Believe it or not.....but I used to be a runner.
Not a good runner.
Not a fast runner.
Not a graceful runner.
But I ran with two different running clubs
(that were more about the social camaraderie than about the swiftness of our gait.)
So, the Boston Marathon has always had a special place in my heart.
I even worked it as a volunteer for a couple of years as a wheel chair spotter.
My job was to mark off each wheel chair competitor as he or she raced by,
to make sure no one had fallen by the wayside or pulled a Rosie Ruiz.
In Massachusetts we celebrate Patriots Day, only one of three states that do so.
It's the day of the Boston Marathon.
It is a beloved day in Massachusetts because lots of people don't have to work, and it symbolizes the beginning of spring and a real end to the long hard winters we suffer through up here.
It's purpose is to commemorate the battles in Lexington and Concord during the Revolutionary war that gave birth to the beginning of our country,
but most people just think of the Boston Marathon.
In the Boston area it's a really big deal.
For one thing, you can't drive from here to there because a main artery from east to west is closed for the runners.
It's an international event with our own home town feel.
Everyone I know loves it.
It's ours.
It's special.
It's massive and intimate at the same time.
We all know someone who's run in it, talked about running in it, dreamed about running it or just lied about running it.
IT'S OURS!!!!!
And now some
horrible @$$ holes have attacked our home.
I am heartbroken.
For those of you who haven't been to Boston,
the Back Bay, where the bombs exploded, is like a little neighborhood.
It's not full of tall buildings and skyscrapers, but of brownstone row houses.
We have the financial district and the water district and China town and Southie,
but when I think of Boston, I think of the Back Bay.
It's the heart of the city.
We've had out heart attacked.
I hope they find who did this and lock him up for ever.
I realize this post had nothing to do with humor or decorating, but it's that kind of a mood here in Massachusetts.
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35 comments:
My heart is broken as well. As the descendant of a Minuteman who fought in the Battles of Lexington and Concord, it hurts to see our freedom threatened on such a joyous day. May whoever did this be found and justice done.
Devastating,So sad for Boston and sending love from England xxx
Watching everything unfold on tv and online and talking to Amy on Facebook what a night of panic and terror and this morning the deaths and casualty lists sadden my heart so much x
Such a sad day for the city of Boston. I keep thinking of how horrible for those runners who live to run and have prepared for this event only to lose their legs at the finish line because some @$$hole decided to make a political or religious statement against our country. WTF is wrong with people!?
...been praying for you all up there. our hearts around the nation are with you.
Terrible - horrible - we are all stunned at the evil of it. I pray that the person or persons are found and that justice will prevail.
Totally proud of our medical workers who knew what to do in a horrible situation. We live in an awesome country filled with truly great people. Evil will not prevail. Jo @ Let's Face the Music
Betsy, those of us across the country feel the pain as well. I've nieces and friends who have run the Boston Marathon many times. Our hearts are broken from this horrible attack, and our hearts and minds are focused on those individuals suffering from this event.
I'm so sorry for the suffering and ugliness in your beautiful town. My heart is with you.
What a horrible thing to do on such a beautiful and special day...
I can't wait till the catch the s.o.b. who caused so much hurt and devastation....
Praying for the lives lost and their family....
Blessing~
Mari
I stayed at Copley Place [Marriott?] for several work functions/meetings and I was really sad to see this happen.
Yes completely shaken after this event. I heard the bombs in my house 12 miles away Betsy. It was crazy. So sad.
Another sad day for our country......come on, you coward, come forward and take responsibility!!!
The bombing is such an unbelievable nightmare! God bless the families who've lost loved ones, and those injured. Thankful prayers for the first responders, hospitals and individuals who helped.
I stayed up all night just researching what I could. This was a homemade dirty bomb; created with the intent to damage as many people as possible. There has to be footage of SOMETHING...SOMEONE planting those devices and the others they found. The FBI can track the source of the bomb components and find out where they were purchased. Have faith.
In my research, I saw some amazing acts of courage and love. The runners who ran behind the ambulances to get to the hospital to give blood after they had run 26 miles, the strangers who worked furiously to rip the metal barriers down so emergency personnel could get through, the regular folks who kept a level head, bent down and helped the fallen.
I am SPITTING MAD, Betsy! How dare they!? I am also sad and confused.
