|
|
About this Site
This site is written and maintained by Cyn Shepard. It was founded April 21, 1999 and is updated regularly. Just check the blog on the main page for the most recent update.
You won't find out much about me on this website -- this site isn't about me. It's about Columbine, what happened the day of the shootings, and the people it affected. If you're really that curious about me, email me at the contact link above and we'll chat. Please understand I get a lot of email so it may take me a little time to answer but I do try to answer all email I receive.
Some of the most Frequently Asked Questions I see in my email have to do with why I run this website. What motivates me? Why did I start it in the first place?
There are a number of reasons, really. First, I was irritated that the media coverage at the time: rumor and speculation were presented as fact and the media seemed more interested in sensationalizing things than they were in what really happened. More-over, the only non-corporate-run websites I found about the subject immediately following the massacre were either hate-mongering sites that worshipped the shooters (complete with drippy bloodbars and flame-text logos) or were simpering tributes to the victims (complete with angel-bunnies and no real content or substance beyond grief).
I knew the real story was lurking out there somewhere so I started digging - online and off. As days stretched into weeks, I dug as deep as I could to get a hold of the real story that the media just couldn't seem to wrap their resources around. From the day after the shootings I began to collect information as it came available, so I could understand what happened as fully as I was able.
As I came by it, I kept the information. I am a collector of many things; I never can bring myself to throw away something that might be useful or interesting and as I HAVE found the information I've collected very useful in understanding what took place on April 20, 1999 and the events related to the tragedy, I've held onto it. And what better way to put it to use than to put it into a scrapbook of sorts, for the world to see?
For months after its initial creation I devoted nearly 60 hours a week to coding and posting in a browse-able format all the info that I'd collected. I no longer have that sort of time to devote to this project as I've had many new responsibilities come my way in the past eight years that I've been chronicling this event but I feel that this virtual museum is well worth keeping online, if for no other reason than because it's a collected time capsule of a truly world-impacting event.
As for the author, from a reference perspective you can quote C Shepard if you have need. I'm an artist, a writer, a musician, a parent, and a geek, amongst many other things. I do have my opinions about what happened but I try to censor my personal feelings out of the larger site as my opinion has little to do with the event. If you have questions, you can email me.
I suppose what continues to hold my interest the most (apart from having a digital horde of information left to analyze and present) is that I'm waiting to see whether Jefferson County will ever release the infamous Basement Tapes to the public or not. That, I think, represents the final chapter in this tragic book of history. The last episode left to be seen.
|
|
