Texas Aggie Bonfire: A Personal Perspective

Ten years ago today, Aggie Bonfire fell in the early morning hours of November 18 killing 12 students and injuring 27. The event was a defining moment in the history of Texas A&M University. The tragedy thrust the university onto the national news and many people across the nation and world watched as the Aggie family reacted. What they saw was the Aggie family's finest hour. The events that would unfold after the collapse will forever be etched in my mind.

I was a wide eyed freshman still in my first semester at A&M. Not only was I trying to get adjusted to life as a college student, I was also trying to adjust to the military lifestyle demanded by the Corps of Cadets. One week before Bonfire fell I remember heading out to the site to work on the stack. After working several weekends to cut the logs, it was a privilege to climb up on the stack in a swing that hung from center pole and help tie the logs in with wire. Fast forward to the night of the collapse. I again made my way out to the site with friends to watch many Aggies feverishly working to finish Bonfire before it was to be lit the very next week. I watched in amazement as students from all parts of campus worked as a team to make sure Bonfire was a success. My Corps outfit was supposed to be on duty, but had switched with another outfit due to some scheduling conflicts. After a while, I headed back to the dorm to study for my Biology test the next day.

The morning of the collapse my roommate and I got out of bed at 4:30 a.m. to start cleaning our room for morning inspection. We had just started cleaning when every freshman was called into a room to deliver the news. "Bonfire has fallen. Some of our fellow Aggies have been killed. Please go call home to let them know you are alright." The message was simple, but the news was shocking. I walked back to my room in disbelief and with so many questions. I already had voice mails on my recorder from friends and family wanting to know if I was safe.

Texas A&M had been cast onto the national scene.

After I got dressed, I headed to my test which was cancelled and then directly to the site where Bonfire had collapsed. The campus was eerily quiet except for the news helicopters that hovered above campus. On my way to the stack, I ran into Miranda Adams' (one of the final Aggies killed in the collapse) parents. They needed directions to Bonfire and I offered to take them straight there. On the way, we talked about Miranda and how much she enjoyed working on Bonfire and how much she loved Texas A&M. When we arrived at stack, we located one of her friends who knew her parents. Initial reports suggested Miranda was still alive at a local hospital, but when the final report came in later that day, she had passed away during the collapse. After saying goodbye to her parents, I stayed out at stack searching for answers and asking why this happened. I could not believe what was unfolding before my eyes. I don't remember much more from the day except the memorial service held at Reed Arena later that night.

At the memorial, we sang the school song, heard addresses from the President and Student Body President, but perhaps the most moving part of the ceremony was not on the program. When everyone was dismissed, no one moved. It was as if no one wanted to leave, we just wanted to be together. Then, unannounced, everyone stood up and put there arms around one another. Silence followed for a few minutes, before every student in the arena began singing "Amazing Grace" in a capella. It was probably one of the most moving experiences of my college career.

It was at this point when I finally understood what it meant to be a Texas Aggie. It was at this point when I knew I was part of a family.

In the weeks following the tragedy, people from across the state and nation reached out in support of Texas A&M University. Additionally, I will always have the utmost respect for the response from the students at the University of Texas for their overwhelming support of A&M during this tough time in our history.

Looking back on that day ten years ago brings back a flood a memories. Memories of campus and how quiet it was in the days following the collapse. Memories of the candlelight vigil held out at the site at the time when Bonfire was scheduled to be lit. Memories of thousands of Aggies packed into Kyle Field for one of the most emotional yell practices before the game with t.u. Memories of the Longhorn band raising Aggie flags as they played Amazing Grace during halftime. Memories of the Texas Aggie band marching in the silent block T to end their halftime performance. And I could go on and on.

We will never forget the 12 Aggies and the legacies they left on the campus of Texas A&M. For them, they will fall into the long maroon line of those who went before them while the Aggie family continues to answer "Here" in their absence.

There's spirit can ne'er be told, it's the spirit of Aggieland

40th Anniversary of the NYC Marathon

This weekend, on the streets of the Big Apple, drama unfolded. No, it was not the Yankees taking another game from the Phillies. Instead, one of the greatest road races in the country and, arguably, the world was run. This year, the 40th running of the ING NYC Marathon saw an American male athlete win the race for the first time in more than 20 years. To many people this was just a blip on the radar screen, but to marathon junkies like myself it was a pretty incredible feat. In many ways, I believe it demonstrated the resurgence of American distance running and its return to the international running scene. Congrats to Meb and Ryan and the other American athletes who performed so well on Sunday.

