5/6/17, “A Tale of Two Memorials”
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Over a span of two years in the earlier 90s, two tragic
events occurred on a scale that the names cities where the events occurred will
forever be synonymous with the events themselves. I am referring to the Waco siege and the
Oklahoma City bombing. I began my day at
Waco and am ending it here in Oklahoma City.
As I went to both sites, the two memorials were in such sharp contrast
to one another, even as the two events themselves were in equally sharp
contrast to one another. Both sites left
me emotionally drained, but in different ways.
While the tragedy of Waco may have been avoidable, and the merits of the
siege itself debated, the same cannot be said for Oklahoma City.
The Branch Davidians were defending
themselves from the federal government, in their view at least, but Timothy
McVeigh was seeking revenge against the federal government, for the events of
Waco, in fact, by killing innocents who had nothing to do with Waco. He just wanted to attack something belonging
to the federal government. The children
at the daycare centers inside the Oklahoma City federal building had nothing to
do with Waco, nor did any of the other over a hundred innocent people who died
in the bombing.
Most of the Branch
Davidians died in the siege, and Timothy McVeigh suffered the ultimate
penalty. While I support the execution
of McVeigh, I see the deaths of the Branch Davidians as needless. Surely there was a better way to have
resolved the stand-off, though they may very well have committed suicide. Death is always a tragedy, no matter the
reason, be it the mass suicide of a religious cult or the execution of a
criminal, but it is up to we the living how we choose to respond to
deaths.
After I closed last night, I
published and almost immediately fell asleep.
I woke up at 9 AM, which meant I would be rushed all day. I was under the impression that I needed to
get my stamp at the Oklahoma City Memorial by 5 PM. It would be a long day. I had breakfast at the hotel, which is
usually quite good at the Hampton Inn, and I had a waffle, sausage, egg, and a
biscuit, along with coffee. I am, however,
peeved that their coffee cups are so small, and one and a half small cups of
coffee is not enough for me (half a cup with breakfast and a cup to go).
I got on the road, lit up an Oliva, and
headed to the Mount Carmel Center, not knowing what I would expect to find
there. In fact, they had rebuilt, and it
was still active, though I did not see anyone.
I went to where my map said was the site of the original building, and I
took a ceremonial picture there. As I
drove back out of the compound, I saw something that horrified me to my very
core. They had memorialized the site,
with words such as “Never again.” I came
to realize that this was their Masada.
To them, the deaths were not in vain.
To them, this was not their fault.
To them, this was noble. They had
fought the federal government and lost everything in the fight. Just like the Israelis are determined to
never let Masada fall again, the Branch Davidians were equally determined to
never let the Mount Carmel Center fall again.
From there, it was the Waco Mammoth National Memorial. The only way to see the dig site was on a
guided tour, and I didn’t have time for that, but, it turned out, there was a
tour starting right away, and I could come back after taking a picture inside
the building. I did that, and it worked
perfectly. This was the site of the only
Columbian Mammoth nursery herd ever discovered in the world, and it was
impressive thinking about the mammoths walking around. I took some pictures with rest of my Oliva
and then headed back. It would be a long
drive from there to my next site, so I wasted no time.
As soon as I was back on the highway, I lit
up my Davidoff Escurio Toro and put on “Red.”
After I was done with the cigar and album, I lit up a Graycliff and put
country music back on. I knew I would
need gas before I got to my next site, and I was determined to find a Church’s
Chicken, since that was the Texas version of KFC. I found one attached to a gas station right
off the highway that was perfect. I
wanted coffee badly, but they didn’t have any, though the gas station did. I ordered my usual strips and fries and
biscuit. I was tight on time, and the
strips weren’t cooked yet, so that was annoying. When it was finally ready, I scarfed it down,
enjoying it as always, but I was behind schedule now, and there was a line at
the register for coffee.
I got back in
the car, relit my Avo, and put on “Let Go.”
It was looking tight to get to the Oklahoma City National Memorial by 5
PM, especially after I had hit some bad construction traffic before lunch. I would have about 15 minutes at my next
site, if I was lucky. I looked up the
hours again for the NMem, just to be sure, and I learned that the museum was
actually open until 6 PM, and the memorial itself 24/7, but it didn’t say where
I would get the stamps. I called the
site and asked. They said the stamp was
in the museum itself, and I could get it until 6 PM, but they stop selling
tickets to see the exhibits at 5 PM. I
continued to Chickasaw National Recreation Area, which was no different than
all the other National Recreation Areas I have visited. Water and trees and trails. I did my business at the VC, lit up a
Prensado, and went a short nature walk, before returning to the car.
I was looking at a 5 PM arrival at the
museum, literally plus or minus a couple of minutes. I made good time, and I had a 4:58 PM soft
arrival. By the time I parked and got
out of the car, across the street from the museum, it was exactly 5:00 PM. I was ready to beg and plead and say how I
didn’t get to my hotel until 4 AM last night.
Fortunately, there was no such need, as there was still a line of people
buying tickets when I walked in to the museum.
I got my stamp and went to see the exhibits. The museum was very well done, and it did a
great job conveying the scope of the tragedy, giving a detailed and vivid timeline
of the day in question, along with the days that followed. Only Hiroshima had ever had more of an effect
on me in my travels.
After the museum, I
went outside to the memorial. I lit up a
Partagas and walked around. The memorial
was even more emotionally draining, and I couldn’t bring myself to post a
selfie. It didn’t seem appropriate. After I was done, I drove to my hotel and
checked in. There were three things I wanted
to do tonight: come to the State Capitol to write my entry, have dinner at
Cattlemen’s, and have a cigar at ZT Cigars, which I had learned was hosting a
special AVO event tonight. The cigar
shop would be last, but it closes at 9 PM, so it was a tight schedule.
I chose to come here first. I drove to the State Capitol, which was very
impressive, not much different than the ones in Texas and Utah. I took my ceremonial picture and then sat
down on the grass in front of the Capitol, where I lit up my trusty Ardor and
proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that I can get on with
my evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment