Some may boast...

Today is Bonfire Memorial Day. I know this means very little to many of you, but I'm finally at a place where I can at least talk about it.

Six years ago today, 12 of my brothers and sisters died on campus when the bonfire they were building collapsed around them. They died participating in one of our schools most honored traditions. None of the students that died that night were friends of mine. The only person I knew on stack that night left at 1:30 AM, just an hour before collapse, and I still thank God for that. Of course, that doesn't make their deaths any less painful to anyone that calls himself an Aggie.

I wasn't on stack that night. In fact, I didn't participate at all that year. My Senior year. I was working on my first lighting design for the Theater Program. Coach called us all together the night after. "This is what it means to attend this school," he told us. And the entire cast and crew left from Rudder and walked to the memorial at Reed, sat together, cried together, held our breath as thousands of students stood in silence even after the program was over, then spontaneously put arms around shoulders and sang Amazing Grace. That moment will never leave me.

When you visited the site in the days after, people left mementos and flowers. But people left their Aggie Rings at the base of the Academic flagpole, as well. "Let them wear it for a while since they won't get to," was what the first person who left his wrote on a short note. And he knew his ring would be there when he came back to claim it, as did the dozens who followed. They knew because Aggies don't lie, cheat or steal, nor do they tolerate those who do.

I got to visit the Bonfire Memorial on my trip home in September. It was quite a moving experience. I went at about 8AM. It was the perfect time of day. Nice and cool, and very peaceful. I was the only person there. I wanted to walk to where centerpole was, but I felt like that grass was like that around the MSC, a living memorial to the twelve.

( Here are some pictures I took that morning. )

Bonfire '99

Miranda, Chris B., Michael, Jeremy, Jamie, Chris H., Tim, Lucas, Bryan, Chad, Jerry, Nathan...you are still in our hearts. We miss you.

...it's the Spirit of Aggieland.

(no subject)

Now THAT'S the way you take a book I didn't particularly care for and make it into a STELLAR movie. I squeed like a little fangirl for 2 hours straight.

Just. WOW.