I always enjoy visiting the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.  On this trip, I spent time in the museum on two sequential days - July 4 and 5.  I could relive the experience I had dealing with the terrorist bomb 27 years ago, while peering into displays of artifacts from the attack, as well as an intriguing path through the investigation and trial.  A million hours of investigation were used to put a detailed puzzle of what happened.

Before we connected with students across the nation to tell them about the property, our home base was the STEM lab, where student groups can attend classes that challenge their abilities to process information, find conclusions, and create solutions.  There were artifacts in the classroom I had not seen on the main museum tour. Two of these were a piece of the siding from the Ryder truck that Timothy McVeigh used to transport the bomb. The other was a Ford emblem from the same truck, and its evidence tag for the court was still attached.  These were not behind glass, but were easily appreciated without the glare of lights reflecting from a protective shield, allowing somebody like myself to come along and reach for them.  These two artifacts (with a blue background at the end of the second-to-last row above).  Being able to touch something that was directly involved in the tragic deaths of 168 people provided a closer connection to the history that I never expected would ever present itself to me.

The snaky dragon here is a fierce thing, still displaying vibrant colorings in spite of being some 500 years old.  It reminds me of a plaster dragon that my parents purchased when I was a young boy.  They bought it as decoration for our house, with the intent of placing on our television set - a purpose considerably different than the intent of this ancient piece.

The dog at the top of this article, as well as the remaining photos below are funerary figures.  Most were intended to accompany the dead into the next life.

These were some of the oldest artifacts in the museum, but the Ox Head below intrigued me the most.  The realistic sculpture has the closest chance of being made during the time of Christ.

In the next report from the Fred Jones Museum of Art, I'll share a couple of photos from a more modern area of the museum.

In her first high school performance, MACIE was able to portray multiple characters as a member of the chorus, but this was no small role.  She was not just a background character but was able to interact with the main characters, the blocking allowing her to weave throughout the undersea setting, both at stage level and in the elevated area upstage of the main action.

I was proud to catch up to the fine young lady and her family on the evening of my attendance.  Her dad was pleasantly surprised at the quality shift from the middle school productions - where MACIE has a starring role in this spring's Matilda - and a high school production.  Admittedly, the improvement is stark.  MACIE's sister EMILY, a Hoggatteer entering the fifth grade this fall, says she doesn't want to perform on stage, so we'll see where her interests lie once she hits the high school after four more years.

My question yet to be answered is, "How did the artist, or this St. George for that matter, know what a dragon looked like?"  I wonder if such creatures existed in the mid-18th to 19th centuries.  If not, again, how did they know what a dragon looked like.  One may suggest that these were dinosaurs, but others argue that dinosaurs were extinct for millions of years by this time period.  Not only that, but no dino bones were even discovered until 1819, hardly something that would have put together an accurate enough picture of what these things are.  The possibility remains that they could be completely imaginary dragons, magnified versions of lizards or other living creatures that still crawl the earth.

The next two that I took pictures of displayed scenes in the life of Christ.  Generally speaking, I don't give much credence to images of Christ, especially in instances like these which could, to some people, become objects to worship, but I can appreciate the work and respect the faith of these artists.  They have attempted to bring to life scenes we cannot witness in person in order to help us visualize the reality of certain passages of Scripture.

The final two pieces depict St. Nicholas and the Archangel Michael Flanked by Saints.  Again, the danger is that the figures with these paintings may be considered as having position in Heaven and therefore intervening miraculously for living human beings.  I don't find agreement for that in Scripture, so I have to leave that idea to itself.  I do once again, however, appreciate the reverence and serious efforts of the artists to faithfully demonstrate their own belief systems.

There is still more to come as I report about my visit to this spectacular museum in Norman, Oklahoma, in the coming days.

The first of our History Camp sessions for 2022 has been posted.  In this session, I visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, a place about which most of our participants had no knowledge.  The memorial is not the first thing most people think of when they hear "National Parks".  For that reason and as the park I have the most knowledge about, we chose to present this as our first session.  The next park on our lineup is Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska.

When I was invited to participate in a podcast with some new California and Hawaii friends, I jumped at the opportunity.  I am notoriously bad at talking on a telephone or into a speaker at the drive-through, and I am not always comfortable in small conversation, so I guess you could call me an introvert.  At the same time, I'm a pretty decent public speaker, no matter how large the audience.  Put me on a podcast with three other people, but to be distributed to a larger audience, and who knows how I might perform.

