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PrintA Tragedy Forgotten: The KC "Hyatt Regency" Skywalk Collapse
News Type: Event — Mon Jul 17, 2006 12:50 PM EDT
Hyatt Regency Skywalk Debris - 1981
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I spent the first 18 years of my life plodding about a small town in Indiana before moving to the Kansas City area in 1997. (I wanted to attend school at the Kansas City Art Institute.) As a child, I was always aware that there were three things that Hoosiers cared about and claimed as their own: High-School Basketball, James Dean and the Indy 500. Living in Marion meant I grew up less than 20 minutes from James Dean's home, that my high-school's basketball team was a winning underdog (in a state that still allowed underdogs to play the "big team" in the finals) and that we were about an hour from the big oval in Indianapolis. I've always felt as though the Hoosier State knew how to guard its heritage and we wore those memories and distinctions proudly upon our collective sleeve. (We have so little else.) Moving to the Kansas City area after my formative years meant its history was not my history and as a young college student, I was excited at the prospect of taking a crash-course in someone else's heritage.
A History Forsaken
I've lived here for around ten years now and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that Kansas City's history doesn't seem to be anyone's history -- local or not.
Consider that KC is often referred to as the birthplace of Jazz: This should be quite an honor and is certainly historically significant -- it's also undeniable that a visitor driving through town would never find this out. We've got the requisite museum and a half-hearted attempt at revitalizing the 18th and Vine district but what we offer does not in any way live up to the historical significance of giving birth to a significant movement in music history. One gets the distinct impression that Kansas City is interested in funding the bare minimum in an effort to retain its title: Jazz has become the unofficial "Ghost of Kansas City Past" and our cultural history has been relegated to a mere factoid on our welcome sign.
A Tragedy Forgotten
Downtown Kansas City is all but dead as well -- what was once a bustling center of consumer activity has since been handed over to office buildings and the homeless. (Like a lot of cities, we've modernized -- the outdoor suburban strip mall is our center for commerce and leisure these days.) Idling at any given downtown intersection, it's not uncommon to see someone begging for money (or preaching the fall of man) as you do your best to avoid direct eye contact. As a result, people learn very quickly to ignore this sort of behavior.
Last Friday, I noticed a man that I couldn't ignore, standing in the 97-degree heat and holding a sign. (Kansas City heat has an oddly physical presence that is nigh unbearable.) He did not ask for money and he was not preaching about sin: He merely asked Kansas City to remember.
What I didn't know at the time: On July 17, 1981 (twenty-five years ago today) the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City played host to both a "tea dance" and a local tragedy that quickly claimed the lives of 114 people. (Some 200 more were injured.) During the event, two skywalks crashed to the lobby floor, crushing those in its path and injuring hundreds more.
Driving back from lunch, I saw the same man standing in the same position -- patiently asking us to remember. I ignored the impulse to stop and chat (what a great story for Newsvine, I thought) and instead went about my day: Twenty-five minutes later, work had driven the heat and the man from my mind. I brought him up later that night and my wife (local to the KC area but barely a year old in 1981) related a few details of the tragedy -- a quick Google search filled in the gaps: I learned that the name of the man standing on the corner was Frank R. Freeman. (An e-mail revealed that he was a survivor and that his partner was not so fortunate.)
Poor Planning
As is often the case -- the collapse was all the more tragic due to having been preventable:
It's an unfortunate truth that engineering decisions which defy building codes often result in tragedy: One need only look at the Challenger explosion for dramatic proof of this oft-repeated neglect and its unfortunate repercussions.
In the case of the Hyatt, joints were built to hold only 91kN instead of the required 151 kN and as it turned out, one skywalk placed a 96kN load on the fourth-floor joints. There were also charges of poor construction concerning the welding and some of the connections.
The Kansas City Star (which won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the disaster) reported:
Originally, two skywalks were designed to hang, one above the other, from the ceiling by six suspension rods. Because of difficulty in fabricating, the plans were changed to allow the second-floor skywalk to hang from the fourth floor walkway instead of the ceiling. This grossly increased the stress on the welded steel box beams that made up the higher walkway, leading to the collapse.
Charges were filed and money was eventually awarded to the victims and survivors. Frank R. Freeman's quest does not concern money or reparations -- he simply seeks a memorial. The sad truth: Twenty-five years later and Kansas City has no official remembrance of those 114 tragic deaths.
