At 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995, I had just stepped off The Oklahoman’s eighth-floor newsroom elevator when we heard the boom and saw the smoke in the distance.
Twenty years ago today, my Oklahoman colleagues and I found ourselves covering the biggest story of our lives, even as we joined our grieving community in shedding tears over an unfathomable tragedy.
I was blessed to tell many stories of victims and survivors. Here are links to seven of the most memorable:
Thirteen-year-old Ricky Hill and his brother Jonathan, 11, waited up late Wednesday hoping to hear from their mother.
Even as they drifted off to sleep, they clung to hope that Army recruiter Lola Renee Bolden, a 40-year-old single parent, had survived a thunderous bomb blast.
But her call never came.
The boys’ distress turned into a real-life nightmare about 1 a.m. Thursday.
That’s when three men and a woman, all clad in their best Army green, arrived at the door with the horrible news.
Neighbor Mechelle Murray, a single parent with children herself, had taken in the next-door neighbor boys when their mother failed to return home.
Even while calming Ricky and Jonathan, Murray had feared the worst.
“I immediately thought, ‘Oh my God, Renee works in that building,’ ” the 38-year-old accounting student said of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
“Take me out to the ball game” is my blog on major-league ballparks and the wonders of witnessing America’s favorite pastime up close.
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By Bobby Ross Jr.
So you want to be a true major-league baseball fan.
With my friend Steve Holladay and his son, Griffin, at a Texas Rangers game this week.
Understanding the unwritten rules for supporting your team will help.
For instance, a new fan might ask: “Is it ever appropriate to leave a game early?”
The quick, easy answer, of course, would be: “No!”
But at some point, you may find yourself in a real-life game situation that prompts you to inquire — even as play continues on the field — “Should I stay or should I go?”
Let’s circle the bases with some hypothetical examples:
With friends at last night’s Rangers game in Arlington, Texas.
There were Angels in the outfield but not too many fans in the bleachers, as the Monday night game drew 18,401 fans to Ghost Town Park — er, Globe Life Park — in Arlington.
Why the small crowd? Weather probably played a role, with rain in the forecast and temperatures in the low 60s. The Rangers’ injury situation — including the loss of key pitchers Yu Darvish and Derek Holland— has hurt confidence in the team’s chances. Moreover, even if the weather were perfect and the team on a winning streak, weeknight games during the school year tend to draw fewer fans than usual.
But for the baseball faithful who made it to the ballpark — including a group of friends and me — last night’s game was a wonderful experience.
Here are five tips for enjoying major-league baseball in a nearly empty stadium:
Changing society poses a challenge for Christians. First Place, Theme Issue, Section or Series, Associated Church Press By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle TULSA, Okla. — In 21st century America, who might attract Jesus’ attention? Muslims? Drug addicts? Religious “nones.” The recent Tulsa Workshop — the free annual gathering started in 1976 and known for many years as the “International Soul Winning Workshop” — explored outreach … Continue reading Churches of Christ in decline: U.S. culture to blame?
“Take me out to the ball game” is my blog on major-league ballparks and the wonders of witnessing America’s favorite pastime up close.
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By Bobby Ross Jr.
Ray. People will come, Ray.
They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past.
“Of course, we won’t mind if you look around,” you’ll say. “It’s only $20 per person.”
They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it — for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they’ll walk out to the bleachers, sit in their shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon.
And they’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game. And it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters.
The memories will be so thick, they’ll have to brush them away from their faces.
People will come, Ray.
The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.
America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time.
This field, this game, it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and that could be again.
Ohhhhh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.
Faith. Family. Fastballs. 