Finding Our Tribe is an educational podcast that describes itself as, "A podcast about teaching and supporting each other in our common profession.  It is a high-ranking podcast project put together by FABIAN HOFMANN, JAMIE HALSEY, and SCOTT KAZARIAN, and they have faithfully constructed more than 100 episodes.  I met Scott when we were two of the 50 teachers selected from a nationwide search for creative teachers.

In this episode, they focused on my origin story, how I engage students, and my advice for educators.  These are always things I am willing to share it.

We recorded the podcast Tuesday night, 8:30 Pacific Time, and 10:30 Central, but about 30 minutes beforehand, the wifi connection at my house went kaput.  Cell signals are pretty weak inside the house normally, so I scrambled to find a place outside, away from the neighbors' barking dog and in a place where I wouldn't be interrupted by mosquitoes and moths.  I also didn't need to be in a public place, talking out loud at 10:30.  The storage shed out back has worked in a pinch, so I quickly moved operations.  Unfortunately, the hookup still was not ideal and there were some glitches with the audio.

​That change of plans was enough to throw off my concentration for the recording, and I feel like I didn't present my best, but still, it was an immensely enjoyable experience, and I loved being able to speak to some things for which I have passion.  I do wish I had communicated more clearly though.

When I was asked if the pandemic had effected the maturity and achievement of students, I mentioned that this past  year was a challenge.  The intention in saying so was to tell how much progress students made in the class, but in bringing it up, I don't think I made that point.  Later, I did mention that they had exceeded expectations when we presented Hoggatt Cave to the third graders, but I don't feel my previous response was a complete one.

When I said that after years of promoting a possible school transformation, we finally made it happen, this year, it may have sounded as if I was taking credit for the whole thing.  Again, that was not the intention at all.  In actuality, the principal made it finally happen and pushed it out to the faculty.  He and I talked many times about making our school a model for others to visit, and this was his last big effort in the year that both of us were leaving the school.  Too, the faculty members and volunteers who made the transformation happen bought in to the event and made it a huge success.  I hope they are able and willing to keep doing transformations in the future.

When I told interviewers how I built myself up to students on the first day of school, I knew it could sound like I was pridefully bragging to the class and making everything about me.  I hope that's not how it came off, but I also know that it's something that works.  If I want students to admire and look up to me, I know I have to give them something to look up to.  Students really get to know me on that first day through lots of funny and adventurous stories, and they feel closer to me when I let them into my world.  I should have mentioned that it was all intended to foster stronger relationships, but I'm afraid I never made it to that point.  They certainly also figure out that I have strict expectations.

Perhaps I should have taken my own advice and slowed down.  There were so many things coming to mind that I fell into the trap of scrambling to get it all out.  Still, the interview went on for about an hour, and I had plenty more that I could have told.  We talked about a lot in that hour, from the Oklahoma City bombing to the Joplin tornado, from this website to authoring books, and from student engagement to lion wrestling.  FABIAN, JAMIE and SCOTT were welcoming and appeared to be genuine in their interest in a guy that doesn't traditionally perform well in small groups and one-on-one.  Their podcast is enjoyable to listen to, and I hope to return as a guest in the future if they are willing to have me.

​I have new pictures of the memorial and museum coming to this site in the next few days.

Next week, we will virtually visit the Denali National Park and Preserve.

Even with the area being right at the entrance, I saved it for last.  The dark-wood setting and the cool museum offered a relaxing location for a quiet ending to the visit.  Rest assured, however, some of the most interesting displays lay just ahead, and I'll report about them soon.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
​

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
    He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their     operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
    He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people        
        would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to
        tyrants only.
    He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of
        their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
    He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the
        rights of the people.
    He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative
        powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining
        in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
    He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for        
        Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the
        conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
    He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary
        powers.
    He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of
        their salaries.
    He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat
        out their substance.
    He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
    He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
    He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by
        our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
    For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
    For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the
        Inhabitants of these States:
    For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
    For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
    For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
    For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
    For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary
        government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for
        introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
    For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our
        Governments:
    For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all
        cases whatsoever.
    He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
    He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
    He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation
        and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous
        ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
     He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to
        become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
    He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our
        frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all
        ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.