Changing the Future by Remembering the Past
The surest way to avoid tragedy in the future is by remembering tragedies gone by: We hope to avoid future wars by making movies about those we have already fought and we try to protect our citizens from natural disasters by remembering the times in which we failed to do so. (What will we think of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina in twenty-five years? Considering what we remember after only one year, my outlook is not optimistic.)
A fountain (or even a simple plaque) for the victims of the Hyatt tragedy would not only stand to memorialize lives lost but also as an assurance that we never forget: Cutting corners to save time and money (or through ignorance) can lead to tragedy.
The KC Star quotes a police officer at the time:
"This is the worst disaster I can recall in my 25 years-plus as a police officer," said Kansas City Police Chief Norman A. Caron. "The closest thing I can recall to compare to this, God forbid, was Korea."
Twenty-five years later and Kansas City has forgotten: How sad that this is relegated to an article in The Star on major anniversaries of the event. When the last survivor passes away I fear that these articles will stop being written altogether. Put simply: The Hyatt cannot 'wait-out' a permanent memorial and they should not be allowed to turn away from this historic failure.
Burying the Past
A recent article in the Kansas City Business Journal titled, "High-profile failures, lack of PR mask marvels of KC engineers" showcases a desire to bury the past with the following:
However, for each of those problems, engineers in Kansas City said, the community has its share of engineering marvels, too. The problem, they said, is that the successes are overshadowed by the failures and that engineers don't do a good job promoting what has worked.
Ghosts of the past cannot be exorcised by being ignored: A simple memorial could wipe the burden of failure from Kansas City's history and its successes could then begin to gain recognition. Why should we be asked to celebrate present success when our City refuses to remember past failures?
Kansas City bills itself as "The City of Fountains" -- "The City that Forgets" seems to be more and more appropriate as the years go by.
This is part one of an open-ended series. Part two involves an interview with Frank R. Freeman and can be read here.
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- Brian Ford's Column, All of Newsvine
- Groups: Journalism on Newsvine
- Regions: United States , Kansas City
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{"commentId":209064,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
This is the first article I've written where I find myself wishing I knew more about 'proper' writing. Still, I suppose if I did I wouldn't have a style that I could call my own.
{"commentId":209064,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"brianford"}
- 6 votes
#1 - Mon Jul 17, 2006 12:51 PM EDT{"commentId":209200,"authorDomain":"ilyanep"}
Wow. I got smarter here; thanks Brian Ford.
{"commentId":209200,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"ilyanep"}
- 2 votes
#2 - Mon Jul 17, 2006 2:15 PM EDT{"commentId":209210,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
{"commentId":209300,"authorDomain":"pody"}
You're featured now :)
{"commentId":209300,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"pody"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":3378821,"authorDomain":"seward"}
"Wow. I got smarter here; thanks Brian Ford"
Yes, me also. This is the first time I have ever heard of this tragedy. Has a Memorial been set in place yet?
{"commentId":3378821,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"seward"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":209220,"authorDomain":"jcroft"}
Great job, Brian. I was quite young at the time, but I do vaguely recall when this happened. It was definitely a huge deal at the time, but you're right -- people in this area have largely forgotten. The city should definitely do something (and a fountain certainly seems appropriate).
By the way, Wikipedia does have a half-way decent article on the tragedy. I found it interested that Kliph Surlock (from Lawrence, KS), who is the drummer for the Flaming Lips, was personally affected by the event -- his mother died in the collapse.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse
{"commentId":209220,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"jcroft"}
- 4 votes
#3 - Mon Jul 17, 2006 2:24 PM EDT{"commentId":209310,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
{"commentId":209229,"authorDomain":"protoolrobot"}
For a first stab, its a good one. My general rule when writing (and I dont do much anymore) is the
1) "Tell em what your gonna tell em."
2) "Tell em"
3) "Tell em what you told em"
Then follow up with the editorial.
I think in this case, stating at the beginning a "memorial was needed" for the event would have given the reader a sense of why they are reading it.
Please take this as constructive criticism.
Regardless, i was a kid in 1981 so disasters like this were only a blip in my memory. This was only a key-word,along with other disasters of the time, EG. Skywalk, Skylab, MGM Fire.
