Living history for the class of 2016
As the third graders from Edmond’s Washington Irving Elementary School waited to board the buses today that would take them to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial, my daughter’s teacher said something that was eye-opening to me.
These third graders — most of them 9-year-olds by now — didn’t know anything about the bombing, she said.
Previous classes that have passed through the third grade knew much more about the bombing, she said. Those classes were born closer to the actual event.
It is amazing, but the bombing that shook so many of us literallly and figuratively is nothing but history for many of our grade schoolers now.
In fact, I realized what a poor job I have done in educating my daughter on it when she said a day or two before the field trip that her class was going to see the “Edmond Bombing Memorial.” I corrected her, but she still knew nothing about it, even though we toured the site with her grandmother last year.
I accompanied the class into the Memorial Museum, where we saw a video about the Memorial itself and the children were able to ask questions of a presenter for about 45 minutes.
Most questions dealt with the two men who committed the crime and what happened to them and why they did it and what happened to them again and did they have a family and are they still in prison and … finally, the woman making the presentation had to cut off the questioning so we could enter the museum.
Although I had visited the Memorial before, this was my first experience in the museum, and I have to say it is both an excellent and sobering presentation. It is presented in time-line format, and so many artifacts from the bombing are included, as well as constant reminders that these 168 people who died were real human beings.
I had to leave the museum portion of the field trip before it ended, but I will be interested to see what my daughter’s reaction was. I hope it made an impression that will stay with her as she grows up.
Jim Stafford
Business News reporter
Statue to be unveiled at Civic Center Music Hall
The Ballerina, a larger-than-life-sized statue honoring Oklahoma’s five American Indian ballerinas, will be unveiled at 11 a.m. Friday inside the Civic Center Music Hall, 201 N Walker in Oklahoma City. The statue, created by Oklahoma artist Mike Larsen, is an 8 1/2-feet tall depiction of a ballerina in midair.
The statue is dedicated to Yvonne Chouteau, Rosella Hightower, Moscelyne Larkin, Maria Tallchief and Marjorie Tallchief and pay’s tribute to Oklahoma City’s ballet company, Ballet Oklahoma. The Conductor, another statue honoring Oklahoma City’s performing arts, was dedicated on May 3.
Funding for the statue was provided by David and Kim Rainbolt, the Oklahoma City Centennial Committee and the City of Oklahoma City.
The statue is an officially-recognized Oklahoma Centennial Commission project. It was made possible by David and Kim Rainbolt. Additional support for the project was provided by Oklahoma City Centennial Committee and the City of Oklahoma City.
Scheduled to attend Friday’s ceremony are Larsen, David and Kim Rainbolt, Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett, Oklahoma Centennial Commission’s executive director Blake Wade, Oklahoma Centennial Commission’s chairman of projects and events Lee Allan Smith, Ballet Oklahoma’s artistic director Bryan Pitts, Board of Directors for Ballet Oklahoma’s Board of Directors president Tim Berney and Civic Center Music Hall’s general manager Jim Brown.
Brian Sargent
Staff Writer
Idol Chatter: And the winner is …..
JORDIN SPARKS!!!!!
Blake, my man, is solid.
But Jordin was just too awesome last night. She’s going to be huge. She’s young and fresh and can sing the heck out of a song.
I’m pleased.
Hasselhoff is please.
Blake will rock it even without the title.
It’s cool.
That’s why I dig this show.
- mk
Idol chatter: Oh well
I thought Paul McCartney was going to walk out atg the end of the Beatles medley.
Somebody make me a producer.
Here comes the winner.
Soon.
Hopefully.
Right after the break?
mk
Idol chatter: Oh well
I thought Paul McCartney was going to walk out atg the end of the Beatles medley.
Somebody make me a producer.
Here comes the winner.
Soon.
Hopefully.
Right after the break?
mk
Idol Chatter Super Spectacular Finale
* The Idols meet the meet the Beatles?
Are they setting us up for a surprise ending?
Idol Chatter: Bette Midler?!
The musical act turntable keeps on spinning. Out pops Bette Midler.
This may here biggest audience since she put Johnny Carson out to pasture.
“Wind Beneath My Wings” … that song drives me crazy, by the way.
This was the song that played when I danced with my mom at my wedding reception. If I recall, it’s about 25 minutes long.
Is someone going to win this show??
* Randy is dancing with Paula. She thinks she’s dancing with a seven-foot-tall pink Panda Bear. Good ol’ Paula. What a kook.
- mk
Idol Chatter: Well look what the cat drug in
Taylor Hicks!
He must have just gotten done parking cars out front.
“Here are your keys Ms. Underwood.”
Idol Chatter: The man, the myth, Sanjaya!!
The kid can’t sing. He can’t dance. He’s goofy looking.
But he just be the biggest entertainment genius of our time.
No one has so much with so little since Pauly Shore.
* The crying girl has got to stop. She’s going to get a tear duct infection or something.
Idol Chatter: What are they trying to say?
They are introducing Carrie Underwood’s award and then cut to a two-shot of Jeff Foxworthy and Jerry Springer?
Not cool.
