Tag: Oklahoma City bombing

April: A Month for Observances and Remembrance

In this post I start with a mention of April Fools’ Day, with its origins traced back to Renaissance Europe. More solemn days in April include Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter, commemorating notable events in Christianity. Additionally, April 19 marks the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, a tragic event in U.S. history. And I list various health observances. Enjoy reading.

Were you the victim or the perpetrator of an April Fool’s Day prank this year?

Scan your favorite newspapers or news websites, and you’ll likely see some suspicious headlines. Read further, and you’ll probably find that some of those stories are complete hoaxes. After all, it’s April Fools’ Day.

But where do we get the strange custom of playing pranks on April 1? The short answer is that nobody knows for sure. All we know is that the custom was known in Renaissance Europe, and probably has roots older than that.

You may, or may not, learn more from this article from the Library of Congress-no April’s Fool.

April Fools: The Roots of an International Tradition

The Christian Holy Week

Palm Sunday, a special day in the Christian faith, in 2025 is on April 13.

Image of Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem, from LIGHTSTOCK.COM, affiliate link

Palm Sunday, April 13, recalls the story in the New Testament of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, greeted by people waving palm branches. (John chapter 12)

On April 18 Christians observe the Friday before Easter as “Good Friday”, although the events remembered are dark and somber. On this day, as recorded in the New Testament, Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross, died, and was buried.

Thus, a cross became the best-known symbol of Christianity.

Easter, April 20, and Christmas are the most observed holy days for Christians, although many celebrate them as secular holidays.

Easter marks the Resurrection of Jesus three days after his death by crucifixion on Good Friday. For Christian churches, Easter is the joyful end to the Lenten season of fasting and penitence.

Some Christian faiths observe these on different dates.

April 19-remembering Oklahoma City, 30 years ago

April 19 always occurs between April 18 and April 20. But this year it falls between Good Friday and Easter.

On April 19, 1995, a domestic terrorist left a bomb in a truck in front of the federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

(I lived there for 7 years while I was in medical school and residency at the University of Oklahoma. )

168 people died, including 19 children.

Until 9/11/2001, it was the greatest loss of life due to terrorism on U.S. soil. I remains the worst domestic terrorist tragedy in this country.

The incident was shocking and traumatic to our entire country but especially here in our state. Oklahoma is usually a peaceful place; we deal with tornadoes and floods but not bombings.

So every year we remember the victims, their families, and especially those who rescued the wounded, and the survivors who rebuilt their lives.

The Survivor Tree
The Survivor Tree -This tree standing in a parking lot across from the Murrah Federal Building survived the 1995 bombing. Today it stands next to the Nation Memorial Museum.
photo by Dr. Aletha

Health Observances in April

Alcohol Awareness Month

Autism Awareness Month

Child Abuse Prevention Month

Donate Life Month

Earth Day-April 22

This year is the 55th anniversary of the first Earth Day in 1970.

The theme for Earth Day 2025 is OUR POWER, OUR PLANET.

Organizers invite everyone around the globe to unite behind renewable energy. They propose a goal to triple the global generation of clean electricity by 2030.

Cover image

Cherry Blossoms around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., by photographer Carol Highsmith, used by permission, from the Library of Congress

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    Art from Ashes-remembering the Murrah Federal Building bombing, April 19, 1995

    A reflection on the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the event and its impact, personal connections, including a sketch of Will Rogers and a statue of a fireman with a child. Art inspired by the tragedy is also discussed. An invitation is extended to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.

    This is my tenth year of blogging, having started in February 2015. In April 2015 I posted my first piece about the 1995 Oklahoma City Murrah Federal Building terrorist bombing that killed 168 people. The New York City World Trade Center attack in 2001 far exceeded the human toll of the Murrah attack, but for such a relatively small city and state, it was devastating for us who live in Oklahoma.

    At precisely 9:02 a.m., the bomb exploded.

    Within moments, the surrounding area looked like a war zone. A third of the building had been reduced to rubble, with many floors flattened like pancakes. Dozens of cars were incinerated and more than 300 nearby buildings were damaged or destroyed.

    The human toll was still more devastating: 168 souls lost, including 19 children, with several hundred more injured.

    It was the worst act of homegrown terrorism in the nation’s history.