Thanks for the details!
{"commentId":209229,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"protoolrobot"}
- 4 votes
#4 - Mon Jul 17, 2006 2:29 PM EDT{"commentId":209257,"authorDomain":"jimdent"}
Not sure why, but I've been fascinated by this engineering foul-up for years. Reading the details (after the fact) convinces you that an engineering degree does not endow one with common sense....
I worked at the Hyatt as a photographer for their new years eve party in 04. Setting up, it was quiet and almost deserted. You could literally feel the spirits around you....... I think a monument that says simply ...lest we forget is something our city should have done long ago.
Good article Brian.
{"commentId":209257,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"jimdent"}
- 6 votes
#5 - Mon Jul 17, 2006 2:45 PM EDT{"commentId":209343,"authorDomain":"super-structure"}
Brian, fist let me say, this is a very well written piece and you've presented a great deal of information in a relatively short article.
For what it's worth, I would like to let you know that I cannot name a single structural engineer who is not familiar with the Hyatt Regency Walkway collapse. It has been given as a case study in every civil engineering ethics course I am aware of over the past 20 years. I have seen numerous presentations regarding this failure during my education and my career. Although it may not be realized by many, the engineering profession has a long history of not covering up it's failures but rather shining a bright light on them. The technical issues often result in the lay media not covering incidents such as this one, but the people who practice in my profession will never forget.
While many may specifically fault the engineering practice, it came down to poor communications and lack of performing due diligence, not calculations (there is a likelihood, that given the safety factors involved, even 60% of code-required loads would not have resulted in such catastrophic failure). In our profession, the engineer's design is interpreted by a fabricator, who will then send detailed "shop drawings" back to the engineer for approval. It was in this process that the hanger connection detail was changed, essentially doubling the load on the top-most hangers. The engineer, always under time constraints, hastily and incorrectly stamped the drawings as approved. That lack of performing required oversight would cost over 100 people their lives and would result in two engineers forever being barred from their profession (rightly so, in my opinion).
While none of this resolves the issue of a monument to the memory of these people, I do wish to let you and your readers know that there is a section of people who will never forget this incident. Perhaps that will go a long way to ensuring that something similar never happens again. The repercussions of this incident have been made nationwide in laws, contractual agreements, best practices, and connection design.
{"commentId":209343,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"super-structure"}
- 5 votes
#6 - Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:50 PM EDT{"commentId":209391,"authorDomain":"super-structure"}
Brian, residing nearly 1,400 miles away, it wouldn't be up to me to bring up such an idea, but I can say I feel that is an excellent idea. Would you consider contacting the Kansas City Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers? I would think that this might be something of interest to them.
Note: As for design, it would be little in the way of engineering, however, one could certainly imagine engineers and students wishing to donate time, labor, and funds.
{"commentId":209391,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"super-structure"}
- 5 votes
{"commentId":209387,"authorDomain":"baxter"}
As others have pointed out, there was plenty of blame to go around, and the tragedy is only multiplied by the knowledge that if they'd built the thing the way the original plans specified then everything would have been well.
You're dead on the money about KC's lack of acknowledged history. I moved here from Phoenix, which has very little history, having been pretty much a wasteland before the advent of air conditioning - even the prehistoric indians said, "forget this" and moved on. I moved to Kansas City flush with a fascination for the city's rich and varied past, but when I got here it seemed as though I knew more about the area's past than most residents.
Besides jazz, Kansas City can also lay as much claim as anybody to being the birthplace of rock and roll, thanks to the genius of Big Joe Turner. Most Kansas Citians have never heard of Turner, let alone heard his music.
And besides the cities many overlooked achievements and high points, the seedier side of Kansas City is fascinating, if bloody and corrupt. The mob was VERY powerful in Kansas City at one point, and may still be to some extent, but little mention is made of the blood spilled and deals made.
Speaking of deals made, for better or worse Tom Pendergast created a substantial portion of Kansas City and permanently changed the course of the city, but as far as I know there's no public mention of him, good bad or otherwise.
I get the impression that Kansas Citians like the idea of being the place where nothing bad (or good) happens. We are the Prozac City.
