November 18, 1999

A day to remember. One, as an Aggie, I will never forget. My alarm went off shortly after 6am and I woke up to the Aggie96 dj saying "if you're just waking up, Bonfire has collapsed." I shot up out of bed, turned up my radio and listened, trying to comprehend. Before I even left my bedroom I called my brother to make sure he was not out there. (Trey had planned on being at Stack but because he had gone duck hunting, he was too tired and decided not to go after all.) His roommate, however, was. As soon as I hung up the phone with Trey I called my parents to tell them Trey was safe and what had happened (in that order). I remember sitting in the den with my roommates watching the horror unfold only a few short miles away, on the news, while I waited for Trey to come over so we could go and locate some of our friends. I remember driving down Texas Avenue, not knowing what to expect even though I had seen it on TV. My stomach flipped, my heart sank and I just gasped. Bonfire had indeed fallen. It took me seeing for myself, with my own eyes, to believe that it had actually happened. We found Shaun. I remember telling Trey to give him his Carhart because he was shaking & shivering. He told me he wasn't shaking because he was cold. I remember seeing a friend, whom I haven't seen since my college days, tell me that they were still trying to locate TJ's roommate, that they weren't sure if he made it out. Sadly, Jeremy did not make it. (Little did I know then that Jeremy was one of Chris' D-1 outfit buddies.) I remember walking around looking for faces I needed to see. I remember stopping. Sitting. Watching. Listening. Praying. Crying. Hugging. I remember it as if it just happened today. I cannot believe that was 10 years ago. I remember the Memorial Service at Reed Arena. Watching the Red Pots, Brown Pots, walk in down in front. I remember the silence. I remember the students who showed up in their grodes. They had been working around the clock to try to rescue their buddies, their friends, our family. I remember going to Albertson's to buy roses to leave in the orange makeshift fence. I remember crying. I remember the heartache. I remember that empty helpless feeling in my gut. I remember the phone calls and emails from friends around the state checking to make sure Trey & I were ok. I hate that for my friends and Aggie family we lost so much. I hate that those who were there, who were on Stack when it fell, have to relive those moments. I commend those who commented in this month's Texas Monthly. It was quite the interview. For those of you (or your husbands --to my girlfriend's who read this) I say thank you for telling your story. For telling our story of Bonfire. To you all I know it was your life. I know that you loved it. And because y'all loved building it, we got to enjoy the greatest Aggie tradition of all. Today we remember the 12 Aggies who lost their lives. And we will never forget. Aggie Word. Christopher Heard. Lucas Kimmel. Bryan McClain. Chad Powell. Jerry Self. Nathan Scott West. Miranda Adams. Christopher Breen. Michael Ebanks. Jeremy Frampton. Jamie Hand. Tim Kerlee. Gig 'em.

Go here for Remember Bonfire information to help Company D-1 support the Bonfire Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Go here to see BFF Misty on the Dallas news.