A Tale of Two Grandpas

Started catching up with old friends in Gulu. I called Odawa Henry and arranged to meet him for supper. We met at the Moonset Dairy in Gulu and started walking west and finally decided to eat at Diana Gardens, a buffet style place with Acholi food, and an outdoor garden feel to it. As we came in, we saw many men gathered around 2 pool tables. All of a sudden, many bars and restaurants in Gulu have pool tables and they are a very popular item. I don't really know how they were transported here, or if they are slate tables, and if they are how did the slate not get cracked on some of the roads here. Anyway, back to the supper.....

Henry and I talked for 2 hours, he told me that he had gone to Kitgum to have his family send a letter to the family of the woman he wants to marry. Surprisingly on that trip to Kitgum, 3 hour ride on a motorbike, I happened to be out on the road, as I was leaving Atanga. I actually heard his voice before I saw him. He was decked out in the Budweiser Racing jacket that Frank Hellwig had helped me get for him. Little did I know that this was such an important journey for him.

He is planning to get married on the day I leave Uganda, but has still not received a reply from the fiancee's family. I will try to keep you tuned in to new developments. We had a great supper with rice, irish potatoes, boiled cabbage, and good chicken. It was a great night. Henry has worked hard to get his University degree from Gulu University and is quite proud of it. And I am quite proud also of my friend's hard work. We started talking about families and I told him about my grandfather who worked 50 years at South Side National Bank and went from messenger boy to Chairman of the Board with just a lot of hard work. I see some of these examples happening in Uganda through new opportunities in education. I think there will be some wonderful stories coming out of Uganda with amazing people. Henry told me that his grandfather use to tell them wonderful stories when he was growing up. He would tell them about going out to hunt elephants, and one time he decided to get into a boxing match with an elephant. Henry told me that they all loved that story. Boxing an elephant, sounds like a wonderful story. Would have loved to hear that one.

Nearing the end,

John