Day 1 – Friday, August 6th
After being cooped up for 18 months, it was time to set these COVID-19 vaccinated Oduor wings out for a soaring adventure across the American landscape. Our first stop was Oklahoma City. We traveled through OKC several times to visit family in Kansas. However, we never stopped in OKC, not even for gas. Our first destination was the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. This somber and sobering memorial reminded us of the hope and spirit of mankind to rise from tragedy to togetherness.
The memorial starts with the memories of loved ones tethered to a chain-link fence lining the walkway to the first of two gates. The first gate stamped 9:01, the moment the bomb went off. It marks a moment of calamity and chaos. The second gate is on the other end of the lawn of 168 empty chairs arrayed in 9 rows, one row for each floor of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, one chair for each life lost. This gate is stamped 9:03, the time community of OKC, with regard to the divisions of today, began to come together to help, heal and restore.
Across the way stands a single oak tree, the Survivor Tree, a testament to the resilience and strength of the people and a sign of hope for our nation. There was so much to take in before entering the museum.
The museum was filled with artifacts, witness and survivor recorded statements, the getaway vehicle, and much more. Please, please stop by if you are ever in Oklahoma City, to remember and restore your faith in our collective greatness as one nation under God.
