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QUESTION:the news this morning was devastating... to know that 9 students at texas a&m
died while working on an annual celebration bonfire just chills my heart. the
accident happened around 2:30 AM... the pile of logs collapsed and the students
were trapped... i remember my own stupid college days... thinking we live
forever... so sad... i remember talking with dalin just last month on what a
treat it would be to someday see the texas aggie bonfire.... it can never be
the same... i had only recently read a post about their magnificent marching
band and had downloaded the 'texas aggie war hymn' wav file... a beautiful
piece... and now this. tomorrow will come, but this night is very sad.
ANSWER: It is now 11:59pm on Thursday. After writing this I felt strangely
compelled to drive to campus, to see the Bonfire site. Maybe
this will help me feel better somehow or bring it closer to home
for you. The news is now in that the death toll is up to 11 and
the shock deepens. As I near the Commons area, I am
amazed to see the traffic parked along the curbs. Around the
curve in front of the Administration Building and as far as the
eyes can see there are cars and trucks. I am definitely not
alone in being drawn here. The crowd stunned me, as I would
estimate about 10,000 people surround the site right now.
I notice row after row of satellite trucks, then dozens of huge
piles of neatly stacked dismantled logs. The stack fell toward
Texas Ave and, from my vantage point looks smaller than on
TV. As I compare it to the size of the survival team and
equipment however, it is still about 20 feet tall, even now. As
I walk around the entire perimeter I'm deeply affected.
First there is a log where people have left dozens of
memorial bouquets of fresh flowers. I pass a group of
bonfire "pots" in a circle on one knee praying. Many tears
all through the crowd as the confirmation of the death toll
gets passed around. Another bigger group of students in
a prayer circle. A family heavily laden with sacks of
homemade sandwiches - the mother saying, "We just
drove these in from Houston. We felt like we had to do
something to help our Aggies." Heavy equipment is
everywhere. Large groups looking on from various spots
to get a better view of the seemingly hundreds of crisis
workers at the site. I see a student group sitting in a circle
around several lighted candles - singing some praise
songs. Oh, yeah - then three hearses waiting in the
shadows of the east side. Several pick up trucks positioned
with guys standing on the roofs looking through cameras
with huge telephoto lenses. Another very large group of
students and then another. Next to the stack there is a
huge Bryan FD ladder truck fully extended with 3 firemen
surveying from above, directing the next rescue move.
Then a precision claw contraption removes a log with what
appears the skill of surgeon. Big yellow media tents fill the
south side of the site. I walk further and a student with cold
bottles of water works through the crowd giving them away
with a smile. As I leave, I'm overcome with emotion at the
pain shared and the visible bonds of friendship. Please
keep the parents of the injured and deceased students,
as well as the entire campus, in your prayers.
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