Oklahoma City, 15 years later

Many of you know I was born in OKC and spent my first years there. I figure I have a better reason than Bill Clinton to weigh in on the tragedy, and so I will.

I remember standing at the counter in a southern California deli when I first heard the news. We had our family there on a spring break vacation. It was a shock, but at the time no one realized how extensive the damage was, or how many had died. Later when visiting with my parents about it all, I recall Mom mentioning she’d heard the blast. She was out and about and thought it sounded like one of the rooftop air conditioners exploding. She had no idea she was hearing a it all the way from downtown, about 20 miles. Later Dad relayed he’d wired one of the surveillance cameras in a nearby condo. Footage from that camera was used to track down the bomber.

Surprisingly, despite our deep Oklahoma roots, no one we knew was a victim of the tragedy. You have to know OKC to realize – especially 15 years ago – the city is not the center of economic activity there. Rush hour is puny compared to the ones we see. It just wasn’t that common to work downtown.

It won’t come as any surprise that I’m thoroughly hacked off Bill Clinton would turn today into a political point maker instead of a responsible memorial. Sure a line was crossed, but that line was crossed by a madman, not by a Republican or a Democrat or even a Tea Partier. It takes what I will assert is another madman – or more likely a desperate man – to make any assertion otherwise.

Bill Clinton desperately wants to be relevant. He’s not. He’s made a huge miscalculation by using the OKC bombing as a point board. I, for one, won’t forget his mistake.

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May God bless the families impacted that day.

May we never forget to be vigilant, even in our own comfortable surroundings, to guard against those who are unstable.

May those who endure the demons and who sometimes act out against others be given a living peace that lets them survive without harming those around them.

Amen