasions in recent decades, and suggests that the partition of the subcontinent could have been avoided if more able British colonial officials had been present on the eve of Indian independence.
The author does credit the United Kingdom for leaving India with the English language, which has allowed Indian business people to be a part of the global economy, and points out that the Jaguar Company is now owned by an Indian firm and that the British  railway system  is being modernized with the assistance of Indian advisors. He also thanks the  United Kingdom for the tea that they first brought to India  and the game of cricket that was first played on  fields  there and is now very popular in India.

 

Asian Night Market Festival of 2019 In OKC

In the late afternoon of Saturday, June 15^th, a seeming convoy of food trucks began to encircle the Military Park area of the Asian District of Oklahoma City in anticipation of the Asian Night Market  Festival that was being held in that area that evening. Many of the vehicles were veterans of previous events held in the Oklahoma City area that dispense Asian, and  Mexican fare, but there were some new arrivals, such as one with the name “Sizzle N Spice” emblazoned on it that  featured a sign that proclaimed that it offered “Pakistani South Asian Cuisine.” The famed Nic’s Restaurant that has been featured on the Food Channel,  and  is located on Pennsylvania Avenue in Oklahoma City and is noted for the crowds that materialize at its door when it opens, sponsored a truck that  sold an item  called “ Asian pork pie” . There was another vehicle that  offered “Filipino Fusion” that was adjacent to another one that sold a unique  combination of Mexican and Korean fare. But the festivities were already taking place at the nearby Super Cao Nguyen  Market which was commemorating  its forty years of continuous  operation, and its busy but  smiling employees wore tee shirts that memorialized that anniversary,  and chefs  from throughout the Oklahoma City area offered tasty sample of  their imaginative creations to grateful patrons there.
The event officially  began at 6:00 P.M, and Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, who was wearing orange tennis shoes, welcomed the attendees and told them that the Asian community has enriched  Oklahoma’s capital city in a variety of ways, and he was proud to have them as part of the increasingly  diverse community of Oklahoma City. He was followed by a variety of performers, including the  Thunder Basketball Team’s Cheerleaders,  who were listed on a schedule that was on display at various locations that included  dancing lions, and dancers and singers whose performances were inspired by the culture of Vietnam, India, Indonesia, and other Asian states. That attendees could slake their thirst for strong drink at where described as” beer gardens” that  featured tables and chairs and  varieties of the amber brew  prepared by two local breweries. Sean Cumming’s Irish Pub also offered beer from a stand manned by that establishment’s  genial owner. Many local Asian eateries also sponsored pop up booths where they sold their fare to patrons who  could be seen devouring their purchases in an enthusiastic manner.
There was also a booth manned by Dorothy Overall, the indefatigable employee of the U.S. Small Business Administration, who dispensed materials that detailed the services that that agency offers to small businesses and individuals who are interested in starting a business.
The  event displayed the diversity and relative youth of the Oklahoma City Asian community,  and the large numbers of Anglos, Hispanics, and African Americans that were in attendance was indicative of the support  and interest it enjoys with the rest of the city’s populace.

Haque Family Celebration In OKC

Haque Family at The Event.

Graduates Soleman and Yusef Haque At The Gathering.

Other Guests At The Haque Party

Ehteshamul Haque, who is  known as “Sohel” to his friends, family,  and co-workers,  serves the United States District Court for the  Western District of Oklahoma  as both a programmer and system analysist, and has held that post for  a number of years. A native of Bangladesh in South Asia, Sohel and his wife Lisa, who is from Idabel, Oklahoma,  recently hosted an evening  event at a  facility on the Northwest Highway in  Oklahoma City  to commemorate their two sons, Soleman and Yosef Haque, recent graduations from dental and medical school respectively. Sohel and his wife  addressed the guests and told of how federal  Judges Russell,  DeGiusti,   Friot, and Mitchell were in attendance and he thanked them for their  presence.   His wife said that she and Sohel were fortunate  to raise their family   in Oklahoma City and expressed gratitude to those present who had  supported them over the years. She also told of how the people of Bangladesh welcomed her when she visited that nation, and that the family is welcoming two young women into their family who will be marrying their sons shortly.  A family friend who Sohel said was virtually a third son to his family, Justin  Schmidt,   told of how  Soleman and Yosef were hardworking and studious throughout their academic careers, and have earned their success as a result.  Sohel asked  a physician, Dr. Farugue, who has known his sons throughout their lives,  to address the gathering, and the doctor  spoke of how both Soleman and Yosef have a concern for others  that is greater that their quest for material gain, and that that accounts for their success as well as their decision to enter professions in which they will be serving others.
Sohel    introduced Judge Timothy DeGuisti, and detailed  how the jurist  served in the U.S. Army in  the Judge Advocate Corps  after graduating  from the University of Oklahoma and it’s  Law School before his elevation to the federal bench.
Judge DeGiusti  told those present that he and his judicial  colleagues were honored to be there, and that many of those present were immigrants to the U.S. from Bangladesh who he and his colleagues had sworn as   U.S. citizens,  and  that they   have become  prominent members of the community and their children are also embarking on successful careers that are enriching  Oklahoma City and the state of Oklahoma and the nation as a whole.    Sohel then introduced his younger brother Julu Haque, who is also an Oklahoma City resident, and he  congratulated his nephews on their academic  attainments , and said that he and their parents are incredibly  proud of  both of them.  Sohel then retook the podium and invited  his sons to join him.
Yosef said that both he and his brother have been blessed in recent month, and looked forward to serving others in their respective careers.  Suleman thanked his parents, and said that he and his brother owe their success in large part to their encouragement, and that they taught them to be respectful of others, and he  also thanked his brother for his support and expressed gratitude for all of those who were present for their attendance.

