41 years ago - Kent State

The photo of Kent State students from 41 years ago is seared in my imagination. I was days away from graduating from High School, from launching out into life from which I had been sheltered for so long. 

Then guns were fired and students fell. Kent State closed for the year. I was going to UT, not Kent State, but would it close too? I felt my world closing in around me, my chance to escape the limitations of my small town and explore the world gone. The iron gates were slowly moving and I could not move fast enough to get through them before they closed. 

Then everyone took a breath. Hearts calm, rational minds prevailed and life return to the way it was. Maybe quite not like it was. 

That day at Kent State is a memory now, the photo which shows so much passion, youth and authority.  A time when you were torn between patriotism and radicalism. A time when all you really wanted was a chance to live your life.