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.
(from OK memorial site)
Last week I traveled to Oklahoma City for a business meeting and had some time to kill before I had to return to the airport for my flight. I went to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum and it was a sobering visit. The morning of April 16, 1995, 168 people were killed in a massive explosion - the act of a terrorist.
Six months after the Oklahoma City memorial was completed, on September 11, 2001, the act of terrorists was felt again. I have not been to New York. I have not been to the Pentagon. However, having just visited the Oklahoma City memorial and having just been thinking about the senseless nature of mass killing, I feel a bit more somber and sad today on the 11th anniversary of this event.
I don't know why people do what they do. I'm not sure that I want to actually be able to understand it. To be honest, I don't even know what to write in this post other than I'm sorry for the loss of so many. I'm sorry for the scars that terrorism leaves behind. I'm grateful for the opportunity to renew and restore what was once there. I'm grateful for the memory left behind and for these days that help me pause to feel thankful for the blessings I have. I'm grateful for my knowledge that there is life after death and we will see our loved ones again.
1 comment:
Remember when we went to the Holocaust Museum in D.C....and then less than a week later we saw "The Diary of Anne Frank" at Hale? I remember just losing it at the end when the actors all stood silent and still while some sort of "narrator" of sorts told the audience which concentration camp each member of the Frank and VanDam families went to and who lived, who died. It just seemed so much more real, the images so fresh in my mind from the museum trip.
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