Hindu Event In Moore, OK, On August 27th, 2023

    The Gujarati Samaji of Oklahoma, that is   known by the acronym “GSO,” was founded  in 1995 and has since obtained  the status of a nonprofit organization that is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service   It was created by  immigrants from the Gujarat  region of modern day India, and the website maintained by the GSO  tells of how  Gujarat is the “land of legends,” and is the heir to many of the aspects of Indian life that have fascinated  students of that ancient land  for generations. The GSO operates a  location at 2900 North Santa Fe Avenue in Moore, Oklahoma  that will be hosting a  Hindu  event there on Sunday, August 24^th, 2023,  from 4:00 PM until 6 PM  that will feature as its keynote speaker Swami Yogipremdas,  an Indian native who is a learned Hindu scholar of international renown who is currently appearing at Hindu religious events in the US.  He received an education  in philosophy and  Hindu scriptures at an institution in Gujarat, India,   and  has been described as a extraordinary Indian classical singer, an exceptional orator, and an expert in elaborating   upon Hindu scripture.   Hinduism is thought to be the third largest faith in number of adherents, and is estimated to have been in existence for  over 4,000 years.  Since Hinduism embraces many religious ideals,  it has often been  characterized as also being “a way of life”  or a “family of religions.”   One of it’s major tenants is that  an individual’s actions an thoughts determine their current and future lives. And instead of one holy book, the Hindu  faith has several different sacred  texts  known as the “Vedas.”  It is believed  that more than 85% of the followers of the Hindu faith live in India, with sizable numbers of followers in  the US, Canada and the United Kingdom. In recent decades the Hindu community has grown in both Texas and   Oklahoma at an impressive rate, and now includes physicians, professors,  and successful business men and women, and an invitation  to this gathering has been extended   to the local media  and all of the officeholders and elected officials of the greater Oklahoma City area  to show that their ancient faith, which throughout history has preached   love, peace, and service to others, has a role to play  in the state’s increasingly diverse communities  of faith. The invitation that has been provided  to that event indicates that   the Indian food that is increasingly popular in the area  will be offered to the attendees  from 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM before the Swami’s lecture, and  the Hindu leaders look forwarding to hosting all of the attendees and sharing with them elements of their ancient faith.                                       
 

Classic Car Auction At the Bennett Event Center In OKC

 Decades ago, the then  seemingly directionless son of a  leader from a state that adjoins Oklahoma   was invited to  a yearling auction of thoroughbred race horses in an affluent rural community. That event was a time honored tradition, and had only recently modernized it’s admission policy to allow women to attend. The young man in question had been paired with an attractive woman whose parents owned such horses, and at the dinner that preceded the actual audience he had consumed a heroic amount of strong drink, and when him and his date entered the auction itself he was apparently under the misapprehension that females were not allowed to bid on the horses, and had to have a male companion to perform that service for them.  He subsequently explained that  in his drunken state he thought that he was bidding for his date, and when she turned and smiled at him as  he entered a bid  that he thought  he was doing so  on her behalf. As the bidding increased, he would turn to her and she would display the warm smile that she was know for, and he would gallantly make a higher bid that he thought that he was doing for her. He eventually outbid all other interested parties with characteristic bravado, and was surprised when others present inquired as to where he would stable the horse that he had just purchased.
 But there was no such confusion at the automobile auction that took place at the  Bennett Event Center  on the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds that was sponsored by Maple Brothers Auction of Tulsa on the afternoon of Friday, July 26^th, 2023. The vehicles were  described as being “classic and exotic cars”  and were amassed in a large room where the auction took place. Many of them, such as the spacious and dignified  Packards, Cadillacs, and elderly Lincolns,  were a reminder of an earlier tine in America  where gas stations pumps were not programmed to exceed 99 cents for a gallon, and many of the others that were brought before the auction table  were of the type that  inspired popular   rock and roll songs and were featured in dramas and comedies from network television shows of the 1960’s and 70’s. All of the vehicles present  appeared to have been recently painted  which made it appear that they had just left the  Detroit assembly line, and were pushed to the auction platform by energetic young men in the employ of the auction company. The bidders sat at small tables  and periodically raised their hands to enter a bid. An adjacent  pop up bar offered beer, wine, and liquor as well as soft drinks. At one table a pair of grey haired men  were devouring Indian food that  they had brought with them from   Gopuram Indian Restaurant which apparently  resulted in some of the other attendees  attempting  to order  a plate of  chicken tikki masala  at the pop up bar. The majority  of the attendees were elderly white men, and the auctioneer was a frenzied individual  who was also of that demographic segment, and many of the cars purchased at prices that had been driven up through the bidding process  were  said to be destined to make their way into the private collections of  Oklahoma car collectors of the type that were celebrated by photographer and author  Ann  Sherman  in  her  work “The Car Collectors Of Oklahoma; Timeless Automobiles and the Obsessed Oklahomans Who Collect Them.”

