QUINTON, Okla. - A major tragedy overtook such a small town; many people said Monday morning's natural gas rig explosionhit home more than any outsider could imagine.
Like the thick, black smoke rushing from the scene, fear and worry billowed from this community.
“I prayed all day maybe those five just didn’t come to work today.”
And Miss Connie Cagle working at a tiny convenient store on Main Street has seen just about everything and everyone.
“It’s just too sad. You just want to say I’m sorry and give them a big hug,” she said.
She’s been trying since 3 in the afternoon to wipe away the somber spirit lingering over the place she’s lived most of her life.
“You don’t realize how scary it is until something like this happens.”
The fierce flames not only a wake-up call for her.
“The thought of not being able to know if he’s ok or where he’s at - absolutely devastating,” said Quinton Resident Sherri Turner, whose son also works in an oil field.
But just about everyone else.
“I just became sick,” she said.
However, the thoughts that stick with Miss Connie while she keeps busy, hidden behind a pizza display.
“Wondering if some of the guys that came in here was one of the five.”
Does she know them?
Did the group of young workers roaming her store Sunday night meet an unimaginable circumstance the next morning?
The ones that came in here were young, they had families.”
She hopes not.
All she knows for sure is no matter what happens tomorrow, the Quinton she knows will always be able to do one thing.
“We all move on.”
There is a follow-up press conference Tuesday at 10 a.m.
In the meantime a lot of the people in the community aren’t asking for much, just prayers for those five missing workers.
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