ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial

I still remember the day of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building 20 years ago. I was working at Franklin Covey, and I even took a small tv to work to stay up on the news. For days I was glued to the tv, heartsick at the loss – confused at the senselessness. I watched as the rescuers tirelessly dug through the rubble, desperately searching to find survivors – the joy when one was found alive, and the devastation when another victim was found dead. So this trip, while I was in Oklahoma City, I wanted to go to the site and visit the memorial.

   Fortunately for me there is a U.S. Post Office across the street, and since it was closed I could take up a few parking places (since there wasn’t anywhere on the street to park). At the entrance there is a tall wall with the quote, “We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived, and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope, and serenity.”

   Then as you enter, it guides you through a doorway that opens up to a large reflection pool – across which is a large marker that simply says 9:01 – the last moment of peace (before the bomb hit at 9:02). To the right, 168 empty chairs – each representing one of the souls that lost their life that day – and for the holidays, each graced with a beautiful Christmas wreath. Nineteen of the chairs are smaller, for the 19 children killed in the Day Care Center in the building that day – and tears streamed down my face as I walked through this memorial and passed these tiny chairs.

   Even on this beautiful and sunny day, there is a sadness that hangs over this place. And how sad that even 20 years later, we are still facing acts of terrorism on American soil. I agree with Mahatma Ghandi:  “Terrorism and deception are weapons not of the strong but of the weak.”