10 Years ago
Do you remember where you were 10 years ago? I can tell you exactly where I was. 10 years ago today, I was in Aviano, Italy. To be more precise, I was sleeping in Aviano. I had gotten off work late that morning and after eating dinner (breakfast for everyone else), I headed to my tent to catch some sleep before I had to get up and go exercise at 4:30. At around noon, a friend of mine came by and kicked my cot to wake me up.
Him: "Get up!"
Me: "*%#( off!"
H: "Seriously! Get up! I've got something to tell you. You're from Oklahoma right?"
M: "This had better be good....Yeah...I'm from OK, why?"
H: "Where in OK?"
M: "Just South of OKC. You have a point here?"
H: "Yeah. OKC was just bombed."
M: "Yeah right! What kind of %&%$ you tryin' to pull here?"
H: "No, dude. I'm serious as a heart attack."
M: "Really? Who did it?"
H: "Some terrorist I guess."
From there, I was all business. I grabbed some pants and a shirt and headed for the nearest phone. It took me two days to finally get through. I found out that the Murrah building had been blown away from CNN. They showed the pictures and I knew exactly where they were talking about. My mother worked about 2 blocks away from it. She heard the blast. She felt the blast. She did what everyone else did. She ran towards it hoping to find people alive. Instead of being allowed into the wreckage, she was turned back. My mom, being the stubborn person that she is, decided to help the workers then. She spent more time where they were keeping, feeding, and lodging workers than she did at home or work. If I remember correctly, OKC just plain shut down for awhile. People came out of the wood work to help one another out. Whether it was moving a mountain of a building, or just sitting and chatting with the crews that were cleaning up, people showed up and showed out. Say what you will about which city is the best in your eyes, but the people in OKC will always be the best if I am asked.
After what seemed like an eternity, I was finally able to get in touch with my mother. She explained what had happened, where she was, and that she wasn't hurt. She cut the call short so that she could get back there to help feed everyone.
For awhile, she would hear thunder or a loud noise and nearly jump out of her skin. Memories from the day the bomb went off....
There are few other days where I can remember where I was at a certain time:
OJ Simpson's aquittal (because my daughter was born shortly before this)
The first space shuttle blowing up
9-11
My wedding day
The day my son was born
It's odd how some days stand out more than others. It can be either the best day of your life, or the worst.
Him: "Get up!"
Me: "*%#( off!"
H: "Seriously! Get up! I've got something to tell you. You're from Oklahoma right?"
M: "This had better be good....Yeah...I'm from OK, why?"
H: "Where in OK?"
M: "Just South of OKC. You have a point here?"
H: "Yeah. OKC was just bombed."
M: "Yeah right! What kind of %&%$ you tryin' to pull here?"
H: "No, dude. I'm serious as a heart attack."
M: "Really? Who did it?"
H: "Some terrorist I guess."
From there, I was all business. I grabbed some pants and a shirt and headed for the nearest phone. It took me two days to finally get through. I found out that the Murrah building had been blown away from CNN. They showed the pictures and I knew exactly where they were talking about. My mother worked about 2 blocks away from it. She heard the blast. She felt the blast. She did what everyone else did. She ran towards it hoping to find people alive. Instead of being allowed into the wreckage, she was turned back. My mom, being the stubborn person that she is, decided to help the workers then. She spent more time where they were keeping, feeding, and lodging workers than she did at home or work. If I remember correctly, OKC just plain shut down for awhile. People came out of the wood work to help one another out. Whether it was moving a mountain of a building, or just sitting and chatting with the crews that were cleaning up, people showed up and showed out. Say what you will about which city is the best in your eyes, but the people in OKC will always be the best if I am asked.
After what seemed like an eternity, I was finally able to get in touch with my mother. She explained what had happened, where she was, and that she wasn't hurt. She cut the call short so that she could get back there to help feed everyone.
For awhile, she would hear thunder or a loud noise and nearly jump out of her skin. Memories from the day the bomb went off....
There are few other days where I can remember where I was at a certain time:
OJ Simpson's aquittal (because my daughter was born shortly before this)
The first space shuttle blowing up
9-11
My wedding day
The day my son was born
It's odd how some days stand out more than others. It can be either the best day of your life, or the worst.
posted by Cav at 8:35 AM
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