DALLAS FUNDRAISER FOR 9/11 VICTIMS
After 9/11, Mark Anthony Stroman went on a shooting spree, attacking convenience store and gas station owners who looked like Arabs or Muslims. He was convicted of killing Vasudev Patel and, Texas being Texas, sentenced to death. But, as this DMN account reports, life has been hard for Patel's family, not just emotionally but financially.
As is gratifyingly common in Dallas, locals are organizing to raise money to help the family. My D Magazine colleague (she actually works there) Jennifer Chininis blogs about an upcoming fundraiser:
A few weeks after September 11, 2001, Vasudev Patel, a Hindu immigrant from northern India and U.S. citizen, was shot and killed in his convenience store/gas station in Mesquite. Since then, his wife Alka has bravely kept the convenience store open and has been raising their two children by herself. Susie Priorie, Carol Brettell, and D Magazine contributing photographer Nan Coulter want to help Alka and her family, so they are holding a fundraiser on Sunday, November 23, from 5-7 p.m., at Susie's restaurant, Iris. Please join them for Indian food, Indian music, wine, and conviviality. Admission is a $50 donation at the door to the Children of Alka Patel Fund.
Given my travel schedule, I'm not sure I'll be able to attend, but if you're in the area, it sounds like fun for a worthy cause. Here's info on Iris, the restaurant where the fundraiser is being held.