Day 37 / 328

 

Oklahoma City, OK- Cloudy 51 degrees and falling

[caption id="attachment_668" align="alignright" width="225"] Relfecting pool and field of chairs[/caption]

A day to sit and wait out the weather up north turned into an opportunity to go visit the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. I was there in 1999 with my kids before the museum was built,  only the park with the chairs and trees was complete. It was interesting to return 19 years later and see the mature trees growing around the Bronze chairs representing those who lost their life.  We toured the museum and had an experience unlike any other that we have ever had at a memorial museum. It is an immersion in the day of the bombing. Part of the museum is built within the ruins.  Walking through the bombed remains (fortified of course for safety)  perhaps the most provocative moment is when you enter a room where a recorded water rights hearing was taking place. The doors close the lights go down and you listen to the meeting in progress and subsequently the sound of the explosion and the mayhem that followed. The exit door opens after 30 seconds or so and you are immersed in interactive displays of items recovered and listen to live recordings of the response to the blast. 

When I visit these types of memorials I am acutely aware that other visitors may be taking a very personal journey. There was a man crying in the room that held the pictures of the victims along with personal items recovered from the site. I couldn't help but wonder if one of his loved ones was on that wall.

[caption id="attachment_669" align="alignleft" width="300"] Kids Memorial[/caption]

 

Both times I visited I was deeply moved by the fact that a daycare center in the building was full of kids, many who perished.  I remember the day this happened. It was during my stay-at-home mom years when I was also a CNN junkie while the kids were in school.

If you pass through OKC this is well worth the stop. I've done it twice now and walked away with mixed feelings about the world we live in. In 1999 it never occurred to me that we could be 'in the wrong place at the wrong time' in terms of domestic terrorism. Today it is a regular news story. A good friends son was in Paris a couple of years ago when the bombings took place in the entertainment district and I remember what she went through waiting to hear he was safe. A concert, tour of a museum or standing in line at Mc Donalds can be when your number comes up. It seems the opportunities are everywhere these days.

We dodged a bullet again this year. They had large hail in Sanger, TX where we were 36 hours ago. Tonight we watch the weather and mull the decision whether to inch north tomorrow or Sunday and reflect on the day in the context of our 2018 world. As I write this, the song by Luke Bryant - Most People Are Good -  plays on the radio. If you've never heard the song, have a listen.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-KsToawMJE   I wonder it that's a coincidence.

Until tomorrow...