The Beautiful City of Boston. Photo credit: historictours.com
Yesterday’s explosions in Boston sent me into a tailspin. I remembered that feeling of sheer panic as we wondered where our loved ones were in New York on that fateful day in September of 2001. Nothing rocks your world like helplessness and uncertainty. And to our utter dismay, heartbreak, and true disbelief, my husband lost his first cousin in the Trade Centers that morning.
The first call I made yesterday was to Jenny to see if her husband was okay. He works in Boston three to four days a week, and thankfully, he was tucked in his house here in Maryland. The second call I made was to my friend, Charles, who also works in Boston; he picked up his cell and informed me that he was okay and was heading back to his place in the city.
Yet despite the two of them being safe, I was sick with worry for those folks affected by the explosions. Many were taken to area hospitals with unthinkable injuries, while three others were pronounced dead.
No one expects something like that to happen on a beautiful day in Boston—or anywhere in this beautiful USA of ours—when an event like a marathon is taking place on Patriot’s Day, a day off in the city.
The reality is, there are horrible people who do horrible things to other people. I try to explain this to my children, but it remains a daunting task. One that I wish I would never have to explain.
The Beatles said, “All you need is love,” but sometimes hate is stronger than love in a particular instance. It makes me terribly sad to relay this bad news, but it’s true. Go ahead and cry if you want to. However, the good news is, love wins out in the end, despite casualties and injuries. There are brave people who put their own lives on the line to rescue and attend to the injured; there are uniformed personnel who take risks to protect us; there are doctors, nurses, and paramedics ready to get to work; and there are prayers flooding into God and other beings of deity who are hopefully listening. These things happen all in the name of love.
My friend Amy put on her Facebook status today these words: “What a disappointing species we are.” I feel her disappointment, for I feel exactly the same way. And yet, if we look closely, we can see what an amazing species we are as well. As I listened to a doctor at one of the Boston hospitals being interviewed this morning, microphones shoved into his face never imagining that he’d be front and center in the wake of terrorism, I could only marvel at his talent, training, and need to help others. He handled himself with grace, and the goodness in him shone in his eyes.
If only everyone acted and behaved in that same manner.