{"commentId":209387,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"baxter"}
- 5 votes
#7 - Mon Jul 17, 2006 4:09 PM EDT{"commentId":209421,"authorDomain":"super-structure"}
the tragedy is only multiplied by the knowledge that if they'd built the thing the way the original plans specified then everything would have been well.
I would just like to clarify that the initial engineer's design did not, by the KC Star's investigation, meet the building code requirements at the time. From Wikipedia:
Investigators eventually determined that [the original] design only supported 60 percent of the minimum load required by Kansas City building codes.
With the load on the fourth-floor beams doubled, [the fabricator's] proposed design could only bear 30 percent of the mandated minimum load.
Assuming a rough safety factor of about 1.67 (common in allowable stress steel design, the state of the art at the time of design), it can be stated that it is likely the as-designed connection would not have failed. However, it was a very poorly thought-out detail at best, and it is not really possible to say that it would not have suffered during use. However, I do not feel that it would have resulted in the dramatic failure which occurred.
{"commentId":209421,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"super-structure"}
- 4 votes
{"commentId":209536,"authorDomain":"kcmike"}
My experience mirrors yours Tim. I moved here from Vegas and have the exact same impressions. If people from the suburbs had their way, I think they'd bulldoze KC to the ground and let Overland Park, KS annex the land.
But a lot of the problems arise out of the Pendergrast machine's success. The city government was reformed to break the city of mob power but that left the city government a scary mix of the corrupt and the incompetant. Add to that a state line that runs right down the middle of the metropolitan region and you've got an area with no vision of the future to match the lack of historical perspective.
It's really too bad- there is enough history and potentially fantastic attractions- Swope Park is a diamond in the rough- that Kansas City could be something special instead of a town struggling to keep up with Omaha and Oklahoma City.
{"commentId":209536,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"kcmike"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":209587,"authorDomain":"baxter"}
I think for most of the US, your use of the phrase "struggling to keep up with Omaha and Oklahoma City" says it all.
{"commentId":209587,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"baxter"}
- 5 votes
{"commentId":209454,"authorDomain":"divbyzero"}
I remember the news coverage of this from junior high (I have news junkie genetics) and recently saw it featured on an engineering disaster show. I also have relatives who were living in KC at the time. Good work on this & congrats on being featured!
{"commentId":209454,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"divbyzero"}
- 5 votes
#8 - Mon Jul 17, 2006 4:42 PM EDT{"commentId":210235,"authorDomain":"spacegoat"}
I saw that show too. I think it was Modern Marvels: Engineering Disasters. I can't imagine how this tragedy affected these engineers. Having 100 deaths on your hands because of your neglect. I would hate to have that on my conscience.
Good article Brian. I'd like to see more of this on the Vine.
{"commentId":210235,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"spacegoat"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":209667,"authorDomain":"edsharrer"}
I live in Tulsa and visit KC on occasion (very easy drive for a quick weekend). I always have a good time when I'm there, but it really pains me to hear that the locals care so little about the history of the place. There's a lot to be proud of in KC.
Although, I have to admit the 18th & Vine area was really depressing. We visited the museums and walked over to Arthur Bryant's for lunch. It wasn't the fact that the area was economically depressed, it was that there were so few reminders of the past. I guess all the nightclubs were torn down years ago, but it seems like there's more vacant lots in the square mile than evidence of a once-thriving jazz scene. Not far away is the site of the old Municipal Stadium, which is a big empty field. At least there's a marker there.
Anyways, back to the point -- I remember when the Hyatt disaster occured. I was in junior high. It felt somewhat personal because many of my friend's families went to KC for Royals games or Worlds of Fun in the summer, so we were all pretty familiar with the town. It was definitely the talk of the kids baseball circuit for weeks.
Anywhere that more than 100 people died at one time in a horrible accident, there should be a marker.
{"commentId":209667,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"edsharrer"}
- 5 votes
#9 - Mon Jul 17, 2006 6:56 PM EDT{"commentId":210192,"authorDomain":"fort"}
There was a TV documentary about this on on the UK terrestrial channel, Channel 4 a couple of months back, fascinating stuff.
{"commentId":210192,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"fort"}
- 4 votes
#10 - Tue Jul 18, 2006 3:39 AM EDT{"commentId":210366,"authorDomain":"lufbery"}
The U.S. had a documentary as well - something like the Discovery Channel, but I can't remember for sure...maybe it was the history channel (especially since the History Channel is one of two channels I watch).
