I leave work around 6am and go home to bed.
10am my neighbor calls and tells me a bomb went off downtown.
I turn on the television, look out the window and see the smoke plume rising above Oklahoma City. I cant believe my eyes.
I try to call work for hours, we are only a few blocks from the Murrah building.
I reach my boss, most of our windows have been blown out and the phlebotomy station collapsed on Tammy. (her name is not really Tammy but I will leave it at that)
Triage for St. Anthony hospital is set up on our lawn. Hundreds of injured people are being tended to including babies. There was a daycare in the Murrah building, filled with babies. Babies that now lay injured in the grass where I work.
I ask my boss if I should come in and try to help. She tells me to stay away, you cant get through anyway.
April 19th 1995.
As the week progresses I pass the building nightly. Giant stadium lights are put up to aid in the search. It is cool still in OKC and the rain starts falling. It is the most eerie sight to see the Murrah building, tarps flapping in the wind. It looks like the lowest dimensions of hell. Wonder if there are people still alive in that place. There were not. Stories about the lives affected and lost saturate the media.
McVeigh is caught and arrested. His past is revealed. My cousin calls me in tears. He is a Military man. "I cant believe one of our own did this". He wails. "He was NOT one of of you." I say. "He never was".
15 years have passed. I remember it like it was yesterday. I have never seen human beings act with such caring, kindness, love and beauty. In the midst of horror people were at their best. There is a reverence at the memorial that is breathtaking. There is a statue of Jesus at the sight. His back is turned to the what was the Murrah building. The caption at the bottom simply says "And Jesus wept."
If you happen to pass through Oklahoma City, stop and visit the memorial. It is beautiful. Along the fence hundreds still leave cards, pictures, flowers and other mementos for the dead. Let it be our reminder of the danger of fanaticism out of control.
8 comments:
I remember the day that happened, I watched the news and cried, hard to believe it's been 15 years!
You are right Christina,visiting the memorial gives you a feeling that is hard to put in words. Everyone speaks in whispers and the sounds of the city seem in the distance, hushed. Odd isn't it? I was very nervous about returning downtown and visiting the site many months later. The TV images and the stories were terrifying and I imagined the site would eminate the horrors those people suffered that day. But like you said there is a reverence about the place. You are left with questions like, "what if I had been in that building that day? What if my life had ended in the blink of an eye?" Many people state that they look inward. It is a profound place.
Such a horrid price for the freedoms we have. It was unbelievable.
Wishing peace for everyone who was touched by that horror.
I can't believe it was 15 years ago, I remember very clearly. Shock, pure shock and horror. Some day I will visit the memorial and remember.
Oh, Christina. This is such a wonderful tribute and memorial. I'm deeply touched.
Thank you for your words. You are right, we should never forget what fanaticism is capable of.
Saw you over at Urban Cowboys site and saw you were an Alice In Chains fan. Thought I would come over and take a look.
Wow that is some story. I remember that happening. Heartbreaking!
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