i cried for Colton Wade Smith

we went to downtown Oklahoma City and visited the memorial. it is a beautiful place to visit. even before we entered through the 9:01 gate, i started to have goose bumps and almost wanted to cry. i finally couldn't help shedding tears when i was taking a photo of this little chair in the 'field of empty chairs'. Colton Wade Smith was two when he died together with his big brother Chase Dalton Smith who was the three. it was just so unfair that a life has ended just when it is starting. all for a misguided ideology or thinking. it just made me so angry! a ranger who was on duty that morning approached me to thank me for coming to visit and told me about the children in the day care of the building who died in that bombing.

if you're ever in Oklahoma City, you should go and visit and pay respects to this place. it's well worth it!

-o0o-

i made it back, as you can see, we did make it back. i shall share the experience in the coming days, as well as catch up with my watercolours.

[Annie D]

poignant image and words

[Casablanca]

168 empty chairs......profound memorial. Poignant that you looked for the daycare centre children.

[JackieR]

Look on line for more details. Thank you for telling me about here and going to honour the dead and survivors

[Kathy A]

They have a similar memorial in New Zealand - 185 chairs for the 185 people who died in the 2011 earthquake. It certainly tugs at the heart strings

[Susan Wakely]

So poignant.

[katy]

What a touching moment it must have been for you and your photo helps bring that that to the rest of us.

[Wendy]

Looks like the bottom is holding everyone's tears. 🤍

[Kathy]

A chair for each child? Very evocative. This is the way I felt when Gene & I happened on the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville PA a few years back.

[Diane]

Very meaningful photo. My husband and I visited the memorial in 2011. We got to town late and visited it for the first time after dark. Those lonely chairs made me cry, too, especially the little ones. We were so moved that we visited it again the next day.