Slept in....took a walk….showered….and got on the road at about
10:30. We’d already decided that we’re
not driving the amount of miles we did yesterday so we’re just going to see
where we are when we get tired and call it good.
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A couple of weeks ago, I happened across The American Experience on
PBS while working. Process of elimination
had me watching/listening to a documentary on Ruby Ridge, which then led me to
watching the documentary on the Oklahoma City bombing. It occurred to me last night that being in
Oklahoma City was an excellent opportunity to see the Oklahoma City National Memorial
and Museum…if the map showed that it was accessible with our rig. Checked the map this morning…the memorial
wasn’t far off the highway and it all looked doable. Found a paid parking lot
right near the memorial…the parking spaces weren’t friendly to a rig of our
size but demand was low so we parked anyway, knowing that we’d be quick about
our visit. I wasn’t interested in a 2
hour visit to a museum….this was strictly a visit to the outdoor memorial which
is located where the Murrah Federal Building once stood. I took off with camera in hand while Kim put
our $5 in the machine. He caught up with
me but as I was telling him about the symbolism of the memorial, he seemed
distracted. All told it only took about
15 minutes, but as we were leaving Kim told me his concern….he thought that
this area would be on high alert about an unmarked, unmanned truck with a
trailer parked where it wasn’t supposed to be parked. In fact, he was surprised that we weren’t
approached by a Park Ranger when we got out of the truck. Yowza! I hadn’t even thought about that.
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The memorial, of course, has a very quiet solemn air about it. By the west gate of the memorial is a statue
called ‘And Jesus wept’, erected by St. Joseph Catholic Church. While
separate from the memorial itself, it sets a
very appropriate tone to the memorial to a truly horrific moment
in time. Despite the
presence of people, the sound of almost an entire city block is mostly about
silence. Fencing on either side of a big
square black granite arch/gate is covered poems, stuffed animals, keychains,
and other items as a makeshift tribute and such that make up a personal
memorial. We couldn’t see what was
beyond until we walked up some steps and through the arch. A reflecting pool in front of us with another
granite gate on the other end….chairs off to the right of where we were
standing….a solitary tree elevated on a cement promontory. There’s usually a lot of symbolism in these
types of memorials and this one was no exception. We did not wander far from
where we walked in, so we didn’t see the wall, the orchard or the children’s
area but I’m including their description as it contributes to the whole solemn experience. I used two sites to research the symbolism of
the memorial…oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org and Wikipedia.
 |
| And Jesus wept.... |
And Jesus wept (Statue across the street)
Wikipedia: Across
the street from the 9:03 gate is a sculpture of Jesus weeping erected by St. Joseph's Catholic Church, one of the first brick-and-mortar churches built
in the city. Jesus faces away from the devastation, covering his face with his
hand. In front of Jesus is a wall with 168 gaps in it, representing the voids
left by each life lost.
 |
| The east gate..reflecting pool in front |
Gates of Time
These monumental twin gates frame the moment of destruction – 9:02 a.m. – and mark the formal entrances to the Memorial. The East Gate represents 9:01 a.m. on April 19, and the innocence of the city before the attack. The West Gate represents 9:03 a.m., the moment we were changed forever, and the hope that came from the horror in the moments and days following the bombing.
These monumental twin gates frame the moment of destruction – 9:02 a.m. – and mark the formal entrances to the Memorial. The East Gate represents 9:01 a.m. on April 19, and the innocence of the city before the attack. The West Gate represents 9:03 a.m., the moment we were changed forever, and the hope that came from the horror in the moments and days following the bombing.
Reflecting
Pool
The pool occupies what was
once N.W. Fifth Street. Here, a shallow depth of gently flowing water helps
soothe wounds, with calming sounds providing a peaceful setting for quiet
thoughts. The placid surface shows the reflection of someone changed forever by
their visit to the Memorial.
Field
of Empty Chairs
The 168 chairs represent the
lives taken on April 19, 1995. They stand in nine rows to represent each floor
of the building, and each chair bears the name of someone killed on that floor.
Nineteen smaller chairs stand for the children. The field is located on the
footprint of the Murrah Building. Wikipedia: The
chairs represent the empty chairs at the dinner tables of the victims'
families. The chairs are arranged in nine rows to symbolize the nine floors of
the building; each person's chair is on the row (or the floor) on which the
person worked or was located when the bomb went off. The chairs are also
grouped according to the blast pattern, with the most chairs nearest the most
heavily damaged portion of the building. The westernmost column of five chairs
represents the five people who died but were not in the Murrah Building (two in
the Water Resources Board building, one in the Athenian Building, one outside
near the building, and one rescuer). The 19 smaller chairs represent the
children killed in the bombing. Three unborn children died along with their
mothers, and they are listed on their mothers' chairs beneath their mothers'
names.
