A Day of Remembrance

While this blog may not have anything to do with my running, it does however involve something else that very dear to me…my husband.

14 years ago at around 6 in the morning, I was awakened in my dorm room at Stephen F. Austin University by a phone call from my mom. Listening to the phone ring, I was really annoyed because it was so early and I could not believe she would call me that early to discuss what I thought would be my transcripts (I was in the process of applying to transfer to Texas A & M University and all I had left to do was get my transcripts sent in).  I let my phone go to voice mail and before I could turn back over to fall asleep, my phone rang yet again.  I was even more irritated and answered the phone in a snarky voice telling her that my transcripts could wait a couple hours.  In a very quiet voice, she said “This is not about your transcripts, this is about Scott.” My heart immediately sank and fear came rushing forth.  She then proceeded to tell me that there had been an accident at A & M. Bonfire had collapsed and several students were injured and possibly killed.

 You see, at this time, Scott and I had been dating for 3 years and he was currently in school at Texas A & M as a member of the Corps of Cadets. He loved being a cadet, especially at the time because the students were in the process of building their beloved Aggie Bonfire. He loved it. He told me stories about how his buddies and him would sneak out of their dorms to go work on bonfire on nights when their outfits were not assigned to work.  When I would visit, he would take me by the site to show me the progress. He would send me pictures and kept talking about how much he looked forward to the two of us going.

As I listened to my mom, I finally replied with tears in my eyes “What about Scott? Is he ok?” She then told me that she had spoken to his mother, whom had talked to him, and that he was not hurt. I told my mom thanks for calling me and immediately hung up to call Scott.  “All circuits are busy” was all that I heard on the other side of the phone so I tried again and again and continued getting the same message. All I wanted was to hear his voice. I wanted to hear HIM tell me that he was ok. I needed to hear it come from him. 

 As I went through the motions of my classes, all I could think of was hearing his voice. Was Scott really ok? Was my mom just trying to protect me by telling me he was ok? These thoughts and more crossed through my head. I continued calling and kept hearing “All circuits are busy.”

Once I finally finished my classes and made it back to my dorm room and was contemplating driving to College Station, my phone rang and the best sound in the world greeted me. It was Scott! I burst into tears at the sound of his voice telling me he was ok. He asked me if I had seen the news and I told him that I had avoided the TV because I did not want to see it. He told me to turn it on and that is when I lost it. When I saw that fallen stack of logs, all I could do was cry. I could have lost my best friend…the person that I knew I was going to marry.

After a lot of convincing on his part, I decided that I would not drive to College Station and would see him in a few days when we were back home. When we did finally see each other there were tears, hugs and lots of “I Love You’s.”

Every November 18, I remember those 12 Aggies that were lost and am reminded of how lucky I am to still have mine and what could have been. I am beyond thankful to the professor that planned a test on November 19^th which kept Scott in his dorm to study and sleep.  I may not always be the best at telling him but he means the world to me and I love him more than words can express.