That's what my sister and I called the monument. I remember family vacation trips to South Dakota. We drove across the state and stopped at different places along the way: Wall Drug, Corn Palace, Badlands National Park and of course, Mount Rushmore. My mom had a friend from college that lived near Rapid City, South Dakota. We went to visit her and her family on those trips growing up. My mom's friend had a daughter about the same age as my sister, and they became really good friends. The photo you see is a photo of a photo. It was taken on the last trip my sister and I took to South Dakota in 1995. It was fun to retrace the steps of those family vacations, but there was another purpose to this visit. Unfortunately on April 19, 1995, my sister's friend mentioned here died in the Oklahoma City bombing. She was living in Midwest City and had recently gotten married. She was at the federal building in the Social Security Administration reporting the change of her last name. Airman 1st Class Cartney J. Koch McRaven was only 19 years old. She was laid to rest in the Black Hills National Cemetery in South Dakota. We went to visit her grave site on this trip.
So now when I see the faces, in my mind there is a fifth face. A face of a young blonde girl whose life ended way too soon.
Well, I can't end a post on a sad note like that, so here are the two most important faces in my life on the first day of school yesterday. Time goes by so quickly, doesn't it?
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| first day of school |
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