Member-only story
On McVeigh’s Trail
The Oklahoma City bombing 30 years later.
Sitting on the eastern reach of Junction City, Kansas is one of the town’s twenty churches.
As churchgoers enter the premises, few pay heed to the vacant lot next to the property.
A rectangular outline, along with a stone slab that once bore a neon logo, is all that remains of a motel that had been demolished in 2011.
A sign reading PRIVATE PROPERTY: NO TRESPASSING hints that my time may be limited. I see no cameras anywhere, but I snap my photos and get moving.
In my SUV, I turn onto E. Flint Hills Boulevard and make my way out of Junction City, southward.
Nearly thirty years ago, a countdown began from this very spot. I have no words, or even thoughts, as I retrace a mad bomber’s path toward destruction.
Remembering April 19th, 1995.
Like many with September 11th six years later, I remember where I was when I learned of the Oklahoma City bombing.
I was in second grade. Once home from school, I went straight for the TV for another round of Power Rangers…
