OKLAHOMA CITY: AFTER THE BOMB : Symbol of Healing

Teddy bears have become the symbol of survival and healing. The children of those killed are being given the bears by a variety of public agencies. Dana Cooper, 24, director of the Americas Kids child care center, was killed in the blast along with her 2-year-old son, Anthony Cooper II. She was also studying child development at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. On Thursday, fellow students put a teddy bear and small wreath at Cooper’s desk.

A Lonely Defender

One of the few people to come to the defense of Timothy McVeigh is Michael Fortier. Both enlisted in the Army on the same day in 1988 and have been close friends ever since. Before the explosion, both lived in Kingman, Ariz. “In America we believe people are innocent until proven guilty. Everyone must remember that. Whoever says ‘Forget the judiciary system, let’s just hang them now,’ those people are not Americans. I know my friend. Tim McVeigh is not the face of terror. The only fact is that the man was caught speeding on a highway in Oklahoma.�

Therapy Through Poetry

The bombing has touched off a wave of poetry writing among survivors and others traumatized by the disaster. Two efforts are under way to publish complete volumes of such verse, one being put together by a physician in Oklahoma City, the other by a writer Jerry Biederman in Century City, Calif. The Tulsa World reports receiving dozens original poems a day. The paper’s action-line columnist was forced to report to readers that there is no room for poetry. “Unfortunately, the Tulsa World has a limited amount of space,� wrote columnist Phil Mulkins, “to print the bombing-related and other important news each day and we can’t ignore these important stories to make room for poems or ‘thoughts to think about’ material.