"Boston is tough and resilient and won't be knocked down from this."
-Barack Obama
I am shocked and deeply saddened by the tradgedies that occurred today at one of my favorite events of the year. I felt that fellow Bostonian, Mark Chiarelli, summed up everything I needed to say eloquently.
"There are no words to make tragedies better.
In fact, it's beyond me as a writer and a thinker to fully comprehend
today's attack on the Boston Marathon. The bombing which, as of now,
killed three people and injured at least 138 more is an unmitigated
disaster.
There is someone who awoke on Patriots Day with the intent to strip us
of our freedom, of our piece of mind, and ultimately of our lives
through an act of terror. Patriots Day is a celebrated holiday in
Massachusetts, a day filled with sport, fun, friends, and most of all,
family while celebrating our freedom.
Perhaps that's why the tragedy which occurred at the finish line of the
116th Boston Marathon rendered me immovable, glued to a television
screen as one of our worst nightmares unfolded right in our backyard.
No, I haven't lived in Boston. I live in one of the safest suburbs in
Massachusetts and rarely feel the need to venture directly into Boston
unless I'm attending a sporting event or someone is willing to buy me a
nice dinner. But through years of avid sports viewing and general
proximity, I've been to the city countless times. I've been to the
Boston marathon, I've walked down Boylston street, and I know people who
volunteer and run in this great event each year.
This hits close to home. Today, we are all Bostonians.
I haven't cried often in the past few years, but today I shed tears. I
can't remember the last time I've felt so helpless, but today I sat on
the couch without any clue how to deal with my emotions and not having a
way to help. I assume I'm not alone in my response to today's events.
No one woke up today dreading a disaster at the Boston Marathon. But
anyone who's lived in the area or has a connection to the area felt an
immediate attachment to the tragedy which unfolded. Mothers, fathers,
brothers, sisters, friends and others were affected today. Hopefully, by
the grace of the powers above, none of our closest family members and
friends were directly affected.
But maybe that's why the emotions raged within me, knowing that it very
easily could have been any of us who decided to hang out near the
finish line.
To be honest, I have no real direction or real point to be made with the
blog post. At 8:45pm, roughly 6 hours after the events took place, I'm
pissed off. I'm angry that someone attacked my city, injured my
people, and ruined the innocence of one of the greatest holidays and
events of the year. I'm angry that I can't help, I'm angry that all of
this happened.
A few hours ago I was more shocked than anything. Incapable of moving,
incapable of thinking, just watching and occasionally letting out a few
sobs. It's a horrible feeling, something I hope I never have to feel
again. Unfortunately, I most likely will.
Lastly, I'd be remiss to mention all that was good today, however hard
it may be to find good in such evil. As President Barack Obama stated,
Boston is tough and resilient and won't be knocked down from this. While
the ideals behind terrorism is to strike fear into the hearts of free
citizens, one can hope that this will only strengthen the Commonwealth.
And while it may take the darkest of days, today also brought out the
greatness in our society. There are some deplorable, cowardly people out
there, but today we saw that the good will always outweigh the evil. We
saw Boston Police officers rush bravely towards the explosions. We saw
volunteers tear through debris to rescue hundreds, and we saw over 1200
civilians in Boston offer their homes to displaced runners.
I don't know whether it was the right move to write something while the
emotions from today's attack are so raw. Honestly, I don't know what to
think about today. But I do know that writing often helps deal with
sorrow and frustration, at least for me. And hopefully, through reading
this, I've helped some of you as well. I'll leave you with words much
wiser than mine.
"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother
would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who
are helping." To this day, especially in times of disasters, I remember
my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are
still so many helpers, so many caring people in the world." -Fred
Rogers"
