The #OklahomaCityNationalMemorialMuseum @OKCNM - #Sacred Ground from my Childhood

on
My brother and his wife came to visit from Portland, Oregon (where he's lived for I-don't-know-how-long, so it's like an honest-to-goodness family-reunion (and not these 'parties where most of the extended family shows up' that my mom's family has almost-monthly)!), so we went to introduce his wife (an Oregon-native) to a few of Oklahoma City's prominent features.

We went to Not Your Average Joe (near the Oklahoma City Art Museum or something (the museum was closed at the time, I think)), the Norrick Public Library, the Myriad Gardens, and the Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum (former location of the Murrah Federal Building, now the burial grounds for workers who had died in its destruction).

I sat and rested (from all the walking we had done previously while my mom, brother & sister-in-law went to see the memorial. And they brought back a VISITOR GUIDE brochure from the museum.
OKLAHOMA CITY NATIONAL MEMORIAL MUSEUM

SACRED GROUND | COMMON GROUND

#1 Thing To Do in Oklahoma (according to Tripadvisor Travelers as of May 2021)

a Top 10 Museum in America - yelp

I'll type some more of the brochure beneath the 'Keep Up'-bar, but first
The word "Sacred" is built on words that mean "to |Sanctify, Confirm, Ratify, |Ordain" (Custom, Rite, to Fine, to Punish).

as are #Sacristy #Sacral #Sacristan #Sacrosanct #SacreBleu 

To Keep Up on My 'Research,'

The Memorial and Museum tell the story of April 19, 1995. On that day, 168 people were killed in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. The outdoor Memorial is meant to be symbolic, while the Museum tells the story of the people and the heroism that was born.

STORIES YOU NEVER KNEW
The OKC National Memorial & Museum experience begins inside the world-class Museum. There, a powerful story unfolds through exhibits, theaters and interactives. You'll meet courageous first responders, hear incredible survivor stories, cheer the city's unbreakable spirit and pay tribute to those who were killed.
PEOPLE YOU'LL NEVER FORGET
The Museum sets the stage for the outdoor Memorial and provides meaning and depth to the symbolism within the national monument - from the Field of Empty Chairs to the Gates of Time. It is on this Sacred Ground that we work to find Common Ground through hope, strength and resilience.

THE MUSEUM

Your journey begins on an April morning in Oklahoma City. Learn how tragedy united a nation and come away with a new sense of strength, peace and resolve.

CHAPTER BY CHAPTER

  1. A DAY LIKE ANY OTHER
  2. HISTORY OF THE SITE
  3. A HEARING
  4. CHAOS
    • SURVIVOR EXPERIENCCES
  5. WORLD REACTION TO REPORTING TERRORISM
    • RESCUE AND RECOVERY
  6. WATCHING & WAITING
  7. GALLERY OF HONOR
  8. IMPACT & HEALING
  9. INVESTIGATION, EVIDENCE & JUSTICE
  10. RESPONSIBILITY & HOPE
  11. A NEW RESOLVE

THE MEMORIAL

The Outdoor Symbolic Memorial occupies the now-sacred soil where 168 Americans were killed. It is a place of comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity.
  1. MUSEUM ENTRANCE & MEMORIAL STORE (with Outdoor Interactives)
  2. CHILDREN'S PLAZA
  3. RESCUERS' ORCHARD
  4. THE SURVIVOR TREE (with Outdoor Interactives)
  5. THE GATES OF TIME (with Outdoor Interactives)
  6. REFLECTING POOL
  7. THE FENCE
  8. FIELD OF EMPTY CHAIRS
  9. SURVIVOR WALL
  10. MURRAH PLAZA OVERLOOK

Before I go & fill-in the chapters' descriptions, I'll tell you basically 'what I'm doing here' - "taking notes," but not 'so that I can review them later' as much as 'so that the information is written in my mind.'

When I was in school, I would write notes from my professors' lectures. Initially, I thought I was doing it "so I could study the notes later"; but it wasn't 'reading the notes again later' that helped me in tests, it was 'having written the notes in the first place!' (notes I almost never studied!

My New Mantra (one of several)

I really enjoy sharing my unique perspectives and I'm thankful to you for liking this enough to subscribe (FOR FREE) to get alerts when I post something new and -to comment below (to tell me how crazy or -ingenious or -foolish or -enlightening-etc. my writing is).

Comments

Post a Comment

I appreciate your comment, and I'll probably approve it & publish it soon (give me about a week before you try to post it again when it doesn't publish immediately ... thanks)