Great stuff for the History tag Brian - keep them coming. People should put History on the watch list.
Luf
{"commentId":210366,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"lufbery"}
- 6 votes
{"commentId":210371,"authorDomain":"mikeohara"}
I've heard of the KC disaster - it was featured in a Discovery Channel Documentary up here in Canada. Fascinating stuff. A tragic accident, but allot of things were learned from it, especially in the areas of civil engineering ethics, and how NOT to build sky ways.
{"commentId":210371,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"mikeohara"}
- 5 votes
#11 - Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:11 AM EDT{"commentId":210433,"authorDomain":"wilhelm"}
Yeah, Brian, I still remember that incident. Oddly enough, I was thinking about the footage a few days ago. Good article, sir.
{"commentId":210433,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"wilhelm"}
- 5 votes
#12 - Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:53 AM EDT{"commentId":210495,"authorDomain":"rutty"}
Excellent article Brian, and something which I hope others on Newsvine will expand on. It's this sort of original content that could give Newsvine the edge over other similar sites - well done! Your grammar is fine and I enjoy your writing style even if it's not "perfect" journalism stylistically.
Could this be tagged Citizen journalism? It seems to fit that bill.
Looking forward to the interview and more local news/opinion like this.
{"commentId":210495,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"rutty"}
- 3 votes
#13 - Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:31 AM EDT{"commentId":210646,"authorDomain":"jimdent"}
This was in the Kcstar this morning, for anyone interested in a memorial....
Time for Hyatt memorial. I lost my mother, Kathryn Sullivan, in the Hyatt skywalk collapse 25 years ago. The lives of thousands of people were forever changed by this disaster, which remains the worst structural failure in U.S. history. Those killed and injured, along with those who valiantly rendered aid, deserve a proper memorial. This is long overdue.
The enormity of this tragedy should not be forgotten, and a memorial will create a permanent reminder for all future generations. I ask everyone who agrees to please send e-mail to me at hyattmemorialnow@yahoo.com to help make this a reality.
John E. Sullivan
Dallas
{"commentId":210646,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"jimdent"}
- 6 votes
#14 - Tue Jul 18, 2006 12:18 PM EDT{"commentId":210656,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
{"commentId":211012,"authorDomain":"tang"}
Great piece Brian. Too often we're all so wrapped up in life to stop and remember events like this. This is a worthy combination of something that inspired you in your locality and some investigation on your own. You set a great example. Thanks for the inspiration.
{"commentId":211012,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"tang"}
- 9 votes
#15 - Tue Jul 18, 2006 3:38 PM EDT{"commentId":825155,"authorDomain":"donlea"}
This is so interesting - I lived and worked in Independence, Missouri at the time this happened (now
living in Muncie, Indiana) and I will NEVER forget the event. Those who lived it will always remember
it - I have a friend whose husband was there. He called home to tell her he was having so much fun -
could he stay a little longer. She sweetly reminded him he had 2 little kids at home who were anxious for Daddy to come home, so he left. Fifteen minutes later he would not have had that option. Kansas City is rich in history - I worked downtown Kansas City in the mid l960's and have fond memories
of shopping on my lunch hour at Macy's and Jone's - and eating at Arthur Bryant's Barbeque, not to
mention the wonderful food at the Forum Cafeteria. Times change - people change. Again - those
who lived in the area at the time will never forget that terrible accident - nor should anyone.
{"commentId":825155,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"donlea"}
- 2 votes
#16 - Fri Jun 29, 2007 10:30 PM EDT{"commentId":944152,"authorDomain":"kalia07dee"}
Wow. All I can say is wow. I took a weekend trip to Kansas City with my sister and grandma this weekend and just got back. While we were checking in, and it was pretty late at night and so I was just yawning and kind of looking around the lobby...there was a random man who told me in a few words what happened back in 1981. I know now that he mistakenly said that 137 people had died and that the chandelier type thing hanging now in the lobby was a memorial for the victims (one glass ball for each victim). I found myself saying...he can't be telling the truth about this. I would have heard of this before...and I certainly counted many more balls on the light fixture than the number he gave us. So I was sort of distraught that this random guy was telling us a scary story the first night that we arrived for our relaxing vacation. SO I kind of shrugged it off. On Sunday night I wasn't tired and I decided to read a book on the 3rd floor (exactly where the walkways would have been). I still had the whole thing out of my mind...otherwise I doubt I would have slept the whole weekend. But when I got home I googled Kansas City just to see if we really hit the spots in KC or if we missed out on the city sights. At the very bottom of the Wikipedia page there was an article about this and I am now just slightly chilled at the very thought of it. When I left the hotel this morning I really had no idea what magnitude of tragedy took place there just 26 years ago! It seems the hotel has recovered fine (hmmm...) and I am now interested to see if there is a "real" memorial for these unlucky folks who lost their lives. What a sad sad failure in what should have been an easy architectual success. I now wish that I could go back there and somehow pay my respects to those who died in the hotel I just stayed at. May they rest in peace and may a memorial be erected as soon as possible.