Peruvian Festival In Warr Acres, OK

 A Peruvian Festival was held in Warr Acres on the afternoon of  Sunday, July 23^rd at the Cantera Event  Center on MacArthur Boulevard.  The attendees made their way into the facility  through an entrance that was adorned with a series of Peruvian flags, and soon filled almost all of the chairs that had previously been put in place there.  A stage was in place that had a large Peruvian flag behind it and a microphone from which some of the dignitaries present addressed the gathering. The event began with a televised appearance by Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt who was featured on three wide screens in which he told of how Oklahoma City is a sister city with the Peruvian capital of Lima, and further  detailed how Peruvians and their culture are enriching Oklahoma’s capital city. He was followed by Warr Acres Mayor Roger Godwin, who welcomed the attendees  and told of how he recently visited Peru an greatly enjoyed his time there, and explained that Warr Acres is now a sister city to a community there. Oklahoma state senator Michael Brooks Jimenez   also addressed the assembled guests and told them in Spanish  that they are welcome in Oklahoma.  A row of pretty  and smiling young girls of Peruvian heritage who wore sashes and small crowns were in place adjacent to the stage and were subject of numerous photos by the guests. A series of awards were bestowed on a variety of leaders in the Hispanic community of the Oklahoma City area, and they were applauded by those present. A series of vendors  lined the hallways, and offered a variety of goods. Many of them  were sweets and pastries from Peru and other South and Central American states, and their names and prices were listed on posters written in bold print by a steady hand. Some of the children present were observed holding small plastic ice cream cones that also served as a soap bubble mechanism that accounted for the  bubbles that  briefly filled the air until they dissolved.  A tent was in place with the wording “Inca Kola” embossed prominently on it which is apparently popular  in Peru, and may be indicative  of the shared indigenous Inca and Spanish culture of Peru, which was also reflected in the   countenances  of many of the attendees. Decades ago, Frank Sinatra described Peru as “llama land” in his song “Come Fly With Me,” and one counter offered small l stuffed versions of those beasts for sale, and larger images of llamas were on display as well. One stand was manned by employees of the adjacent Morelos Supermarket, and they highlighted the products that are popular in Peru that can be purchased at their stores that  includes  locations  in Tulsa and Moore, Oklahoma. One of the items listed were spicy  Japanese peanuts  that were dispensed without cost which served as a reminder of the influence of Asian immigrants  on the culinary fare of Peru and other  South American states.

