It was just ten years ago today that a gunman opened fire at the Family History Library here in Salt Lake City, killing two people and wounding four others before being shot to death by police.
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I remember the shooting well. I was usually in the library every day since I am a professional genealogist and back then I did client research full time. However, because that day was tax day, I was at home finishing the taxes. I got them finished VERY late that day because my cell phone started ringing off the hook with people calling to see if I was okay — when the first call came I had no idea why the person would have thought that I was not okay. When she told me about the shooting, I of course turned on the tv and was glued to it for the next several hours.
I still wonder if the fact that I was at home that day doing taxes saved my life.
I was in the lobby that day. I will never forget the slow motion of watching the woman who was the greeter that day falling and her skirt waving on the way to the floor. Or the bullet that flew past me and hit a woman behind me. I am so very grateful to the man who stood up and yelled the location of the gunman and got us all to run out. It was very interesting to me that when my parents went to see the library, the same woman was back, and she and my mother chatted. Knowing that her smile and grace allowed her to return helped me to heal a little more.
Last Wednesday, June 10th, I heard from a friend about the shooting at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, which had taken place just an hour earlier. This brought back memories of that terrible day at the Family History Library ten years ago. I have often wondered how those directly affected by this event are doing now. Sister Nellie, who sat in the greeter’s booth by the door and was wounded during the rampage, came back after her recovery period and still brightens the day with her happy smile today, sitting in the very same spot. She has been my inspiration not to let even horrible events control our lives, but to look at each day as a special gift.