Opening Of New Cajun King In South OKC

Recently, the city of New Orleans and the nation as a whole mourned the death of Leah Chase, the New Orleans restaurateur who owned and operated the iconic “Dooky  Chase” eatery in  that food obsessed community. The New York Times ran a pictorial that detailed  some of the unique African American  funeral traditions of New Orleans when she was laid to rest there.  The  obituaries that chronicled her passing    told  of  how she had founded that eatery with her husband Dooky  Chase decades ago, and that  the Cajun and Creole food they served were based  on the unique culinary  traditions of New Orleans and Louisiana, and served to preserve those traditions in the face of an onslaught of chain restaurants that served  traditional fare such as hamburgers.
And  that fare has developed a following in Oklahoma City where Simeon and Christy Adda served such foods at a modest price to a loyal clientele at the Cajun King Restaurant on 63^rd Street off of MacArthur Avenue. The success of their place prompted the Addas, who are immigrants from Nigeria in West Africa, which is the place of origin of much of Creole cuisine, to open a new Cajun  King    in South Oklahoma City on 2166 Southwest 74^th Street.
On a recent visit to that establishment  both  Addas were characteristically hospitable and welcoming, but displayed the concerns  that are often found in those who have opened a new business and told  of their  hope of  developing  a  customer base of the type enjoyed by their first restaurant. They also spoke of starting an annual Mardi Gras tradition of the type that has patrons waiting patiently in line on the days before that  unique holiday to gain access to their 63^rd Street location.   The buffet there includes some new food  items as well as liquor  menu and   a Sunday Brunch that runs from 11:00 A.M until 4:00 P.M. that  is beginning to develop a clientele  with the locals. The Addas   believe that they are in the process of developing a devoted staff there that is comparable to the dedicated  employees in their original location who are friendly with many of there regular patrons there  and greet them by name.
In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, thousands of Hispanics made their way to New Orleans to assist in the rebuilding of that then devastated community, and articles were written about how many of them developed a fondness for the Creole fare they found there. And the recent  presence of several Spanish speaking couples  with young children devouring  red beans and rice, jambalaya, and  beignets covered with sugar at the Southside location of the Cajun King suggests that a  similar warm relationship  may be developing in South Oklahoma City. And just as Leah Chase was celebrated for helping to preserve the culinary traditions of New Orleans and Louisiana,  Simeon and Christy Adda may in time be credited with bringing that fare to both North and South Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma Coalition To Abolish The Death Penalty Meeting In OKC

