thoughts

passing through the gates of time

NW 5th and Robinson.

I'll never forget that intersection.

My cousin Hesper and I made our way into downtown Oklahoma City that Monday afternoon. We went to Bricktown and ate at a wonderful Italian restaurant. Then we walked around the canal for a little while and went over to Bricktown Ballpark, the minor-league baseball stadium.

Then Hesper asked, "Do you want to go see the Memorial?"

We drove up to the intersection of NW 5th and Robinson. I noticed the rubble on the other side of the street where the YMCA had once stood, not yet cleared.

As we walked up to the Memorial, the first thing that I noticed was a huge granite pillar with an inscription on it:

WE COME HERE TO REMEMBER
THOSE WHO WERE KILLED, THOSE WHO SURVIVED AND THOSE CHANGED FOREVER.
MAY ALL WHO LEAVE HERE KNOW THE IMPACT OF VIOLENCE.
MAY THIS MEMORIAL OFFER COMFORT, STRENGTH, PEACE, HOPE AND SERENITY.

Then I walked through the entryway, and passed through the gate of time.

Inscribed on the back of that pillar is "9:01". On the other side of the memorial grounds, a similar pillar simply states "9:03". They stand, twin bookends forever for that moment in time that we shall never forget.

There were a few people around the grounds that day. Many were standing by the reflecting pool that ran for most of the way between the gates of time. I found out later that this area was where NW 5th Street originally was before the bombing. It was closed off for use in the memorial grounds.

Then I took a look to my left, and saw the chairs. All 168 of them. I learned that they were placed in honor of the location of the fallen in the building. There were nine floors in the building; nine rows of chairs echoed the loss.

We walked around to "the fence". This was where people had left items in remembrance of the victims. Most of it has been taken down, but a section remains for people to leave things. It was still full, with everything from letters to flowers to ribbons.

The museum was not open, so we came back around to the grounds and walked up to the Survivor Tree, the symbol of the memorial. It was an American Elm that endured the blast and rubble and still stands today. Surrounding it was a terrace with a vantage point of the entire memorial. I saw the tree and the inscription written on the wall surrounding it, then took a long, slow look out at the entire memorial grounds, again to the 168 empty chairs, the reflecting pool, both gates of time.

Then, I said "Okay" to Hesper, and we headed back towards the "9:01" gate of time to her car.

Passing back through the gate, I knew that I had just done something very important. The goodness of people is often disputed in today's world, but seeing this memorial firsthand brought to mind the people that died and a nation that sought to comfort the survivors in any way they could. I would later learn that people came from all over the country to help these people, and didn't ask for anything in return. The memorial stands as their tribute as well.

If anyone cares anything about being an American, they owe it to themselves to one day take a trip to Oklahoma City. Go to the intersection of NW 5th and Robinson. And pass through the gates of time themselves.