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Monday, April 19, 2010

We Will Never Forget

My niece, April 23, 1995

I had been a legal assistant at a downtown law firm (OKC) for a few year then decided to move back home in November, 1993.  I wanted a completely different life and so I decided to get my barber's license. 
On Wednesday, April 19, 1995, I was working at a hair salon in Shawnee, OK.  We were getting ready to move into a new building and so I had to meet the furniture delivery guys at the new building.  It was about 10:00 am when I heard the news from the Mathis Bros. delivery man.  As soon as he saw me at the front door he yelled that "there was a bombing in the City".  I was in shock.  I went back to salon at the old location and told everyone.  I guess they were in shock too because there wasn't much of a reaction.  I immediately called friends that I knew would be downtown at work.  They were safe.  One friend told me that the parking lot which is about 8 blocks from the bombing location, was like a war zone.  People lying on the ground with blankets, a state of confusion. 
For the next few days I was glued to the tv.  When I would get home from work I would turn it on and flipped through every channel until I would fall asleep hoping and praying that someone else would be found alive.   By Sunday, April 23, 1995 I needed a break from the tv.  During the memorial service in OKC I went outside with my niece and took the above photo of her with the neighbor's horse.  She will graduate from high school in about a month.  Nineteen children graduated straight to heaven on April 19, 1995.
The families of the 168 victims will never have to worry about their loved ones being forgotten, we will never, never forget.

Love,
Territory Mom

For more information:
  
For more memories:  The Real Housewives of Oklahoma

11 comments:

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Great post.

You are right. We will never forget.

Mrs. Sprague said...

Love this post. Thank you so much. Did you know your niece is on her way to the OKC memorial right now? She'll be there at 9:00. Thank you for remembering. You are wonderful.

Real Housewives of Oklahoma said...

Thanks for coming by the RHOK and sharing your story! Love the picture you took of your niece. My kids have never been to the memorial, but I'm going to make it a point to take them this year. They need to know, the need to see and they, too, need to never forget.

~~Mrs. Nesbitt

ThatsBaloney said...

That picture of your niece puts things into perspective. I was thinking about where all of those kids would be today if they hadn't died in the blast.
Thanks for linking up with us at the RHOK today.

Mom Mayhem says: said...

Yes we will never forget. I know sometimes you do just need a break from the horrible news. Such a scary and tragic time for so many.

Kellyology said...

Never. Loved how you tied in the story of your niece.

RCUBEs said...

Who can ever forget? May the Lord's comfort and strength continue to cover all those families affected by this horrible act. Blessings.

Anonymous said...

Can you believe it's been that long? My kids were little and now I have 2 in college and one who is 16. Seems like yesterday and yes the tv was too much after several days...so depressing, so heartbreaking!

Territory Mom said...

Thanks everyone for stopping by. This event is so unbelieveable, it still makes me cry.

The 4-Crows Blog said...

You were very wise for taking that picture of your niece, what a memory to correlate with such an event! Congrats to her for graduating and upon reading the comments I am SO glad she is visiting the Memorial. Thanks for linking up and visiting The RHOK!
♥Mrs. Hart♥

Prairiemaid said...

Wonderful post, about a difficult subject.

Learning about the children, hearing the stories, seeing the fireman hold little Baylee Almon...(not to say hearing about the adults was easy) but hearing about the children was the most heart wrenching. So senseless.