The site of the Oklahoma City bombing stands like an island of memory upon the ashes of tragedy. We had not planned to visit the memorial, but we passed by anyway. Besides, we could hardly step so close to history without stopping to offer some respect.
The memorial affected me much more than I expected. It felt like a dream, both tragic and haunting.
Two arches mark the entrance to the street that once passed by the destroyed federal building. One arch bears the simple inscription 9:01, just one minute before the fateful explosion, while the second arch bears the inscription 9:03, one minute after the explosion. The precise moment of devastation stands forever immortalized between the two solemn arches of history.
Jen's daughter pauses to reflect on the dead. Chairs bearing their names stand in stark rows where the building once stood.
The Survivor Tree is perhaps the one bright spot of the memorial. It survived the original blast, and now stands as a living monument to hope. I captured this photograph of Jen's children sitting above an inscription: "Rooted Faith Sustains Us." The tree and the children are a testimony of this abiding faith.
3 comments:
Oh, these pictures - you have such an eye for things. I've seen many pics of the Memorial, but these have a spiritual quality and capacity - especially the one of you and the one of Juliette. Thank you so much for sharing these. Today, Tim played a short video of you and Rhonda getting ready in the bathroom. We missed you guys....
We miss you too. My experience at the memorial was very spiritual, though also deeply disturbing.
Glad you liked the pictures.
Thank you for sharing the moment.
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