Saturday, April 17, 2010

UnCertainty

8th installment in my wild romance with Cody Deevers- can click here for the beginning


We had 3 (4 if we were lucky) channels on the console TV I grew up watching. Complete with a dial knob. That was life in the early 80's. Then we moved a little outside of the city and when cable was actually an option for middle Americans, we lived too far out. Some people spent the money and bought satellites. These things were so unearthy and science fiction like it was fascinating to me.

Click here to see how one family made their acquired old satellite into a gazebo! I just love creative people!

By the early 90's we had a small satellite increasing our viewing to 11 channels but by the time we moved to Oklahoma in 1992 we were the proud recipients of cable TV (I thought it'd never happen!)

On Sunday afternoon after that horrible Wed. April 19th when downtown Oklahoma City was changed forever Cody and I sat in my parents upstairs common room watching the memorial service. We had gone up to view the site already- amazing. The investigations were started and more would be learned but that day a country mourned 168 innocent men, women and children who lost their lives.





Sorry to be so graphic but this is what happens when people are selfish and evil- children suffer.


President Clinton was speaking at the memorial service that day as we were watching intently and holding each other closely (it was the right thing to do and I'm sure we both enjoyed it :) . Suddenly out of nowhere we heard an explosion. It rattled the windows. Immediately and already in a state of shock from the week's events we went outside. I don't recall seeing any smoke but before long sirens were blaring and rescue vehicles were speeding down the highway. Something had happened, we just didn't know what. Living with a pastor of a church meant we usually didn't need a scanner, someone would call and tell dad to come or to pray. Within the hour we knew as with most of north Duncan- some old oil tanks had exploded and preteens were close by.

Bob and Kathy Baker had two boys, loved the Lord Jesus and worshiped with other believers at Immanuel Baptist Church. Bob worked for Halliburton, Kathy worked as a nurse at the hospital . Their oldest son David, around 12 years old, was missing- presumed to be with the group of 3 boys that had been near the explosion. Only recognizable by dental records, they found his remains their at the site. They buried him within that next week and we mourned as a community and as a church for some time. David would've been 27 this year. One of my most beloved quotes "Don't regret growing older, It's a privilege denied to many"

As that week went from bad to worse and we were hit even closer to home I began thinking about my life. There are no guarantees, no assured tomorrows. The world was filled with unbelievable uncertainty and evil people. What Cody and I were becoming seemed safe, secure and desirable. All of a sudden maybe I didn't want to conquer the world, live on my own, chart my own course- maybe I wanted a ring on my finger.....


1 comment:

Shawna said...

What a beautiful post, Lori. I remember all of that! Thank you for reminding us how precious life is!