A terrible day. My husband arrived in OKC that morning for a meeting, and they were told to get the hell out and go back home. My baby sister worked at a bank 5 blocks south of the Murrah buidling. We couldn't get in touch with her until late in the afternoon. What a day.
I have visited the site twice. It left me with a very disquieting sense of awe.
On this day (-1) in 1775, there occurred one of the best known yet most misunderstood events in American history. Thanks to Longfellow's famous poem, popularly but mistakenly called, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," nearly every schoolchild has heard of "that famous day and year." But most of the image of the poem, while stirring, is not correct. Revere was not a volunteer. He didn't ride alone. He never finished the ride and he didn't hang any lanterns in the Old North Church. Actually, Revere’s heritage was French. He was Appollos Rivoire before a name change. Revere was a patriot, of course. He was one of the "Indians" at the Boston Tea Party. He had been active in many pre-revolutionary groups. But that night he was serving as a paid messenger, a role he had often before served. (He actually submitted a bill for his famous ride.) Historians also believe the ride started at a time earlier than midnight. The lanterns signaling "one if by land and two if by sea" were actually set by church sexton, Robert Newman. The signal meant the British regulars were setting out to arrest John Hancock and Samuel Adams (two higher profile patriots) at Lexington and then to seize a stash of revolutionary arms and gunpowder at Concord. Revere and a co-rider William Dawes rented horses and set out on their ride. They made it to Lexington, warning Adams and Hancock. They were joined by Dr. Samuel Prescott. On the way to Concord, Dawes and Revere were arrested. (Speeding?) Prescott, however got through and so the patriots were ready the next day to fire "the shot heard round the world." And sources say that Revere didn't shout, "The British are coming!" Rather it is believed he called out - "Awake! The Regulars are out!" (How riveting.) And finally despite thousands of barroom bets that Revere’s horse was “Brown Betty”, no one knows the name of the horse. (Not even the Boston Historical Society - it was rented after all!)
A terrible day. My husband arrived in OKC that morning for a meeting, and they were told to get the hell out and go back home. My baby sister worked at a bank 5 blocks south of the Murrah buidling. We couldn't get in touch with her until late in the afternoon. What a day.