As I watched the race on TV, I could not help but think back to the 2 times I had the opportunity to cross the Verrazano Bridge into Brooklyn, run up 4th Street through Queens and over into Manhattan, run up 1st Avenue with thousands of people cheering me on, catch a glimpse of Yankee stadium as I entered the Bronx, and running the final 4 miles of the race through the middle of Central Park. To put it simply, it was an incredible experience. An experience I hope I get another chance to do again.

So if you have any aspirations of running your first marathon or you've already competed in several marathons, you need to look into running NYC. You will never regret it. They have already opened the lottery system for the 2010 race next November. Check it out here.

Friday Funny

Why do we have an obesity problem in America today? Probably because don't have more videos like this one. Enjoy - it will probably be the best 4 minutes you will spend this week. I miss the 80s!

When life is interrupted....

...how do you respond? I think it's hard to answer that question until the moment comes. There is no preparation and there is no practice. So when someone or something throws a kink in your best laid plans, how do you react?

My story started about two weeks ago when I was heading to my first PT school interview at a school in Dallas. I got up early to make sure I had time to take a shower, enjoy my morning cup of joe, and eat a good breakfast. I left the house 2 hours prior to my interview in order to allow enough time to get to the school, settle down at a local Starbucks, and relax prior to my interview.

Well, things didn't exactly work out as planned. Yes, I did leave the house 2 hours early, but the weather was so nasty that it took me 1 1/2 hours to drive to Dallas, a drive that normally takes 30 minutes. However, I was not stressing out because I still had 30 minutes to spare. Then, life took a turn for the worst.

As I was sitting at a red light, I noticed an empty lane to my left and decided The Menace (my car) needed to be in that lane instead of the one I was currently in. Just about the time I made my move to the left hand lane, a car traveling about 30-40 mph collided with the front end of my car.

Houston, we have a problem.

I'm only 5 miles from the school, but now I've got to sort out this wreck, stand in the driving rain in my suit, and somehow pull myself together and get to my interview in less than 30 minutes. My initial reaction was one of pure disbelief. These things happen to other people, not me. Reality soon kicked in and forced me to deal with the situation. I had been waiting more than a year for this moment and now I felt like it was all going down the drain. But I had to trust the Lord had everything under control. Thankfully, we were able to sort out the wreck, exchange insurance, and I arrived at my interview 5 minutes ahead of time composed and collected.

Right now, I'm not sure if this story has the ending I intended when I left my house that Friday morning. But one thing I am sure of is that the Lord is concerned about every detail of our lives -- from the smallest issues to the biggest decisions -- and I'm confident if you view life through that lens you will react differently when life is interrupted.

The Time Has Come

Last August, I jumped off and did something I knew I wanted to do. However, when I left Arizona to head back to Texas, I was not quite sure how it would all turn out. Now, almost a year later and after a lot of hard work, I'm one step closer to that dream becoming a reality. On Friday, I will step on the campus of an undisclosed medical school here in Texas and interview for one of the 40 coveted spots for their doctorate of physical therapy program. I'm excited, anxious, and tremendously honored.

This week I've had the chance to reflect this past year -- the ups and downs, the late nights of studying, and the countless hours of volunteering and observation all in preparation for this moment. I couldn't help but see all the ways the Lord worked in my life during that time. Put simply, He has been faithful and He has been good.

I can't wait to see the outcome of my interview on Friday. I'll be sure to let my Running the Race readers if/when I receive any news.

Consistency

Consistency....in theory it sounds really good, but when it comes to my blog, I have been the poster child for inconsistency. As one of my friends pointed out, my blog is going to start being referred to as "empty Web space" unless I get my act together and start providing some half way decent content on my blog. Consistency is hard, but I'm up for the challenge. Keep holding me accountable and I'm going to put "blogging" towards the top of my to do list.

It's come to my attention....

....that my blog needs to be revived/given CPR/cared for and nurtured a bit more. I didn't realize I had so many avid readers out there in cyberspace. Over the past few weeks, I've heard of two friends who have started blogs because of Running the Race so I need to uphold my end of the bargain and blog as well.

Where do I start? A better question might be, where did the summer go? All I can say it was an incredible summer full of a ton of great memories, hills and valleys, and laughs and tears. But I can't think of a recent summer in the past 10 years that had more "stuff" jam packed into it.

In the next few days, I hope to start unpacking my summer for you, reliving some of the best memories, and spend some time talking about what's going on now and what I'm looking forward to in the future.

I'm looking forward to sharing some insight into the crazy world of Burke Wilson.