This week’s post is going to be a little different. I was on vacation this past week, so I didn’t have a chance to write my usual post. So instead, I want to share some thoughts. I was in Oklahoma City this week. For some reason I no longer recall (maybe the movie Elizabethtown??), I’ve always had the Survivor Tree in OKC on my bucket list. I was finally able to cross it off on Friday.
Regardless of why it was on my bucket list, I’m really glad it was. The Survivor Tree and the Memorial Museum were incredible. It was devastating to see the violence and the aftermath that the bombing on April 19, 1995 led to, but it was awe-inspiring to see how people came together after the fact. It wasn’t just Oklahomans, but people from around the country.
The emergency services in Oklahoma weren’t enough, so they came from Phoenix and California. Survivors helped pull their coworkers and friends out of the wreckage. The news would put out calls for needed supplies, and so many people would answer the call that they would have to ask everyone to stop sending those supplies half an hour later. Clergy from different religions set up a safe place for families to come while waiting for news of loved ones. There had been a convention nearby of restaurant supplies, and those people stayed and cooked for survivors and emergency service workers. Children from around the country wrote to Oklahoma City, and the postal service made sure they got there, even if the letter was simply addressed to Oklahoma City. The entire time they were there, emergency service workers from other states didn’t spend a single dime because they were being taken care of by the community.
Instead of running away, the community ran towards this awful event. Personally, I was inspired and touched by what I experienced in Oklahoma City. It made me think of what I can do, myself, to do the same. Where in my life should I be running towards something instead of running away, because I can do something about something terrible? Where in your life should you?