TODAY'S COLUMN: THOUGHTS OF WACO SIEGE GENERATE BOTH INTEREST AND SADNESS

People don't have to ask me if I'm new to the area. Most can tell as soon as I open my mouth and my drawl reveals my Texas origins."You're not from around here, are you?" is the most common question I've been asked since moving to the Cape Girardeau area last August.

Once I reveal that I spent much of my adult life in Waco, Texas, then comes the next most asked question, "Were you there during the siege?"They refer, of course to the 54-day stand-off at the Branch Davidian compound outside Waco that began when ATF agents stormed the living quarters of this fringe religious group and ended when the compound went up in flames after federal agents began using tanks to insert tear gas.

Yes, I did live in Waco during this time, and because I worked for the paper there during those days, I probably heard and talked more about it than the average Wacoan.

But like most people who lived in the area, the stand-off had little affect on my everyday life, much to the disappointment of most of those who ask questions about it.

The day of the initial assault on the compound, my family and I had gone for a drive in the country and were as close as 10 miles from the action. Yet we knew nothing of the raid until we turned on the news later that afternoon. We were stunned by the news, just like the rest of the nation.

Despite the proximity to Waco, the majority of residents there had no direct knowledge of the Davidians, their compound or their leader David Koresh. Most of us got news of the raid and the stand-off through the media just like the rest of the country.

Also disappointing to most people outside Texas is the fact that the Davidian compound was not in downtown Waco. It was located in the countryside several miles outside the city limits. Imagine a farm house on some land in the rural area west of Gordonville and you can get a general idea of the compound's remoteness.

The closest most of us got was driving by a small hill on the outskirts of town where TV crews had set up their long-range lenses to get a glimpse of the Davidian buildings.

I also occasionally saw ATF agents walking through the mall. At least I think they were ATF agents. They wore black windbreakers with ATF in large white letters across the back. And I knew those who took to frequenting the bar at the local Hilton in hopes of hobnobbing with network TV reporters who were staying in that hotel.

The city of Waco tried to put the best face on the crisis that it could, although that wasn't always easy. I remember one television report that especially riled city officials because of the lengths it went to to cast Waco in a hick Texas image. At one point, the narrator was talking about the city's police force, while the image being shown was of a black and white, circa "Andy Griffith" show police car used as an outside decoration by a Cajun restaurant. That's actually kind of funny unless you're a city official trying to get companies to invest in your town.

But at least Wacoans no longer had to help those from other parts of the country find Waco on the map. Now every one knows where Waco is or at least recognizes the name.

In fact, I've used my link there as a conversation starter. Experiencing a lull in chit-chat, I just bring up that I once lived in Waco and can be guaranteed at least 10 or 15 minutes of talk.

But there is a dark side, too. I can't help but think that Wacoans took it more personally than others when the Davidian compound went up in smoke that April day in 1993. After all, this wasn't an event being televised from the other side of the world. While most Wacoans saw the flaming house on television like the rest of the world, this was something happening in our own backyard.

And while we in the newsroom felt no sympathy for David Koresh, viewing him as a fast-talking manipulator who was probably abusing young girls, there wasn't a dry eye in the crowd as we thought of the children perishing in the blaze.

Whose fault was it? Koresh probably could have been arrested outside the compound, if that was all the ATF wanted to do. Why did they insist on storming his home, even when they knew they had lost the element of surprise? Why did the FBI choose an especially windy day to insert the tear gas? Did agents fire on the compound that day? Did they delay firefighters from reaching the scene.

These questions may never be answered to the satisfaction of all.

But for me and others who lived in Waco at the time, it has been interesting, if ultimately saddening, living through an event that may end up in the history books.

Teresa Johnson is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.