April 19, We Remember

On April 19, 1995, I woke up early in the cold Spring morning and headed to class. As I reached the campus, instead of seeing students waiting for class to start, I saw crowd on the hallway talking. Out of nowhere, someone pushed a TV cart to the hall and everyone shifted the attention toward the TV.

On the TV screen, we saw scenes of building with smokes. The broadcast reported that a bomb had exploded in the federal building in downtown Oklahoma City, 15 miles from Edmond, the city that I lived. From the video image, I saw that almost one third of the building was gone. Everyone was at shock after realizing the extend of damage through the TV screen (It was reported in the radio earlier). Many life were losts. Mostly children (from the daycare center). I weeped and prayed for them.

A week before April 19, 1995, Steve was in that building to pick up his Social Security Card (like the Malaysian IC). It sent a shiver down our spine when we thought of how blessed we were.

On the anniversary for the next two years after 1995, the city would distribute car bumper sticker printed with "April 19, We Remember". I remember April 19. Every April 19th of the year, I remember Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - the place that was part of what I called home for my few years in the States.