For Parkland, an ephemeral Temple of Time helps heal
In marking a year since the Stoneman Douglas shooting, people have a new if fleeting place to unite and honor those who have been lost.
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Remembered with love. Forever in our hearts. Keep our children safe. Not one more. These were some of the many words written upon a shrine built here, in a town next to Parkland, to honor the lives lost in last year’s Stoneman Douglas High mass shooting.
Erected in a green space in the middle of the city by California artist David Best and a 24-person crew, the monument known as The Temple of Time was opened to the public on Feb. 14 as a place where those affected by the tragedy could come and heal.
Made of thousands of pieces of perfectly carved wood, and built with the hands of hundreds of volunteers, the Temple towers over the park. Inside are even more ornate designs, all of which evoke a sense of calmness. The architecture itself borrows style from Asian cultures, without being tied to any single religion.
No cell phones are allowed inside the structure, and all within the shade of its massive roof were the murmurs and small conversations of hundreds of people who came to visit and pay their respects.
One such visitor was Domenic Zenobi, a graduate of Stoneman Douglas in 2016. Domenic’s brother Joseph was one of the students on campus the day of the shooting. “I got a text from my brother that morning saying there were gunshots and he was hiding in a closet,” Zenobi said. “The only thing I could think of was, ‘this cannot be real.’”
Equipped with a camera around his neck, Domenic explained his purpose for visiting the Temple. “I am here to keep these photos for myself. I never want to forget this monument and what it stands for. It is impressive to see something so beautiful and it really helps this community.”
People from all walks of life streamed through: young and old, parents and children, current and former students, police officers and shopkeepers. Even those who had not been around for the tragedy descended upon the Temple today. One after another, people stepped up to the central shrine, left a heartfelt message or lay down flowers amongst other gifts to honor those who did not survive.
Long hugs between family members and tears running off the cheeks of loved ones was a common sight all around the Temple, weighing the air. The light piercing through the carvings in the wood created a ray of light shining down upon the messages in a moment that seemed angelic. The combination of the two created a palpable sense of both sadness and peace. Passersby remarked on the feelings created by the Temple, with one person saying, “Sometimes people don’t know what they need until they need it.”
Elsewhere through the crowd was a freelance reporter named Joanne Cherisma, a multimedia journalist. As a long time resident of the area, she was just as shaken as many others in the vicinity surrounding Stoneman Douglas.
“Last year at this time I was at work at a station in Tallahassee and we got the call the shooting was happening. Everything stopped and we all had to focus on what was happening, Cherisma said. She came to the Temple on Feb. 14 to learn about its role in the community and to hear about how people move forward from this tragedy.
Cherisma and Zenobi were just some of the many examples of people from different backgrounds uniting together in the face of overwhelming sadness. The Temple of Time will stand every day until mid-May, where it will be burned to the ground in a final ceremony, as a way to let go of the pain those still have. T
For now though, this monument will serve as one of many hubs where people can heal and surround themselves with love.
