So, Steve would not learn of his missing friend until Tuesday the 26th. Normally, news of a missing person would be all over the news in Oklahoma City, still a small town at heart in 1963. But, the shock of Friday night and Saturday had not worn off when Oswald himself was murdered late Sunday morning by Jack Ruby on national television at 11:21 A.M. CST. President Kennedy’s funeral was the next day, Monday, so there was no resemblance of anything normal until Tuesday morning. Steve, as did most Americans during that long nightmarish weekend, sat glued to his television set, scarcely aware of other events going on in the world, such as the tragic fire on Saturday at the Golden Age Nursing home in Fitchville, Ohio, which killed 63 of the 84 residents. Indeed, the streets of Oklahoma City were almost entirely devoid of traffic until after the president’s funeral. For three days, Oklahoma City resembled a ghost town to those few who were out and about. But, finally, on Tuesday a sad and sorrowful nation went back to work.

Steve’s already overloaded senses were given another shock when Oklahoma City Police Lieutenant Rick Petit knocked on his apartment door early Tuesday afternoon. Steve had attended class that morning and had heard nothing concerning anyone being missing. After Lieutenant Petit explained his friend’s disappearance after leaving the apartment Thursday evening and his knowledge of the Thursday evening study session, Steve fought through the emotional numbness he felt, thought for a few moments and said to the officer, “I know who is missing without you having to tell me.”