Mamadou Ndong Of OKC

  “Poetry has lost one of its masters, Senegal a statesman, Africa a visionary,   and France a friend,” French  leader Jacques Chirac said in response to the death of Leopold  Senghor who had served as the first president of an independent  West African nation of Senegal  and was a proponent of a philosophy known as “Negritude” that celebrated the cultural values of the Black world.  French President Charles De Gaulle  would write in “Memoirs of Hope: Renewal and Endeavor”  that was posthumously published in English in 1971  that Senghor was “the steadfast ruler of turbulent Senegal,  responsive to all of the arts, and above all the arts of politics, and as proud of his negritude   as of his French culture.” And one of Senghor’s  collateral descendants, a personable and enthusiastic young man  known as   Mamadou Ndong, now makes his home in Oklahoma City where he currently  serves as a host at the Granny’s Kitchen on Memorial Avenue.   Like his illustrious ancestor, he takes pride in both his African heritage and French inspired education  and has utilized them in previous undertakings. He  recently explained that he is a native of the Senegalese capital city of Dakar, and that in 1998  he created  a clothing label  that he chose to call “Trust Your Self” because he had concluded that  “We in Africa need to have our own brand of sportswear” that prompted  a headline in a local Dakar newspaper that read “Mamadou Ndong challenges the big brands of the world.”  He subsequently  saw fit to found a line devoted  exclusively to sportswear  that was known as “Nkozy Sportswears” that would sponsor  basketball games known as “Urban Legends”  that allowed talented young athletes without the financial means to participate  in the large basketball clubs that are found in Dakar. As a result of his interaction with those  often underprivileged young people he became concerned about the  use of illegal drugs on their part and mounted a  public campaign to educate them about the inherent dangers of such drugs.  The energetic young man also found time to manage the careers of rap artists and other performers, and they would go on to participate in cultural festivals in various parts of Africa and Europe. But the economic slow down that gripped Senegal several years ago resulted in the gradual loss of income for him and those who were in his employ. He chose to come to  the Oklahoma City area   due to the economic opportunities that are found here, where he has enjoyed constructing a new life, and looks forward to applying the skills that he acquired in his native land  in Oklahoma in the future.

The Success Story Of Immigrant Patrick Opene Of OKC

Patrick Opene is an immigrant originally  from the French speaking  West African nation of the Ivory Coast  who now owns and operates a successful real estate company that has been in continuous operation  since 2016  in which he  oversees the purchases moribund  residential structures  and renovates them and they are  subsequently conveyed to families and individuals of modest incomes  in Oklahoma City on a “rent to own “ basis. He recently told of how in is youth  he had to flee his homeland due to  a period of political unrest and sought refuge   to the neighboring state of Ghana where he resided for   approximately  half a decade. While there he obtained a university degree in computer science  from National  Institute of Information technology in computer science, and in the process he  improved his English skills to the point that he was hired by two different companies there to serve as a translator from French into English. He  subsequently was admitted to the US to study at the of University  of Central Oklahoma  with a degree in finance and real estate, and obtained his  undergraduate degree from that Edmond institution  in 2020. A desire to serve his adopted country prompted him to join the US Navy, and he was sent to   Pensacola  for  training and later to Virginia where he served as a  translator from French to English and vice versa. Histories of the Second World War that involve the interaction  between British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his nominal ally, General Charles De Gaulle of the Free French entity tell of  frequently stormy meetings between the two leaders, and how Churchill, who spoke a degree of French, would often banish the translator from their meeting and request another one because he did not think that his words to De Gaulle were not being interpreted with sufficient force. There is one surviving transcript in which  the British leader is correcting the translator who  had said “I have invited you here because..”  and Churchill interrupts  him to say. “I did not invite him, I demanded that he come to my office…”  But Opene reports that the immediate  translations that he did for US Navy officers and occasionally civilian personnel and French speaking officials  were usually of a more gentle  proceeding  even though some of them consisted of confidential nature that involved the assessments and opinions of the strength and capabilities  of some US adversaries. The translator also spent a considerable amount of time translating documents between the two tongues and many of them were  classified as top secret. And said that he I grateful to the US Navy for the skills that he acquired while in it’s service and the American citizenship that he acquired as a result. Opene also expresses gratitude to the state of Oklahoma for the education he acquired  at UCO  and the prosperity he has enjoyed as a small business owner here.