The Oklahoma Coalition To Abolish the Death Penalty held  its 28^th Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner on  the evening of Friday, June 8, 2019, at the Capital View Events Center on Lincoln Boulevard in Oklahoma City.  The attendees were handed buttons that featured the words “Death Penalty” with a line drawn through them  and a program that detailed  the  evening’s events, and told of how the organization was founded in 1976  and officially incorporated in 1987.  The Coalitions members constitute a diverse body  of religious organizations, including the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Council of American -Islamic Relations ,and other entities and associations. That document also told of  how  in the past year two individuals, Leslie  Fitzhugh  and Jimmy Lawson, who were formerly residing at the state’s  Death Row in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester  have  been officially  exonerated for the murders that led to them receiving the death penalty. The Reverend Don Heath,  the Chairman of the Coalition, began the event by mentioning some of the entities  that had sponsored  the tables that had resulted in  the  event being sold out and also  referenced  some of the prominent individuals who were present who have played a role in opposing  capital punishment in Oklahoma. The  Invocation was delivered by  Rev Davies of the First Unitarian Church of OKC, who quoted  the late  U.S. Supreme Court Justice  Harry Blackmun who had written that he knew that  the “death penalty has failed”, and while he  might not live to see its end in the U.S. he knew that it would be eventually abolished.  A list of those who had been executed in the U.S. in the past year  was read and as each name was pronounced a bell was rung.    Keynote speaker Vanessa Potkin of the Innocence Project  was introduced by Vickie Behanna who told of how Potkin’s work has resulted in the exoneration of thirty people, five of whom were on death row.  The Innocence Project Director  shared with the attendees a brief excerpt  from  her video “The Last Defense,”  that   detailed  the work that her entity has done. She also thanked those present who had worked on the case of Julius Jones, and spoke of wrongful convictions and their affects on the criminal justice system. Oklahoma was the last state to allow DNA testing for those previously convicted, but it has proven difficult to gain access to that form of testing  in the state’s courts. Their clients  who have been exonerated , she said are   “The luckiest of the unlucky people.” Close to 70% of the exonerations were the result of erroneous eye witness testimony, she reported,  false confessions,  false scientific evidence, and  incentivized witnesses, who had a reason to falsely identify perpetrators.   The advocate told of how 900,000 arrests have been voided in New York City due to their not being in compliance with the law. Racism also plays a significant role in wrongful arrests and convictions, her research has revealed.    Potkin  asserted that of the  2,700 people currently  on death row in the U.S., at least 4.5% of them may be innocent.
She also spoke of her involvement in the  case of Julius Jones  of Oklahoma, and the deal that his co-defendant received for testifying against him, and that they jury wasn’t told of the truly lenient   nature of that deal.   Jones had been a National Merit Scholar who had an outstanding high school athlete  in Edmond .The  Oklahoma . Death Penalty Review Commission concluded a moratorium   on the death penalty was warranted, Potkin reported, because there was a danger of innocent people being put to death. She  also spoke of the fraudulent evidence that  has  often brought into Oklahoma courts  by forensic evidence witnesses, and that many defense attorneys are   inexperienced in capital cases, and did not adequately present witnesses that could have  helped their client’s cases.
After  Potkin concluded her presentation, what were termed  “Abolitionists Awards” were bestowed on several individuals who have worked to end capital punishment, and  one was awarded to the recently deceased Jim Rowan and  was designated the “Lifetime Abolitionist Award” that was accepted with gratitude by his widow, Sherry Rowan.

Bangladeshi Celebration Of Eid In OKC

The Bangladeshi  community  came together  at the Grand  Mosque in Oklahoma City  to celebrate the end of the Muslim  holy month of Ramadan  on the evening of  Saturday, June 8^th, 2019. The event was held in the main hall of that house of worship. Many of the attendees wore traditional garb of brightly colored flowing robes   that is favored in Bangladesh and the Bengali community in neighboring  India, while others were attired in a manner that made them indistinguishable from their Oklahoma City neighbors. And  many of the women who where wearing saris also had small rings in their noses.  While most of the female attendees appeared to be of South Asian descent, there were several who had blonde hair and   are married to men originally  from Bangladesh. As they entered the hall in the mosque  the guests were serenaded by songs of the type that are found in  Bollywood films.
A man known as Sohel, who in his day job  works in the IT Department of the Court Clerk of the U.S. District Court of Western  Oklahoma, greeted  the guests from an elevated stage, and thanked them for their presence.  He  further told them of another individual who is part of their community who came on the stage and  spoke to them in Bengali and said that he and Sohel had come from the same village in Bangladesh.  Later Sohel spoke privately about the respect that he has for the federal judiciary in Oklahoma City  based on his interactions with the individual judges, and reported that he has worked for that   court for almost two decades. He also  told   of how Bangladesh, which   was a province in  the British colony of India for several centuries  and was part of  Pakistan   until 1971, is now one of the major producers of the clothing and apparel that is sold in the U.S.
He then introduced  three  young girls who  danced to  Indian music in a professional manner that suggested that they have rehearsed their act on numerous occasions. They were followed by three boys who danced energetically   to a song that sounded like one from a Bollywood musical production, and their performance prompted several young boys to attempt to storm the stage and dance with them, and several more restrained young boys danced in front of the stage and sought to  replicate their moves.  They subsequently returned to the stage wearing sunglasses  that made them resemble an American boy band.  They were  succeeded  by a singer who was said to be an esteemed  cardiologist during the day known as Dr. Riaz,  but has a command of classic Bollywood musical songs that he likes to sing.
His command of that genre was reflected in the fact that he asked the audience if they wanted to hear early Bollywood tunes or more contemporary ones, and apparently sang accordingly.   A meal of spicy food and sweet desserts was later  offered, and in a small room adjacent to the hall jewelry and women’s clothing were  available  for purchase. After the food was consumed, a singer from New York City, Sayera Reza, performed in Bengali  in a manner that was similar to the  passionate female singers of the Arab World and  had the attendees singing  with her on occasion and approaching the stage to obtain cell phone pictures of her. As the  event came to a close, many of the guests hugged one another wih affection  as they said goodbye.

