Timothy McVain Lives: mcvain

12 DAYS IN MAY

~PART FOUR~

*PART ONE*

**PART TWO**

***PART THREE***

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA

I was born beneath the rolling Oakland Hills, a proud child of the Bay Area.

I used to ride a bike around my neighborhood without any thought of danger. I was raised to be courageous, to not let fear rule my life. When part of the Bay Bridge collapsed during a massive earthquake, my beloved Oakland Hills were engulfed in flames, our home was robbed while we were at church, and our car was stolen in the middle of the night- my parents would encourage me to not be afraid. I fell asleep some nights to the screams of sirens, the distorted voices of police speaking through megaphones, and the buzz of helicopters, woken up by the flashing of their spotlights...

This is the hospital where I was born!

I lived in Oakland for about 16 years of my life. Even after moving to an adjacent city, some nights my Dad would take me for drives around our old neighborhood, the schools I attended, our old church, and we would simply enjoy the time talking and being together.

My Dad & I at Sqaw Valley. 5/2014

Even though I grew up in Oakland, I went to school in Alameda which is a really quiet and pretty community. After our extensive tour of San Francisco, my parents and I went to one of the best breakfast restaurants in the world (my opinion) called OLE'S WAFFLE SHOP

After the filling breakfast (my meal pictured above) we drove around our old neighborhood and to a church I featured in my Oakland city drawing.

St. Elizabeth's

My childhood home featured in my "OAKLAND, CA" drawing

Driving up through eucalyptus tree lined streets, our journey took us to the side of the Oakland Hills where a magnificent LDS temple stands as a beacon, shining as a watchman over the entire SF Bay Area.

Every year during Christmas we would drive up to this temple (even though we were not Mormons) and we'd admire their magnificent manger scene, lights, displays, and enjoy the music of their choirs echoing over the bustling river flowing from the foot of the beautiful temple.

Our short trip through Oakland continued through Downtown. I have only recently come to appreciate the glory of architecture, the history of buildings, and the details in structures so this was a very special time for me to see vaguely familiar places with a new eye. (All of these buildings are in my drawing by the way! Can you find them all?)

Our time in Oakland was an important part of my yearly visit to the Bay Area and I'm so glad I got to spend time with my parents talking about old stories, our times together, and my hometown.

My journey was nearing it's conclusion, but first we went to Sacramento...

12 DAYS IN MAY PART 5 OF 5

THE CAPITOL

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"Chase Tower- Houston, Texas"

written by Timothy McVain

September 5th, 2012

At 600 Travis street in the heart of downtown Houston, Texas stands a magnificent structure called the “Chase Tower”. I've always been afraid of heights and though I don't mind being in the air while flying, both taking off and landing have always caused me intense stress. I've never liked rapid changes in altitude and though I've gotten used to the sensation of moving quickly upwards and down in my job's antiquated elevators, I was not prepared for the one at the tower. I have been to the Tower of the Americas' revolving restaurant and the outdoor elevator frightened me, but thankfully I was with my family members, the elevator operator, and a few other tourists going to the observation deck. I've been to Chicago, but my parents and I didn't have time to visit the Sears Tower. I had researched the “Sky Lobby” at the Chase Tower and watched a video on You Tube which featured a family taking photos and looking out the very large wall sized windows, looking down at the busy streets and the empty tops of the other skyscrapers, but nothing could have prepared me for my experience at the 60^th floor.

I had been walking around the bustling streets during the morning rush hour foot and car traffic looking around for the tower, mistaking a few other (shorter) buildings for Chase's. Finally, I walked around a corner and as the strong cool morning breeze blew from between the buildings, I stood before the large structure, looking up into the sky and the clouds which scraped its top. I saw the wall of windows where the Sky Lobby was located and braced myself for the experience. Even then, at the foot of the tower taking photos of it and the sculpture in its shadow, I had doubts whether I should face my fear of heights and ride the elevator to the room of windows. Encouraged by a friends text of support, I walked inside and used their restroom. I was only 13 or so during the 9/11 attacks and the pictures and videos from that day haunted me as I rode the escalator to the lower floor where the bathrooms were and as I approached the large lobby of elevators marking all of the different floors. There were six elevators marked “Sky Lobby” and as I looked at each of them, dreading the opening of the one of the doors, a man walked up confidently and hit the “up” button, looking back and smiling at me as a door opened and I followed him slowly. I asked him if the elevator went to the Sky Lobby, I was already beginning to feel intense anxiety. He smiled and held the elevator door open for me, inviting me in as two other men also walked inside. I stood in the back corner, hands gripping the side rail as the door closed and all of us stood with our heads down, waiting for the elevator to move.

Suddenly we were being shot into the air vertically rising faster than any elevator I've ever been on and to distract myself I tried to decipher the name tag hanging from the briefcase of the man standing next to me. I watched the other men's faces as the elevator rose and thought about how they took this elevator to their job everyday maybe even a couple of times a day. The elevator shook and made a loud hissing noise as we rose. My hands were sweating and there was sweat coming down from my forehead over my eyes. I was afraid to wipe the sweat for fear of letting go of the handlebars. Finally the elevator stopped rising and came to a sudden halt, the doors shaking. We all lifted our heads as the reflective doors opened and I'll never forget when I first saw that gleam of light coming from the room and the moment I was faced with the fact that I had to exit the elevator, I had to walk out into the viewing area high above all of the other buildings.

The men walked confidently, professionally, naturally out of the elevator as I slowly stepped from the suspended elevator to the gray carpet of the Sky Lobby. I tried not to focus on the tower's sounds and the sense that I was basically walking on air without any support beneath me, feeling the wind against the tower as it swayed. The men turned and went down a hall to their jobs while I was left, completely alone, in a room of windows facing the other skyscrapers and clouds and all of Houston below me. Thankfully, there were two sculptures and a large display explaining what they were and I used these as my centers of focus when it was too hard to look out the windows. I pretended to be interested in the sculpture, but my eyes wouldn't stop drifting toward the bright windows and the scene before me.

I've never seen something so beautiful in my entire life. I saw the top of buildings that were impossibly tall and supernaturally gorgeous; I felt that I was standing among giants. I ventured out further towards the windows, never getting more than a foot away from the edge for fear of seeing the bottom of the tower. I took photos, admired the view from such a great height, and then my heart sank to my feet as one of the elevators rose to the floor and opened its doors shaking the ground beneath me and making me feel extremely on edge. This is when I began to notice that not only my sweaty palms and hands, but my entire body was shaking. I was going to take the elevator down with a woman who was waiting for another one to rise, but I decided that I should push through and take a few more pictures of the older buildings below. I reached my hand out to take a photo of buildings closer to the edge of the room; I'm so glad I have long arms.

Finally, I couldn't take it any more and my chest was beginning to be tight as I saw a plane flying around from the airport. I went to the elevator and stepped inside, not thinking about which elevator it was. The doors slowly shut as the great windowed room's scene was being covered like a stage presentation is concealed with the closing of the curtains. The elevator began to descend and I realized I had stepped into the one which shook the floor of the lobby and was the most rickety. The entire, lonely, ride down was so scary with the shaking, what seemed to be the banging against the inner walls of the building as I fell from the sky to the ground. The ride ended with a hard landing and sudden opening of the great doors. It took all of my strength and pride to get my feet walking again, onto solid ground. Skipping minor detours to take photos of other buildings, I went straight back to my car, my body still in shock and continue to shake. It was a terrifying experience, but it was worth it for the photos I got and the pride of knowing I courageously faced a fear of mine and took a bold step to overcome it.