I went to a conference with several embers of the staff of the Orange County History Center. Daniel Bradfield and Pamela Schwartz gave a presentation about the History Center’s collection efforts after the Pulse Nightclub massacre, where a gunman entered the nightclub with an AK47 and killed 49 people while injuring many others.
Spontaneous and large memorial popped up of flowers and memorial items related to the victims. The collecting happened in the hottest months of the summer in Orlando. Flowers quickly wilted an died creating a tench that is quite memorable and perhaps unhealthy.
A few people were angered by the staff collecting at the memorial sites, thinking they were steeling items rather than preserving them for history. If the History Center had not collected items they would have all ended in the landfill.
There have been incredible exhibits each year honoring the victims of the mass shooting which happened on June 12, 2016. I sat in and sketched during the oral histories with survivors and family of the victims. Hearing all these life and death stories can be overwhelming and i helped to talk to staff to try and come to terms with the horrible situations that were presented. I can’t say I have fully come to terms with all that I learned about this and other mass shootings. Americas love affair with guns and mass murder is ard to digest.
I was just at a WWII American Military camp reconstruction in Clamercy, France and on a few occasion there were loud noises that must have been fireworks. Such noises can be triggering, making me think I should look for cover.