The Earl Of Sandwich’s Innovation Lives On In OKC

 According to culinary history, on one occasion  in  1762,  John Montagu,  who enjoyed the noble title of the “Earl of Sandwich,” and was the fourth  male member of his family to hold that hereditary designation  was playing cards and did not wish to leave the gaming table, asked one of his servants to place a piece of roast beef between two pieces of bread so that he could satisfy his hunger by eating with his hands.  And the title born by Montagu  is still extant, and is held by John Montagu , the 11^th Earl  of Sandwich, who serves as a member of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom to this day. And his ancestor lives on in the numerous sandwiches that are served throughout the English speaking  world on  a daily basis. One such sandwich that is said to be  increasingly popular in the Oklahoma City area consists of fresh bagels purchased from one of the Old School Bagel Cafes that are found in various places here filled with fresh hummus prepared by  local Arab chefs.  That sandwich is said to have originated from an occasion when a woman who had sampled the hummus served at Zam Zam Mediterranean Grill  in Warr acres and had purchased a supply of it to go, had returned to   her Northside Oklahoma City home and discovered that she was out of her supply of cream cheese that she normally spread on her bagels and decided to use the hummus that she had recently acquired as a result. She subsequently shared her culinary innovation with several of her friends.
  One of the chefs who is  currently preparing hummus  in the Oklahoma City area, Feeda  Mahmoud, recently explained that she does so in her home and purchases the main ingredient of chickpeas from local stores and maintains a quantity of them. She further told of how her late husband mastered the art of hummus creation while he was in the employ of a restaurant in their native Jordan, and after they emigrated to the Oklahoma City area he made it in the eatery that he owned and operated, and prior to his passing he gave her the recipe that he had acquired in his youth. She now   has a steady customer base that make their way to her residence and leave with fresh packages of hummus. Just as the  brew masters in Oklahoma City  jealously guard  their unique  formulas for beer production, it seems that the hummus makers here  are reluctant to divulge all of the ingredients that make their way into their individual concoctions, but the unfailingly gracious Feeda Mahmoud displays no such inhibition, and relates with pride what she places in her hummus, and smiles when she is told  how her hummus was   enthusiastically received by  the guests at a   recent wine and cheese event.

The “Hummus Hounds” Of OKC

The officials  at the Lebanese port of Beirut, Lebanon , were puzzled on the evening of January 23^rd, 1963,   when a Russian vessel signaled that it was departing the port despite the fact that there were still goods on the dock that were intended for the ship’s hold on the following morning. But the ship’s most important cargo, British newspaper correspondent and former diplomatic official  Kim Philby, was  already on board. Philby, whose diplomatic cover concealed the fact that he had been a high ranking member of the British Intelligence service, had been forced out of that agency when a friend and co-worker of his, Guy Burgess,  had defected to the Soviet Union as it was discovered  that he was a spy for the Russians,  but Philby denied that he was also a Russian spy, and  subsequently had a successful career with  the influential  Economist Magazine as  their   Middle East correspondent. Philby was the son of St. John Philby, a former British colonial official who had converted to Islam  and had become an associate of  King Ibn Saud  of Saudi Arabia and lived in that kingdom.  But while  the younger Philby  was in the Middle East a woman whom he had known in London had told the British authorities that Philby had attempted to recruit her to be a spy for the Russians decades earlier, and he was probably tipped off by some of his old friends in the service  that he had to flee to the Soviet Union to avoid being arrested for his treachery. And as documented in the  book “ A Spy Among Friends,” which was recently made into an acclaimed Netflix series, Philby was welcomed by the Russians, and the Russian Embassy in London purchased tobacco and  the marmalade that he  liked  and sent it to him while  it’s counterpart in Beirut purchased on his behalf the hummus that he had become partial to when he resided there, and they did so until his death in 1988 in Moscow at the age of 76. And  many residents of the Oklahoma City area , while they are not traitorous in nature, have also developed a fondness for Middle Eastern hummus  as verified  by  the Mediterranean restaurants where it is prepared and  served, such as Zam Zam’s in  Warr Acres,  as well as the numerous stores in the Nichol Hills and Village area   where it’s available   along with pita bread,  pita chips, and pita thins that  it often eaten with. Those individuals   are often described as being the “hummus hounds.” But the knowledgeable aficionado of hummus  warn of the variety that is found in chain stores and point out that the preservatives that are required to be placed in it to extend its shelf life serve to dull its flavor.  And some individuals have located people in the area of Middle Eastern extraction who make hummus in their homes, and tales are told of a gracious woman whose late husband had operated a restaurant here and saw fit to share his recipe with her before his passing, and that a favored few  periodically pick up hummus in plastic containers from her residence. In the  2005 movie “West Bank Story” which was in part a parody of  “West  Side Story,” won an  Academy Award  for its tale of the rivalry between  the Israeli “Kosher King,” and the Palestinian “Hummus Hut.” While there is no such rivalry extant in the Oklahoma City area, it does seem that many individuals  have strong feelings as to where and who is the best purveyor of hummus in  Oklahoma’s capital  city.

