Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum

Almost nineteen years ago, on April 19, 1995 Oklahoma City was the location of the worst terrorist attack prior to 9/11.  One Hundred Sixty Seven people, including 19 preschool children, lost their lives in the bombing of the federal building.  We spent a lot of the mid-day at the Memorial site and its nearby Museum.  It was well thought out and presented.

 

 

 Above is the reflecting pool where Fifth Street used to run.  There are 167 empty chairs behind the trees.  They are in 9 rows, one for each of the floors.

 

 Across the pond to the north stands a 90+ year old American Elm, now named the Survivor Tree which stands as a symbol of human resilience.

 

On both ends of the reflecting pond are doorways with time of day etched into the walls, 9:01 representing the innocence before the explosion, and 9:03 representing the aftermath.

For more details, see www.OklahomaCityNationalMemorial.org 

A visit here is highly recommended to anyone visiting the area.

 

This was our second full day and will be our third night in this city.  We stayed put because of severe wind warnings.  By evening the winds have finally diminished, but they had been measured at close to 50 mph.  Driving with those winds is very difficult.

 

Tomorrow, Friday, we will pick up our mail in Gore OK and find a place to spend the night before setting up in Tahlequah for the next 3 weeks at the Childrens Home there.  We will be working with 3 other couples, 2 whom we have not met and another from Georgia whom we worked with last spring in Louisiana.