Remembering Borderline

I am not going to talk about the night of the shooting but the aftermath. Waking up at 6am Thursday morning on November 8th was a blur. I was in shock and couldn’t comprehend what just happened the night before. Checking in to find friends and loved ones, I went to work. By noon I was notified that five friends had passed. Then by 6pm it was confirmed that 12 people were dead, 10 of which were friends of mine, and one of the ten angels I consider a big brother. When I found out Tel had passed away, I was shocked. Going thru Route 91 everyone made it home, so I figured this time he would also make it home, but he didn’t. I didn’t even have time to think or process the past 24 hours as I was evacuated from my home because of the Woolsey fire. With only a bin of belongings, a bag of clothes, and backpack with all my school supplies, we watched the news waiting to be told we needed to leave. When everything calmed down after about 5 days I was able to begin to reflect.

After about a week I made my way back to Borderline to put items on Tel’s cross and see the outpouring of love and support from my community. We met up with Tel’s family and a few close friends. We hugged, cried, and mourned the loss that we now faced. Every night I would hear the gunshots, miss my best friends, and reality sunk in of my community enduring the unthinkable. After Christmas we finally had a celebration of life for Tel and were able to be together to celebrate his life and the memories, we all had. Finally, at the six-month mark was when I pushed myself to go back out and line dance with friends at the Canyon.

As we approach the year mark it brings back all the memories, flashbacks, nightmares, and anxiety from the two nights that changed everything for me. Knowing how much the community has backed a small country bar in a small town has been amazing and outpouring of support has made me so proud to call Borderline and Thousand Oaks home.

Kimberly C.