DC & OK

 One thing that I treasure about life is the people who become a part of it, however briefly.  The impact that one has on another's life can be known or unknown.  Such is the case with two people I came in contact with.
 While at Belk, a part-time employee came to our security department.  Her name was Meredith Thompson, but everybody called her "DC".  She liked it pronounced "Di-See".  She had played on the women's basketball team at USC, and she had majored in criminal justice.  She was from the Washington, DC area.  After graduation, DC wanted to work in the federal ranks of justice.  We had a conversation one night about maybe her wanting to work for the DEA.  She wanted to be where the action was, and she said she wanted to shoot an uzi.  We talked about the danger, but her goal was to make a difference with drug enforcement, and she really wanted to serve in Miami.  I told her to follow her dreams.  So, she did.  She joined the DEA and eventually was transferred to the Miami office.  In 1994, she was assigned to go on a fact-finding mission to fly over suspected drug fields in Peru.  The plane also carried some CIA folks.  Under mysterious circumstances, the plane crashed and all were killed.  I mourned DC's death.  She probably would have gone into the DEA without my encouragement, but I have often wondered if she would have done it, or at least thought twice about it, had the conversation been different.  I can't get into what I found out about the circumstances of the plane crash, but needless to say it was unfortunate.
 So was another encounter.  I met Bob Westbury at First Baptist in Columbia.  He worked for the Federal Government in the Department of Defense.  Bob was living in Columbia with his wife.  He had family here.  He had an opportunity to transfer to another state and receive a promotion.  He was near retirement and wanted to retire with a bigger paycheck.  He and I would talk about him moving to this new state.  I had lived near there at one time and knew a lot about the weather and the people there.  His promotion would be the Special Agent in Charge for the Department of Defense and Investigative Services.  His new assignment was in Oklahoma City.  I told him that he should think about the future of his family, and he and his wife moved to Oklahoma.  In 1995, Bob was one of those killed in the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building.  Bob had been on the fence about moving.  He made the decision to move.  What if I had told him not to go?
 I live in a world of "what ifs".  There is a little guilt in me for both DC and Bob.  Neither one knew what was coming their way in life.  Most of us don't either.  I am glad though that they thought I was wise enough to be consulted about their future hopes and dreams.