Ten years onward

On April 19th, 1995 I was fortunate to have not been home when the blast went off. I was still in college and lived with my father at the time, here in Del City, 7.2 miles from ground zero. But that day, I woke up at my girlfriend's house in Kingfisher, OK (45 miles away), so I didn't hear or feel the blast the way my family still in the metro area did.

When I turned on the TV that morning, the first thing I saw was live coverage of a devastated building. My first thoughts were, "my goodness, where is this at?" And I can't adequately describe to you the look on my face when the reporter said "we're reporting to you live from Oklahoma City". I watched for I don't know how long in total shock. It was unbelievable. Within a day or two I was down there to see the devastation myself, and having seen it with my own eyes, I can say no degree of television watching does any level of devastation justice. Oklahoma City, New York, Sumatra. However horrified you were watching it on TV, magnify that by several orders of magnitude, and you'll have some idea the feeling of seeing it with ones own eyes.

Today, I can't believe it's been ten years. There has been progress at least. The folks at the memorial foundation have outdone themselves by building what I consider to be one of the most solemn, beautiful memorials in the country. If you're ever in the area, it's simply a must experience. But there have also been setbacks. While the "Lone Assailant" has met justice, there are still unanswered questions. And the fact that Oklahoma City is no longer the worst terrorist incident in the US is very counterproductive to the cause of progress.

My mother is simply distressed at the fact that the cities her children left home to live in/near (New York, where my sister lives, and Oklahoma City) are the number one and two terrorist targets to date in the country (and it hasn't helped that every couple years or so a massive tornado skirts my neighborhood). In both cases she couldn't get through to her children for days while phone lines were tied up.

Ten years from now, I hope that NYC and OKC are still the two worst terrorist incidents in the US (i.e. that there haven't been worse attacks). I hope we will have tied up all the Oklahoma City loose ends, and that any new assailants have met justice. And I hope that the families will finally have their peace.