{"commentId":944152,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"kalia07dee"}
- 1 vote
#17 - Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:23 PM EDT{"commentId":1170852,"authorDomain":"fstrgray82"}
Brian, first off, excellent article, and well-researched and explained. I've read other sites on this, but your piece explains it without zooming above the layman's head with technical lingo, and I even took architecture classes! lol
I was born more than a year after this, and found out about it, of all places, on Youtube. However, from that point, I immediately wanted to learn more, and read the Wikipedia article, which sent chills through my entire body. Soon after I first read about this, I attended a safety training seminar for my job, and this incident came up...and this incident is a very popular reference when discussing how to avoid negligence, understandably so. It really distresses (and angers) me that cutting corners led to such a tragedy. It's crazy what we take for granted.
Just this morning, I read a few more news articles about the aftermath (also written at or near its 25th anniversary), and my heart sank reading the stories from the survivors and surviving family members and friends (such as Mr. Freeman). I can't imagine the pain and suffering they have endured over the last two-plus decades, and my prayers definitely go out to them.
I understand how some lifelong Kansas City residents feel that a memorial would serve as a poignant reminder, but at the same time, such a disaster deserves something, if nothing more, as a "closure" of sorts for the families. I mean, other disaster sites, i.e. Ground Zero, Oklahoma City, and now even Norris Hall Virginia Tech remember their victims with memorials. No reason why K.C. shouldn't do the same for those who died in July 1981.
Again, great article!
{"commentId":1170852,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"fstrgray82"}
#18 - Fri Nov 9, 2007 4:54 AM EST{"commentId":2211701,"authorDomain":"misskotton"}
I live in Kansas City now. I lived in Leavenworth, Kansas at the time it happened, about 40 miles away. I remember this date very well. And there is an odd lesson in it for me. I was having surgery the day of the collapse. Of course I knew nothing of it when it happened. I was "out" that evening recovering from the anesthesia and mostly out of it totally. I remember waking up the morning after and someone had the TV on and there were these names scrolling down the screen, name after name. It took me a little while to make sense of it. It was a list of the people who had died in the collapse. I was still too sick to watch for very long but in a few days the impact of it fully hit me. One gentleman I knew slightly from work had died with his young daughter, very sad. She was only 12 or so. He was a very nice man from what I had seen of him. I realized something. For days before the surgery I had worried about it, what if? What if I never woke up? I dislike anesthesia, don't like not being in control. But, you see, it is an example of how things are not in our control and they won't be. Who would have thought that going to a tea dance would prove more dangerous than having surgery? Very few, I think, including me. Its a good lesson to remember. We never know when our time is up. And we shouldn't waste what time we have worrying about what ifs.
As to people here not caring or forgetting, I don't think its that. I think its a very sad event that no one wants to think about. Thats just my take on it, for what its worth.
{"commentId":2211701,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"misskotton"}
- 1 vote
#19 - Thu Jul 17, 2008 4:46 AM EDT{"commentId":7550341,"authorDomain":"lj-costello"}
Thanks so much for your writing. I will never forget the night of the tragedy and the days that followed, at least that that wasn't a blur.
I lost my grandfather that night and my grandmother was seriously injured.
God bless those that want to construct a memorial... it is deeply appreciated.
{"commentId":7550341,"threadId":"18461","contentId":"289405","authorDomain":"lj-costello"}
- 2 votes
#20 - Tue Jun 9, 2009 8:58 PM EDT{"commentId":7550596,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
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