Why Orangeburg?

Manish Dayal, the Indian-American actor who has appeared in White Frog, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., 90210, and The Resident, was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina in 1983.

So, when his parents or grandparents immigrated from India, they could settle in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, or San Francisco, but out of all of the great cities in the U.S., they thought they would be happiest in Orangeburg, South Carolina?

Ok, let's see what that city has to offer that beats the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Loop, West Hollywood, or Castro Street.

Location: in the middle of nowhere, about halfway between Columbia and Charleston.

Demographics: Population 14,000, 75% African-American, median household income $30,000.

Violent and property crime rates: Among the highest per capita in the nation.

Bodybuilders: Darius "Buff" Milton.

Politics: 67% voted for Clinton in the 2016 Presidential Election




Sights:
The National Fish Hatchery
Edisto Memorial Garden, with 4000 varieties of roses
I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium
The Pink Palace (the old Orangeburg jail)

Bookstores:
Only Christian ones.










Restaurants:
Thai Lotus

Gyms:
Orangeburg Athletic Club
Orangeburg New City Gym










High schools:
Orangeburg-Wilkinson Senior High.  No gay club, but a Gentlemen's Club and a Les Charmes.  Sports: volleyball, wrestling, track.











Orangeburg Christian Academy

Orangeburg Preparatory Academy
















Colleges:
Claflin College (historically black, the top liberal arts college in the state)












South Carolina State University (historically bl
ack)














Churches:
Church of God Which He Hath Purchased with His Own Blood
Four Holes Baptist Church
Orangeburg Baptist Tabernacle (Tim Tebow is apparently a member)
Gospel Temple of Deliverance
Holy Trinity Catholic Church

Mosques:
Masjid al Taqwa


Hinduism:
Hindu Temple and Cultural Center

















Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. A temple devoted to a sect of Hinduism that reveres Swaminarayan (1781-1830) as an emanation of the Divine.

I'm beginning to think that maybe Orangeburg has a lot of emanations of the Divine.