The
Survivor Tree
The Survivor Tree, an American Elm,
bore witness to the violence of April 19, 1995, and withstood the full force of
the attack. Years later, it continues to stand as a living symbol of
resilience. The circular promontory surrounding the tree offers a place for gathering
and viewing the Memorial. Wikipedia: An American elm on
the north side of the Memorial, this was the only shade tree in the parking lot
across the street from the Murrah Building. Commuters arrived early to get one
of the shady parking spots provided by its branches. Photos of Oklahoma City
taken in the 1920s show the tree to be about 100 years old. The tree was taken for granted prior
to the blast. Heavily damaged by the bomb, the tree survived after nearly being
chopped down during the initial investigation, when workers wanted to recover
evidence hanging in its branches and embedded in its bark.
The
force of the blast ripped most of the branches from the Survivor Tree, glass
and debris were embedded in its trunk and fire from the cars parked beneath it
blackened what was left. Most thought the tree could not survive. Almost a year
after the bombing, family members, survivors and rescue workers gathered for a
memorial ceremony by the tree noticed it was beginning to bloom again. The
Survivor Tree now thrives, and the Outdoor Memorial design includes a mandate
to feature and protect the tree. For example, one of the roots that would have
been cut by the wall surrounding the tree was placed inside a large pipe, so it
could reach the soil beyond the wall without being damaged. The decking around
the tree was raised several feet to make an underground crawlspace; workers
enter through a secure hatchway and monitor the health of the tree and maintain
its very deep roots. The
inscription around the inside of the deck wall around the Survivor Tree reads:
The spirit of this city and this nation will
not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us.
Survivor
Wall
On the east end of the
Memorial stand the only remaining walls from the Murrah Building. These walls
remind us of those who survived the terrorist attack, many with serious
injuries. Today, more than 600 names are inscribed on salvaged pieces of
granite from the Murrah Building lobby.
Rescuers’
Orchard
Like the people who rushed
in to help, this army of nut- and flower-bearing trees surrounds and protects
the Survivor Tree. An inscription encircling the Survivor Tree facing the
orchard reads: To the courageous and caring who responded from near and far, we
offer our eternal gratitude, as a thank you to the thousands of rescuers and
volunteers who helped.
Children’s
Area
In the aftermath of the
blast, children from around the country and the world sent in their own
expressions of encouragement and love. That care is represented today by a wall
of tiles painted by children and sent to Oklahoma City in 1995. In addition,
buckets of chalk and chalkboards built into the ground of the Children’s Area
give children a place where they can continue to share their feelings — an
important component of the healing process.
The
Fence
The first Fence was
installed to protect the site of the Murrah Building. Almost immediately,
people began to leave tokens of love and hope on the Fence. Those items now
total more than 60,000 and are collected and preserved in our archives. Today,
more than 200 feet of the original Fence gives people the opportunity to leave
tokens of remembrance and hope.
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We knew from our motorcycle trip through this area in 2015 (The Final
Four) that the wind across the panhandle of Texas can be brutal. Driving the exact same route today as we did
then, I can’t see that anything has changed except we’re in a truck pulling a
trailer instead of riding motorcycles. The wind is again fierce so it just
might be part of life in the panhandle. Feels
like we’re being bounced all over the place and it’s especially weird when a
semi passes and momentarily cuts off the wind.
Tumbleweeds are flitting across the highway, plastic grocery bags are
stuck against the fences, the horizon is hazy with dust and miles of wind
turbines dot the landscape. We came
across a section where the turbines looked to be still, except if I stared I
could see they were turning ever so slo-o-w-ly. I checked the weather app on my phone…wind is
40 mph with gusts up to 61, which made Kim wonder if there’s a safety mechanism
in place for times when the wind is extreme. I googled it and energy.gov had more
information than I could understand about the workings of a wind turbine but I
found what I needed to know under the component section….Controller: Starts up
the machine at wind speeds of about 8 to 16 mph and shuts off the machine at
about 55 mph. Turbines do not operate at wind speeds above about 55 mph because
they may be damaged by the high winds. (I’m
assuming the controller is mechanical and not human.)
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It was a 3 state day: Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico….and now we’re in
the Mountain Standard Time Zone.
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I saw 76o on my phone coming across Texas….explains why it
was so warm in the truck mid-afternoon.
Temps currently read 53o, so we’ve had a slight cool down but
still better than snow.
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The truck has been running highway speeds like a charm but has
developed an intermittent issue when going slow that we’ll probably have
checked out once we get to Tucson….or maybe before if intermittent feels like
it’s turning to constant. Not exactly on
our list of things to do this trip but sometimes you just do what you gotta
do…especially if you want to get home.
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Heading for the Albuquerque KOA…..the wind has died down some….the
landscape has changed….the sun setting behind the mountains was stunning.
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Wildlife sightings: Antelope
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