Colombian Independence Day Celebration In Warr Acres OK

 The 212  anniversary of the South American nation of ColombIa’s  Declaration of  Independence  from Spain was celebrated in the Oklahoma City suburb of Warr Acres  at the Morelos Store’s  Cantera Event Center  on NW MacArthur Avenue on the afternoon of June 16^th,2023. The attendees made their way through the place’s entrance where a Warr Acres fire  truck and a military vehicle that is the property of the Warr Acres Police Department and the latter vehicle was reminiscent of the  armored carriers  that were seen rumbling into the Black townships of South Africa in the waning decades of the apartheid regime that formerly brutally  ruled that nation. There was also a lone food truck with the name “Maria” on it that was painted in Colombia’s   national colors and  had formerly been a small school bus and offered a variety of Columbian dishes with names such as  “panadas,”  “arepas,” “pasteles,” “patacones,” and   “Venezuelan hot dog.” Inside the  facility  a group of lean young men sat in a semi circle  as they studied their i-phones and it was explained that they were the first responders who manned the municipal vehicles that were tethered outside.  In the conference room itself the guests who were streaming in were  presented  with rows of portable chairs that were soon filled and a Spanish speaking master of ceremonies who was dressed in a white suit and brown tennis shoes. Tribute was paid to Warr Acres Mayor Roger Godwin, who  was present, and on three large screen were images of individuals  who are members and leaders of the Oklahoma City  area’s Hispanic community. An individual  with a  burlap sack with an image of the Colombian  flag  embossed on it made his way through the gathering dispensing several different small sweet pieces of candy from it to the delight of  the many of the children in attendance. On both sides of the room were smiling vendors, some of  whom offered Colombian and other foods from South America  and many of their offerings  were  the sweets and pastries that that continent is known for. One of them was manned by young people who wore black  tee shirts  that had the words “Antojo  Colombiano” written on them, and they explained that they were employees and operators of  an online  business based in Yukon, Oklahoma that prepared  Colombian  fare without a brick and mortar restaurant. A group of helpful young people  were in place with tee shirts that had the acronym “COLSA” in bold print on them and they stood adjacent to a table and a large sign that indicated that they were part of the Colombian  Student Association at the  University of Oklahoma, and they told of the services, including scholarships, that their organization offers. Adjacent  to a  table staffed by a Spanish speaking acupuncturist, a prominent law firm based in Tulsa, Rivas and Associates, offered  information of the legal services that they provide. As the  patrons began to depart, many of them formed lines at the Maria’s  food truck despite the afternoon heat and humidity,   and spoke to one another in the  vibrant language of Cervantes.

