I have a night pass for Texas A&M that allows me to park in many of the parking lots on campus, but only after 5 PM. This afternoon, at 4:55 PM, a guard stood at the entrance of the parking lot that I usually park in — it’s one close to Evans Library. I’ve never seen a guard there before. I tried to pull in but he told me, politely yet seriously, “I know it’s only five minutes ’til five, but I can’t let you park here. I would say, ‘go on and turn around and find some other place to hang out for five minutes — and then come back here.'” I said alright, turned around, went on and parked in an another unguarded lot.
I parked in lot 47, which is a lot that is connected to a little path that leads to the Aggie Bonfire Memorial.
I’ve been a student at A&M for two years now, but I had not yet visited this famous landmark.
I decided that this partly cloudy afternoon, I would walk down the trail and visit the sacred place.
what a moment, what an experience
The weather for this moment could not have been anymore perfect — it was in the upper seventies, yes, but there was a good little breeze going such that I never broke a sweat.
At the memorial I was alone. It is far enough from campus that you can not hear a conversation nor a single voice from the students drift over to the area. My whole visit was silent save for the rush of the wind’s breeze. You could hear the glide of rubber tires as they rolled on all through Texas Avenue and University Drive, but the drone of it all blended in with the ambience of the cool wind. I was absorbed in the sanctity of it all — the green plains and hills that surround the memorial remove you from the bustle of A&M and pull you into what is known as the spirit of Aggieland.
I read all twelve inscriptions dedicated to the Aggies who lost their lives in the tragic Bonfire collapse of 1999. On the one hand, I felt sad — I felt my own heart break into twelve bold little pieces because I know, just know, that had these Aggies lived, the lot of goodness in this world would be exponentially larger. Yet, all their memorial inscriptions were messages of hope and pride — an encouragement for those of us who are still alive to make the world a better place. I would say that every Aggie holds a responsibility to these twelve fallen to do the good deeds they themselves would have done so selflessly.
And boy did those Old Ags know how to write poetry! I will share some of my favorite poems found at the memorial.
The Purpose of Life
Why look for reason
there is no cause
Why try to find a purpose
there may be none at all
Take whatever there is
and make the most
And if there is nothing
make your own
And while you are loving to live
a reason will become
and a purpose will appear
making all the more reason to go on
– Jeremy Frampton ’99
Enough
If I stare long enough
If I talk hard enough
If I touch soft enough
If I look good enough
If I love deep enough
Will I live long enough
To love life enough
– Jeremy Frampton ’99
There is living and there is existing.
If you are living, life will take your breath.
In tasting honey you may get a sting,
but life stagnant is worse than death.
Bite into life and let the juice run down.
Lives are not measured with chances untook.
Enjoy the blooms now, in time they’ll be brown.
Chances for lovers are often foorsook.
Forget all the past, look not for your fate.
Take life by the horns and live for today.
Hard times will come if you rush the gate,
but interesting people have suffered worse fate.
Take hold of the world and go for a ride,
’cause not all men live, but everyone dies.
– Lucas John Kimmel ’03
Every year, we shall remember and say here. I regret taking so long to walk through this amazing place. I thought I’d only spend five minutes there, but the memorial does not exist in time. These are words I needed to read, needed to feel, as I approach graduation. I said earlier that these Aggies fell. That is wrong to say. One line in the inscriptions at the memorial said that the Aggies did not fall — they flew straight into the heavens above and have not yet come down. That is much better to say, much better to hold.
I want to love living and to love life.
To live and to fly.
If you are ever in Aggieland, I emplore you to take the time and walk through this place, to stand and to study the inscriptions, to lean towards the eternal bronze and feel the spirit.
More information on the Bonfire Memorial can be found here. There is much interesting symbolism and history I have not touched upon in this post.
(The photo I took this time is, yet again, another one point perspective photo.)
a young writer from the lone star state 