Yes, the individuals responsible would do well to remember Lexington and Concord! We Americans will hunt them down to the darkest corners and it won't be pretty.
I wish I could send you peace. This is a time for grieving. I'm sad too, friend.
xo
Andie
Well said Betsy!
Cindy
well said. My condolences and prayers for your city.
This reminds me so much of the reason for Patriot's Day, as illuminated in the poem by Longfellow, "Paul Revere's Ride." Today was the day in 1775. I used to know it by heart when I was a kid. I'm going to revisit it. Another thing that really ticks me off is the way the rest of the country views Massachusetts, as a super-liberal haven. The publisher of the Vail Daily called it "pinko Massachusetts." Do they forget that we were the ones who came here, both Pilgrims, then Puritans, to live a conservative life? We will survive. AnnWilson Born in Worcester
My prayers are with you all. I just don't know what to say except God be with each and every runner and the families.
Shirley
Atlanta, GA
It's that kind of mood everywhere in America. My 13 year old son keeps saying he is so mad and asking how anyone can do such acts -- to deliberately and horribly injure innocent people. I'm glad that he has a tender, compassionate heart and that he will grow up to be good American. So many lives so tragically altered... our prayers are with them as they face difficult days ahead, with the citizens of Boston, and with our country -- so many needs.
So sorry, and exactly how I feel.
They'll find who was behind all of this. The lives that have been turned up side down from this will never be the same. The reprocusions won't even really hit the fan for a while. They have to be in that God awful fog of grieving. I'm sorry, I've know people that were murdered. There isn't any such thing as closure. There always a big hole in your heart that becomes part of your life. I know people are sayings like we're tough we'll get through this. Not everyone will, the pain hasn't even truly begun. Then they'll make movies about it. It's sick. My daughter lives in NYC my son is in DC. We worry about them all the time.
So horrible! I visited Copley Sq. Many times when my son was at Holy Cross. Got such a sick feeling when I saw it, just like 9/11 when so many of our friends were killed here in NY.
I have been praying for the families of those who died and those who face a lifetime of struggle and pain.
I can think of many ways this coward can be punished. I pray they find he/ she quickly.
Boston will never be the same, NY isn't all these years later. A hole that never heals.
I'm sick about this my heart is broken....
Thank you Betsy for a post we all feel deeply about. I was standing in Copley sq four years ago for the Marathon when my daughter in law crossed the finnish line running for Dana Farber. It was a joyous day. They say I always think of the glass half full but today I am not so sure. It may never be the same again. We will never forget yesterday nor should we ever forget the people we lost.
This is a sad time for Boston, and the country. You said it all very well.
This cowardly act devastated so many families from all over our country. Evil people will go to any length to have their 15 seconds of the spotlight of the world. May each of them responsible burn in h--- . My heart aches for everyone in our country. Your statements were well written, thank you Betsy.
Find him/her, yes. Locking him/her up forever? Too kind....That person outta be swiftly eradicated from the likes of human beings.
We all feel your pain, the whole country, maybe the whole world. It is unfathomable that anyone would do something like this.
The Boston Marathon will come back better than ever. I predict record crowds next year. I know I will make the trek from Quincy to be there, for the first time. (stationed strategically near a port-a-potty,sigh.)
Contributions to help the bomb victims can be made to The One Fund.
So very, very sad and scary. My heart goes out to everyone in Boston.
Cynthia
We are all with you in this. My heart goes out to all those affected because it touches all of us in one way or another.
Penny
AMEN and AMEN Betsy!!
I remember lots of lovely visits in the Back Bay neighborhoods.
And "they" have done it again!! Please God that they will find the creeps who have done this and make them pay the full penalty for this outrage!
Blessings to you and yours,
J
Betsy, I'm from Oklahoma so I know how it feels to have your heart attached. This too is a horrible act of cowardice.
I'm so sorry some f&*%$#g a%&hole did this to your's and many other's town. It seriously makes me sick to my stomach. My prayers for us all because we have a bunch of crazy people that need to be locked up, or gone. Paula Lusk
I can't understand someone wanting to hurt as many people as possible. Thank God for the people who responded so quickly to help those who were hurt. I'm sorry that this happened to your city. My husband's nephew and wife live in Watertown and it just brings it way too close to home. I'm glad they caught 'suspect #2'. Let justice be done.
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