Malick Ba Of Granny’s Kitchen In OKC

 There is a photograph extant from Richard Nixon’s unsuccessful run for governor of California in 1962 that was taken in San Francisco’s Chinatown, and featured two young Asian American girls smiling next  to the candidate himself  with a large poster that featured Nixon’s name followed by a series of Chinese characters. Nixon  had paused to have a  picture taken with him and those girls holding up their sign, but moments later the candidate was advised that those Chinese characters translated into English as “What about the Hughes loan?” which was a reference to the  “loan”  of approximately $110,000. that Nixon’s brother and mother had   received from the mysterious and reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes that had become an issue in that campaign.   That photo was the work of political prankster Dick Tuck, who made a habit of pranking Nixon in that manner, and like many politicians before him, Nixon in time   adopted the tactics use against him,  and in his bid for reelection to the presidency  in 1972  his  campaign staff created a fund that was used to do what became known as “Dirty Tricks”  against Democratic seekers of the  that would eventually help to  drive Nixon from the White House. And regular patrons of Granny’s Kitchen on Memorial Avenue in  Oklahoma City may have wondered about the Arabic script that appeared on the Granny’s Kitchen tee shirt worn by aspiring manager Malik Ba, who is an immigrant from the West African nation of Senegal. Former French President Charles De Gaulle wrote eloquently and insightfully  in “Memoirs of Hope: Renewal And Endeavor,” that was posthumously published in English in 1971  of the African leaders who emerged as leaders in fledgling nations that had formerly been colonies of France and noted how they combined aspect of French culture  with native African traditions that served to make their  nations stable and prosperous. Ba, like many immigrants from Francophone West Africa, embodies a somewhat similar synthesis as he speaks French to customers and co-workers who have mastered that tongue as well as assisting other members of the  immigrant community of Oklahoma City. And while the two young men who own and operate the establishment  are known to be kind and considerate individuals who are always  willing to assist their employees, they often display in times of stress  facial expressions that are similar to the scowling visages of mid level  New York City gangsters, he seems to always display  a smiling and radiant countenance that is comparable to the image conveyed  by the operators of upscale restaurants in elite locales. Ba explained to one curious patron  who was drinking mimosas from a large container with a pretty young woman that the  Arabic text that is under the Granny’s logo translates into English hospitably   as “arrive hungry, leave  filled.” And Malik  Ba appears to be a sincere and truthful individual, and the patron and his companion   apparently accepted that benign  translation.                              
 

Recent GOP Attacks On FBI Director Christopher Wray

FBI Director Christopher Wray arrives to testify before the House Judiciary Committee.

“You know what you need to do King,” an anonymous letter that was included in a package  sent to  Martin Luther King in 1964 after he had received the Nobel Peace Prize for his ceaseless efforts to end racial discrimination in the U S. Along with the letter, the Civil Rights leader also received tapes of  some of his extra marital sexual  encounters at various hotels that he had previously stayed. While the letter  was said  to have written to appear as it had been penned by someone close to King,  a recent biography  indicates that the Nobel Prize recipient realized that it had come from the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the direction of it’s then executive director, J. Edgar Hoover. Those tapes were also leaked to the media, but in accordance with the unwritten rules that governed the coverage of the private lives  of public figures at that time. And  as  set forth  in  a documentary film made by acclaimed filmmaker  Sam Pollard succinctly   titled “ MLK/FBI,” it was subsequently revealed that FBI agents would  routinely visit hotel rooms where King would be staying and would install listening and recording devices in adjacent rooms  in violation of federal law, and that the agency had an informant in his entourage who would share that information with them.  It is believed that  Hoover hoped that  the letter would result in King taking his own life.  Pollard would later say that King  was a man who had “a tremendous  amount of burdens he had to deal with, both politically, socially,  and personally.” But the civil rights leader  courageously continued on, and would be assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968 where he  was marching on behalf of African American sanitation workers who were seeking increased wages  and better working conditions  using the poignant  slogan “I am a man.” And it is now clear that the FBI under Hoover was  often used as a political weapon  to harass and intimidate other individuals and organizations that had aroused his ire. But in subsequent decades under more enlightened leadership, The FBI  became a more professional law enforcement agency and gradually began to earn back the trust of the American people. The current director of the agency, Christopher Wray, had previously been a high ranking official in the Justice Department under the administration of George W. Bush. And the  unfounded attacks on Wray  by right wing Republican  members of Congress in a hearing held last week,   as noted by Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank,  were nothing more than a cynical ploy to discredit the ongoing investigations of former President  Donald Trump and his associates who were involved in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. “You have  personally worked to weaponize the FBI against conservatives,” Wray was told by Representative Harriet Hagman. But Wray  subsequently told the subcommittee that “The idea that I am biased against conservatives seems insane to me, given my own personal background.” As noted by Milbank, the attacks made on the credibility of the FBI by Hagman and her ilk and their allies in the right wing media have served to erode trust in the agency at least among voters who identify as Republicans. But the  eventual results  of the ongoing investigations and subsequent judicial proceedings may serve to vindicate the Federal Bureau  of Investigation of today as well as Christopher Wray’s stewardship of it.