Headed to the Memorial
I’m about to leave for the bombing Memorial in downtown Oklahoma City. The memorial museum is hosting a seminar on the media and tragedy; I’m on the panel.
Hard to believe it’s been 13 years since the bombing. In some ways, it doesn’t seem so long ago. But the memorial has become an indelible part of OKC’s fabric. It’s a must-stop for anyone traveling to or through Oklahoma City. The folks who put together the memorial and the museum have done a wonderful job.
The memorial is both inspiring and haunting; I’ve been to very few places like it. Ground Zero doesn’t have the same inspiring feel. New York obviously isn’t finished with whatever its plans are for the 9/11 memorial, but in my two visits since the attacks, I’ve only experienced the haunting sensation, not the inspiration. The King museum in Atlanta has the inspiration but not the haunting; probably because MLK was killed in Memphis.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to the morning. I haven’t spent a lot of time in the museum; certainly haven’t interacted with people to any reasonable degree there. I think it’s going to be enlightening to talk about the bombing and its effects on us, and doing that talking on the memorial grounds will be even more interesting.
I didn’t go to the bombing site the first day. I was sent down there, I think, on Day 2, and then later, and sent up to Guthrie to work on a story about a family affected by the bombing. I worked much more on the 1999 tornadoes that ravaged Moore and Midwest City and Bridge Creek and Mulhall. Truth is, the tornadoes hit me more emotionally than did the bombing.
But the bombing can keep striking you. The morning Tim McVeigh was executed, I strolled around the memorial. My assignment was to chat with people, but I didn’t find myself or visitors very chatty. It was very strange. I struck up a conversation with one guy, a very halting and uneven conversation. I’ve never really felt like that before or since while on the job.
And I expect to be hit again by the bombing this morning.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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