KOB’S “Fresh Paint Days” In Oklahoma

Beginning in March of this year, hundreds of Oklahomans of various ages and ethnicities began to make their way through their  individual communities  armed with plastic bags  that they were soon filling with trash and refuse as part of the “Great American Cleanup” of 2019. Their individual efforts  were done under the auspices of the Keep Oklahoma  Beautiful organization which is known by the acronym “KOB”, and is affiliated with the Keep American Beautiful entity. And  their individual efforts were ongoing through the end of May, and have  instilled a sense of pride and purpose in many of  the communities that participated in it, and stories are told of the unlikely friendships that have grown up among members of  some of the individual groups, that include relations that transcend age, race, and political and religious  affiliation.  Jeanette Nance, who serves as the Executive Director of   KOB and  previously   worked  for former Oklahoma  Governor Brad Henry as his Director Of Constituent Services,  recently released figures that indicated 2,673,383 pounds of trash were collected, $8 million was saved by the state  as a result of  the volunteers  efforts, 1,299 acres of public land were cleared in the state, and that 41,906 volunteers participated.
And the KOB has just unveiled another program that will utilize public spirited volunteers to improve Oklahoma  that is designated “Fresh Paint Days’ that will  allow  members of communities in the state to  apply to receive free paint donated by the H.I.S. Coatings firm and funds for painting supplies from  Public Services of Oklahoma for the painting of buildings that are in need of a fresh coat of paint.  “A Permission to Paint” standardized form will   be issued that will be completed by the owners of the property to ensure that their approval for the project has been obtained. All  communities that wish to participate  have to have their individual applications filed by July 31^st of this year, and  in late August those selected by KOB will be notified of their acceptance and will gain access to the paint.
It is anticipated that the painting will be completed by the end of September, and “after” photos of the freshly painted structures will be  received by the organization on or before October 2^nd. Those photographs, along with images of the buildings before they were painted, will be posted on a  KOB site and  viewers will be asked to vote for what they think is the best project completed. The eventual winners will be honored at the annual “ Environmental  Excellence Awards Celebration” that will be held later in the year. And many of the communities that have participated in previous years have reported  that the painting of buildings has resulted in similar improvements being made on adjacent structures that have improved neighborhoods throughout the state.

Ugandan Martyr’s Day Observance In OKC

In recent days thousands of  people have made their way from across Africa to  the community of Namugongo in Uganda to pay  homage to the 22   converts to Catholicism  and  23 members of  the Anglican faith who   were killed at that location  by order of the king of what it now Uganda due to their  conversion to the  Christian  faith. They were murdered in 1885 and 1887, and on June 3^rd they are honored  on  the Ugandan holiday  of Christian Martyrs Day. In recent years, as Ugandans have migrated to various places around the world,  that event has been commemorated in many other locales. In Oklahoma City a commemoration of the martyrs was held I on Sunday, June 2^nd, 2019 ,in the home of  Jackie and Geoffrey Oryema, who have lived in Oklahoma’s capital city for years  The gathering began with prayers being said by Father Martin, a priest in the Oklahoma City Archdiocese who is a native of Uganda and has served in several different parishes  in the Oklahoma City area. Two other Catholic priests from Uganda who also serve in the Oklahoma City Archdiocese, Fathers Tee and  John, were also present.  The attendees included  Ugandan natives who are now in  Oklahoma who work as engineers, teaching assistants at OU and OSU who are in process of completing graduate degrees. Their handsome and energetic young  children soon filled a neighboring yard where a soccer ball was soon being kicked  with enthusiasm and squeals of delight could be heard. Since many of those young people are from different regions of Uganda and speak different mother tongues as a result, they were encouraged to speak in English which is a language that they all  have mastered . Most of the adults set in circles and listened to Ugandan music and partook of the food and strong drink that was in  abundant supply. The former included rice and chicken cooked in the Ugandan manner as well as  Indian bread of the type that is popular in Indian  restaurants in Oklahoma City and said to be naan, but is known as chapatti in Uganda and other states in East Africa. It was explained that that bread was brought to Africa by Indian cooks and traders when much of that continent was part of the British Empire.  A large bottle of Johnny Walker Red Label Scotch   was on display on a table, and as the evening went on its was gradually emptied, but it was soon replaced by another one. Wine bottles that ran dry were also replaced by the generous hosts. There was a festive atmosphere at that gathering and people often hugged one another and proudly introduced their children to the other attendees.  A carload of guests from Stillwater were present, and it was explained that all of them are affiliated with OSU, and they spoke of their love for that institution due to the educational opportunities that it has afforded them. As  the guests began to leave, Geoffrey Oryema thanked them for attending, and said that another  Ugandan Christian Martyrs Day event will be held next year.