Habemus Papan

I saw the white smoke today. Soon after, I heard the bells of St. Peter's ringing, signifying the selection of a new Pope. I was thrilled. I'm not Catholic, but really, does it matter? All of the believers, people to whom faith is of great import, gathered together, now celebrating a new leader. Wow. It moved me to tears. Two days in a row. Awesome! No, really, I am full of awe!

Today is also the 10 year anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was in college in Iowa, but I can remember the words that were said to me and the picture on the tv. I started thinking about life and history. I'm living history. Right now, right here, I'm living through it. 50 years from now (or maybe even 5), what I'm experiencing right now, today will be history to someone else. What moments in history do you remeber?

• the shuttle explosion



• Reagan's re-election (my first political rally)



• the fall of the Berlin Wall



• Tieneman Square



• the fall of the USSR/the end of the Cold War



• Impeachment proceedings against the President



• the President who almost wasn't



• the OKC bombing



• Sept. 11, 2001



• Sadaam Hussein's capture



• free elections in Iraq



• the selection of a new Pope

I'm sure there are more, but that's the list off the top of my head. It's amazing how many of those things are sad. Bombings, explosions, etc. But they aren't all - Iraqi elections, the fall of Communism, etc.

I think often of the OKC bombing and the people involved. I've been to the memorial several times. It breaks my heart. We visited the site before the building was imploded. It was something so foreign. This was so wrong. I'm standing in the city I live in looking at half of a building. How could this be? I still don't understand it, and I don't think I'm alone. My heart goes out to the survivors and the families of those who didn't. Yeah, I knew a few. I don't know how they've made it through. My mom was supposed to be there that day. Right there. Across the street. In a room with walls of windows facing the Murrah building. I thank God that she wasn't. Her class was cancelled. I don't know what I'd do without her. Thank you, God. The stories of conspiracy theories have resurfaced. We've always heard stories. If others were involved, I want them to be found. They deserve to have their faces splashed across the TV screens and the newspapers as the doers of this evil. I'm not talking revenge here, but I think we deserve to know the whole story. Those families who are missing husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, and especially children deserve to know.