    FBI.GOV

    Although I was born and raised in Tulsa (the second largest city in the state) Oklahoma City played an important role in my life. I attended medical school and residency there at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center. It was where my husband and I lived the first seven years of our marriage and had our first child. By 1995 we had been in Tulsa several years, but still had friends and extended family in Oklahoma City.

    Since that first post, I have published several others about the event, all illustrated by photos taken at what is now a memorial and museum dedicated to the victims and survivors. I thought I had said all I had to say about it.

    But as I looked through other photos, I found some that portray the essence of the event differently, so am sharing those here. Maybe this will be my final post on the subject, I’m not sure.

    Will Rogers, Cowboy Philosopher

    Will Rogers, a native of Oklahoma, was one of the world’s best-known public figures, as an actor, writer, humorist, pundit, speaker, and philanthropist. In his long-running newspaper column, he frequently made politicians and current events the subject of his dry humor. He lived from 1879 until he died in an airplane crash in 1935.

    photo by Dr. Aletha

    In this sketch published soon after the bombing, David Simpson, editorial cartoonist for the Tulsa World, made Rogers the subject, reacting to the headline of the Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. Echoing a phrase Rogers often used in his writing, the artist titled the sketch

    All I know is what I read in the papers.

    Will Rogers

    The newspaper sold reprints of the sketch, which I purchased, framed, and photographed. It still hangs on a wall in my home.

    Several years later, Mr. Simpson was fired from the newspaper for an accusation of plagiarism involving an unrelated cartoon.

    Eric Fischl, Man with Child

    photos Dr. Aletha, 2015

    When sculptor Eric Fischl saw a television image of fireman Chris Fields carrying a child from the Murrah Building after the bombing, he saw a similarity to this statue he had completed in 1992. He was so moved by the connection he donated the sculpture to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art where I saw it and took these photos. About the fireman image and the sculpture he said,

    “It’s an image you don’t see much-a man with a child. The man is walking and you don’t know if he is walking toward something or away from something.”

    I cropped the photos to keep this blog post “family-friendly”. Go to this link to see a photo of the full statue, warning-nudity

    You can see the Pulitzer prize-winning photo of firefighter Chris Fields holding Baylee Almon(who died) at this link, but I warn you it is graphic and heartwrenching.

    Cynthia Daignault-Oklahoma

    photos by Dr. Aletha, 2022

    Artist Cynthia Daignault was a senior in high school in 1995, isn’t from Oklahoma, and didn’t live here. But she heard about the bombing in Oklahoma City and it left an impression on her.

    She eventually visited the Oklahoma National Memorial and Museum. When she started an art project of 100 paintings to represent 100 years of history, she chose the Murrah building bombing for the year 1995.

    About this painting, she wrote,

    “I wanted to create contemplation, quiet thoughtfulness, and sadness.”

    I saw and photographed this image at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

    At this link you can view photographs of the damaged Murrah Building that inspired Daignault’s painting; warning-these images are disturbing

    Oklahoma City bombing

    A Boy Reading with a Dog

    statue of boy reading a book

    photos by Dr. Aletha, 2015

    I found this statue at Washington Irving Memorial Park in Bixby, Oklahoma, about 110 miles from the site of the Murrah Building. Despite my online searching, I didn’t find the artist’s name or the name of the statue. I call it A Boy Reading with a Dog. The sign reads

    Dedicated to the children who perished in the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Building.

    Nineteen children died in the Murrah Building bombing, most were in the onsite daycare center.

    An Invitation from Dr. Aletha

    If you ever come to Oklahoma, please take the time to visit the site of the Murrah Building, now the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. The outdoor Memorial is free and always open. There is a nominal charge for the museum operated by a private nonprofit foundation, not a government entity.

    Exploring the HEART of Health

    Thank you so much for sharing these remembrances with me. If this is the first time you have heard about the event, I hope it will inspire you to learn more.

    A reminder about copyright. Just because something is on the internet doesn’t make it ok to borrow and use it without permission. The photos in this piece are mine and the original art belongs to the artists. So, if you want to share, please do. Just give credit to the original sources.

    I’d love for you to follow this blog. I share information and inspiration to help you turn health challenges into health opportunities.

    Add your name to the subscribe box to be notified of new posts by email. Click the link to read the post and browse other content. It’s that simple. No spam.

    I enjoy seeing who is new to Watercress Words. When you subscribe, I will visit your blog or website. Thanks and see you next time.

    Dr. Aletha