Crystal Recknagel

~Instructional Coach at Mustang HS
~Jesus follower
~be prepared for OKC Thunder and OU football commentary

[Enes Kanter FREEDOM @EnesFreedom]

To my Oklahoma family;
this piece comes straight from the heart.

I hope you’ll take a moment to read it and feel what I felt.
Thank you for allowing me to be a small part of it.

I came to @okcthunder to play basketball. I left carrying 168 lives.

When I was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, I was thinking about basketball, nothing more.

I didn’t know that before I ever stepped on the court, this place would show me something that would stay with me far longer than any game.

Like any player, my mind was on the game. A new team, a new city, a new opportunity. I expected the usual routine when I landed in Oklahoma City. Physicals, practices, meetings, and a jersey waiting in a locker.

But before any of that, Sam Presti pulled me aside and told me there was somewhere we needed to go.

He didn’t explain much, and I didn’t think to ask. I was focused on the next step in my career.

What I didn’t understand was that, before I could represent the place I was about to play for, I needed to understand it.

So instead of heading to the facility, he took me to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.

I walked in without knowing what I was about to see, and within minutes, everything slowed down.

There are 168 chairs at the memorial, each one representing a life lost on April 19, 1995. They are arranged in quiet rows, each engraved with a name, each standing where a person once stood in that building. Then you notice something that is impossible to process the first time you see it. Some of the chairs are smaller.

They belong to children.

There is no speech that prepares you for that, no headline that captures it. You simply stand there, and the silence carries a kind of weight that is hard to describe but impossible to ignore.

As you walk through the memorial, you pass between two gates marked 9:01 and 9:03. At first, they seem like simple numbers, but then you understand what they hold. One marks the last minute before the attack. The other marks the first minute after. And in between those two gates is 9:02, the moment when everything changed.

That minute does not feel like history when you are standing there. It feels present.

The reflecting pool stretches across what used to be a city street, its surface calm and still. When you look into it, you do not just see water. You see yourself standing in a place where unimaginable loss occurred, and for a moment, everything else in your life becomes quieter.

Nearby stands the Survivor Tree, an American elm that was damaged in the blast but endured. It is not untouched. Its scars are part of what it represents. But it is still standing, and in that, it carries a kind of strength that does not need to be explained.

We did not speak much while we were inside. It did not feel like a place for conversation. Some places ask for words. This one asks for reflection.

When we stepped outside, Sam Presti looked me in the eye and said, “This is what this state has been through.”

Then he said something I will never forget.

“Every time you step on that court, you are not just playing in front of fans. You are playing for a state that carries this with it. Give them everything you have. They deserve that.”

In that moment, basketball felt different.

Not smaller, but clearer.

Because what I had just seen was not only about what was lost. It was about what remained. A state that had experienced unimaginable pain and still chose to come together, to rebuild, and to move forward without losing its humanity.

From that day on, every time I stepped on the court, I carried that with me.

On the nights when I was tired, when I was hurt, when I was dealing with challenges that felt heavy in the moment, I would think about those chairs, about that minute, about the people behind those names. And I was reminded that what I was going through did not compare to what this state had endured.
https://t.co/XfNLliRVaO

[Thorsten Ball @thorstenball]

Very, very good

https://t.co/gFluBxHjlI

[Istra of Glome @byistra]

C.S. Lewis’ version of “go touch grass@

[Ron Rule @ronrule]

Turning abandoned malls into retirement communities is actually a pretty good idea. Keep the food courts and movie theaters. Keep a few storefronts for groceries, a pharmacy, a general store, various medical needs, etc. The rest of the stores can be converted into apartments.

[ThunderChats @ThunderChats]

Early contender for photo of the century

[scha·den·freu·de  @BlisterPearl]

it's absolutely perfect

[Brandon Rahbar @BrandonRahbar]

From the 3-29 start in the inaugural season in OKC..

..to the meteoric rise of the KD/Russ/Harden team.

..to the thrill of making the 2012 Finals and the promise of more to come.

..to 3 title-contending seasons taken away by injuries to Russ/KD/Ibaka.

..to being up 3-1 in the WCF.

..to KD’s hardest road.

..to Russ staying in OKC and his MVP season.

..to the Paul George trade and the OK3.

..to the franchise altering SGA trade.

..to trading away Russ.

..to that special CP3 playoff season.

..to hiring Mark Daigneault.

..to the Poku rebuild years.

..to drafting Chet and JDub.

..to the meteoric rise of the second era.

..to a historical 68 win season.

..all culminating in an NBA Championship coming home to Oklahoma City.

Congratulations, Thunder fans.

[Crystal Recknagel @crystalclear823]

THUNDER UP!!! Never give up, never surrender 🫡

[Crystal Recknagel @crystalclear823]

Loved my time learning at the Nuts and Bolts conference! Main takeaway: Stay focused on what I can control and find the joy everyday. #NBneverboring

[Luguentz Dort 🇭🇹 @luthebeast]

For the fans who rode with us all season. One game at a time. @PlayersTribune

https://t.co/h3vP0hsXp8

[𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙬 | 𝙎𝙃𝘼𝙄 ⚡️ @MVPShai2]

I know he loves horses but this is getting out of hand man..

[Jim Sciutto @jimsciutto]

The El Salvador story is less about Abrego Garcia himself than about the right to due process.

The assault on Harvard is less about the school itself (there are and will be others) but attempted federal control of private universities.

The assault on law firms is less about each firm’s business with the federal government than about frightening firms from taking on cases the administration opposes.

Each principle - due process, educational freedom and right to representation - has implications for everyone regardless of party affiliation or leaning.

[CALL TO ACTIVISM @CalltoActivism]

This is Marco Rubio explaining how the USA promised to defend Ukraine forever if they got rid of their nuclear arsenal left after the Soviet Union fell.

This is why lil marco was sinking into the couch. He was hoping we wouldn’t find it…so don’t RT right now this very second.

[Crystal Recknagel @crystalclear823]

@BrandonRahbar @AngelaKinsey She was so kind to everyone who wanted to meet her!

[Crystal Recknagel @crystalclear823]

Busy day of traveling today at Mustang High School! Teachers visited different “countries” of their choosing to complete hands-on learning projects and collect passport stamps! #engagingpd @MustangSchools

[Leah Libresco Sargeant @LeahLibresco]

The Risk of Birth, 1973
by Madeleine L'Engle

This is no time for a child to be born,
With the earth betrayed by war & hate
And a comet slashing the sky to warn
That time runs out & the sun burns late.

That was no time for a child to be born,
In a land in the crushing grip of Rome;
Honor & truth were trampled to scorn—
Yet here did the Savior make His home.

When is the time for love to be born?
The inn is full on the planet earth,
And by a comet the sky is torn—
Yet Love still takes the risk of birth.

[Crystal Recknagel @crystalclear823]

So thankful for the opportunity to go grow as an Instructional Coach from the guy who wrote the book!

[Robbyn Glinsmann @GlinsmannMath]

What an amazing week for @MustangSchools Instructional Coaches who spent time with @jimknight99 learning and reflecting on their current practices and growing with new knowledge to better impact student success. #ImpactCycle #BetterConversations

[Crystal Recknagel @crystalclear823]

PD Days are my favorite 😍 so glad I got to put together the MAX State Fair with such an incredible team! #mustanghighschool

[ThingsMrGSays @mrbgilson]

Attn: When there is research that indicates kids do better on assessments that are not computer based we shouldn’t move to computers for convenience. I have shared this message for the entire 14 years of my career. The research isn’t new and neither are the anecdotal observations