Oklahoma City National Memorial, and Albert Gray Eagle and Studio 222, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

After camping in Arkansas for several days, I arrived in Oklahoma City and parked in front of my friend Albert Gray Eagle’s house for a couple of days while visiting with Albert, his niece Tori, and his wife Penny… and their 2 dogs and 3 cats. I’m really glad I planned this trip to stop and visit with them for a few days before heading to Albuquerque. Other thank visiting and catching up on life, I got to also take a shower and wash my clothes.

Albert and Tori work with Studio 222, to provide educational experiences to children. Further down in this post is my story on Studio 222. On the way to Studio 222 on Tuesday, we drove through downtown Oklahoma City and Albert pointed in the direction of where the Federal Building bombing happened in 1995, and a memorial park has been created. I asked if we could stop by it Wednesday on our way to Studio 222 so I could see it and take pictures. The new building is a few blocks away.

We left about an hour early on Wednesday, so we could have enough time to walk around the Oklahoma City National Memorial. It was a pretty emotional experience, especially looking at the chain link fence where there are so many items that people left, and continue to leave, remembering their loved ones and the event of that day. Seeing where the day care center was very touching as well. The Reflecting Pool down the middle of the Memorial area, the Survivor Tree, and the Field of Empty Chairs really made an impact of the events of that day, as did other parts of the outdoor memorial. I took lots of pictures while we were there, including the signs, they are in my photo album. I think you should be able to read them if you click on them to enlarge. Click on the 2nd photo down on the right and read the text in the rectangle above the window.

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The story and significance of how the various parts of the park reflect the events is amazing. Parts of the original building still stand, and the Field of Empty Chairs is even arranged to represent the events of the day and destruction of the building. Each of the 168 chairs symbolize a life lost, with smaller chairs representing the 19 children killed. The chairs are arranged in nine rows, one for each of the nine floors of the building. They are placed according to the floor on which those killed were working or visiting. Each bronze and stone chair rests on a glass base etched with the name of a victim. If you are interested in reading more about this Memorial, you can enlarge the signs in the pictures in my album, or go to the the Oklahoma City National Memorial website.

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There are hand painted tiles in the area where the day care center was located, and on the walkway in front of the wall of tiles there are large pieces of slate where people can draw and leave messages.

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On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday afternoons for a 9 week period, Albert and Tori go to Studio 222. I went with them this Tuesday and Wednesday. Studio 222 works with local school personnel as well as professional artists from the Oklahoma City area in order to provide a positive environment where inner city youth from high-poverty areas can develop a strong, healthy self-esteem and resilience against at-risks behaviors. This after school program provides leadership and character-building programs, visual and performing arts curriculum, and physical fitness activities. They provide a meal for the children, and sometimes, this is the only food they have all day. Many of these children come from less than ideal home situations. I got to meet several of the children, and saw the artwork they created. I also listened to Albert and Tori teach 5 boys how to play a song on the Native American cane flutes that they made.

I was impressed with many of the art projects the children made, including this large mural of a brick wall. The background is a large piece of fabric painted gray. Then pieces of foam were painted a brick color and glued to the background. Then it looks like graffiti and images were painted on the wall. It was really cool.

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We were watching the weather and it looked like Oklahoma City was going to get heavy rains over the weekend, so I left this morning in order to miss the rain. I felt pretty good today, so I put in a long day of driving. I did stop frequently for breaks, gas, snacks, etc. This afternoon, I arrived in Tucumcari, New Mexico, and I stopped in a RV Park that has wifi so I could write the stories of my adventures the past week, and also upload my pictures to photo albums.

Tomorrow, I drive to Albuquerque, where I will be until October 12 or 13. I’m looking forward to attending the Balloon Fiesta, where I will also be crewing on the same balloon as in 2o11 and 2012, and I will be volunteering in the Balloon Discovery Center too. It will be nice to see the volunteers and friends I know from my previous years here. During the actual event, there will be live cam coverage on the Balloon Fiesta website.

Emotional Mojo just sent me the link for the you tube video interview they did with me before I left Florida. Here is a link to the story I wrote when they first contacted me. They have lots of interesting and inspirational videos on their website.

Healthwise, I am doing remarkably well. I am extremely grateful that the pain has been been minimal for the most part. I take my medicine when needed, and it has been controlling the pain. When I drive, I take frequent breaks and stop for gas, snacks, and naps when needed. I’ve been able to drive about 300-325 or so miles a day usually, rather than the 200 miles I anticipated. Because I was ahead of schedule, I was able to spend several days camping and exploring Arkansas which I really enjoyed. Sometimes, I drive for an hour or so and then stop for a short nap, about 30 minutes, then I continue on. It seems to be working just fine. Other times, I can drive with only breaks for gas or snacks, then continue on. I find that by between 2 and 3 p.m. I am pretty much finished with driving for the day, by then my body seems to feel sore and ready to stop.

I am not sure when I will have wifi to update my website again. I’m guessing it will be sometime during the Balloon Fiesta, in early October, when I walk up to their headquarters near the campground so I can use their wifi to upload pictures and write a story.

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2 Responses to Oklahoma City National Memorial, and Albert Gray Eagle and Studio 222, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

  1. Karen Vanasse says:

    Happy 64th Birthday, Carol!
    09/26/2014

  2. Joan Oravits says:

    Thinking of you, Carol ! Hope you are having a wonderful trip and enjoying
    every mile ! Happy Belated Birthday !! Hugs XXXX

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