Speaking of the Mayor
In 1992, I met Dr. Denis Neba in Denver, CO. A few weeks later, my family and I, met his family. At that time, Dr. Neba’s family and Ms. Mary AshuAgbor were the only two known Cameroonians in this Metropolitan area. As the pioneer Cameroonian in the Rocky Mts Region of Denver, CO; Dr Neba at the time was well known by Nigerians, Ghanaians, Sierra Leonians and Ethiopians – just to name a few African nationality communities - predominantly, those who provided him with specific services or worked with him.
Due to the scant populous nature of the Cameroonian Denver-Aurora Metro area inhabitants at that time, Dr. Neba would occasionally invite my family, Ms. AshuAgbor and Mr. Daniel Abam who arrived in Colorado shortly after, for barbeque and happy hours. As time progressed, we got known as the Trios (Dr. Neba, Daniel and Lawrence). Thinking about this, we tried to meet every weekend to check on each other and top time with family socialization. Every month, the Trios would drive to Fountain (a small-town South of Colorado Springs, CO) to buy and process goat meat. As time progressed and other family responsibilities took over, that activity became a thing of the past.
As time progressed, Mr. Abam and I decided that, since Dr. Neba was the very first known Cameroonian-in this Community, we will “officially” name him ‘The Mayor. Till this day, we continue to fondly call him Mayor. I believe that Mr. Abam and I do not recall ever referring or calling him by his given names (Dr. Denis, Neba). In fact, Maasah, Money man, Lazarus were our nick names. As you yourself can recall, I only used your names during formal occasions, amongst my relatives and associates. With all due respect, it is worth mentioning that our children – have continued to refer to you as Uncle Denis.
Mayor, you have been an exceptionally a consistent pal and mentor to my family.
I watched/witnessed you utilize your English prowess in editing my wife’s higher education writeups.
You made it a routine/habit to make an immediate visit to the hospital whenever my new baby was born and attend their graduation ceremonies with a big gift in an envelope as encouragement.
During our 30years, you have demonstrated the excellence and value of a family friend. It is no secret to exhaust your numerous incidents of kindness and humanity not only to me but to those around you. Mayor, I have never seen you express hesitance in going the extra mile to respond to any to request. Yes, you are well known and liked within the African community at-large.
Mayor, your personal beliefs were to live life to the fullest as there is no duplicate. In your own words “Enjoy life while you can because tomorrow is not a guarantee and so it came to be”. You participated in almost all community events. Of course, his attention to owning nice cars, showed how he spent time polishing his Mercedes before driving to make weekly visits.
He enjoyed church choir, sports and ensured he exercise moments at the gym and early years of playing soccer fulfilled his need to stay physically fit. It was admirable – to watch him drive his children to every school sport activity in the state. In memorium, the Mayor, I can attest that he lived life to the fullest of his ability.
