May 4 fell on a Monday in 1970.
At some point during the morning, four students each woke up, grabbed a toothbrush, maybe showered, got dressed, probably had a bite of breakfast, and headed out.
It wasn't the proverbial day like any other day. For one thing, over the weekend Ohio National Guard troops had occupied their school, Kent State University.
Bill Schroeder and Sandy Scheuer both made their way to their first classes anyhow. Alison Krause figured she'd hit the big anti-war rally scheduled for the Commons at noon. So did Jeffrey Miller, despite the spreading reports that Kent State administrators planned to ban it.
At 12:24, they were flung into history.
[You can read the five preceding diaries in this series on the massive campus uprising of May '70 by clicking here and scrolling down a bit. Or you can catch up, and even cheat and read ahead, by going to the Fire on the Mountain blog, where this was originally published (with illustrations), and following the chain links at the bottom of each installment.]