Fifteen years ago today (July 27, 1996)

The Centennial Park Bombing.

Some crazy stuff reported in the immediate aftermath, as I recall.

 

I was spending the night in Meridian, Mississippi that night on my way to Atlanta for the second week of the Games. Can't believe it's been 15 years.

Went to bed early and didn't know about the bombing til I woke up the next morning and flipped on the TV. Remember stopping at a convenience store somewhere in Alabama and the clerk telling me "be careful" when I mentioned I was heading to Atlanta. Reason it even came up was that she asked if I was headed to Talladega for the race that was going on that weekend.

 

Was in Centennial Park about 15 minutes before the bombing. Me and a buddy had no place to stay and were going to sleep in my car. I recognized a friend from law school at the Park and he offered to let us stay at his uncle's place in the suburbs. We heard the news on the ride home. Crazy.

 

I was dominating the summer after just graduating high school. Has anyone done a recent follow up with Richard Jewell and how that event changed his life? I can only assume something like that follows someone for a long, long, long time.

 

Gonna be really tough to pull that one off.

 

I assume these past four years the bombing hasn't weighed much on Jewell's mind since he died in 2007.

 

So the answer is, no?

 

Yikes ... I didn't realize he died. But I'm assuming he died a rich man, considering he sued everyone under the sun.

 

He actually died with little, IIRC.

AP talked to him in 2006.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-07-23-jewell-remembers_x.htm

 

I'll bet mrbio could get him.

 

Atlanta Magazine recently did an incredible follow-up story on it. Here's a link to a sample of it: http://www.atlantamagazine.com/features/Story.aspx?id=1451665

 

HejiraHenry was there and has a pretty interesting story about it. If he's around, he'll drop by and tell it.