Patriot's Day 2013

Patriot’s Day 2013 will be remember as the day that celebrations at the finish line of the annual running of the Boston Marathon were instantly changed into shock, grief, sadness and anger as what some at a distance thought might have been a cannon going off turned to be an act of ‘terror,’ called simply for no other reason that it terrorized the people there and wherever around the country and world runners had ties to. No, people soon realized that this wasn’t a re-enactment of the battle of Lexington and Concord, the one which Emerson referred to as the "shot heard 'round the world," in the opening stanza of  the 'Concord Hymn," but one that many throughout the world experience with much more frequency nowadays. “This isn’t supposed to happen in Boston,” some were heard to say, but someone thought differently. The color red from today was not from the red coats that were worn by the British but from the innocent blood that was splattered on people, buildings and streets.

"In all my medical training, I have not seen things that I saw [Monday]. Everything was traumatic," said Dr. Vivek Shah who was among those who provided on-site assistance He had just crossed the 26.2-mile finish line at the Boston marathon Monday when he was forced to put his medical skills to work. Shah, an orthopedic surgeon at New England Baptist Hospital in Roxbury Crossing, Mass., said he saw injuries along the sidewalks on Boylston Street for which no amount of training could prepare him.

Some of the other first responders mentioned that the scene was that of a battlefield. One of the runners coming through the finish line described how part of someone’s leg came flying by him. Reporters at the scene from WBZ TV who were 30 feet away described how they were stunned at first thinking that maybe a manhole cover blew off. It didn’t take long for them to see what happened as the cloud of white smoke cleared. This white smoke didn’t signal the election of a new pontiff but was a sign that sent many running away but also had many running to the scene to help in whatever way they could. People were repeatedly yelling, “Oh my God, oh my God.”

On this almost perfect weather day for running the medical tent that was just near the finish line proved to be a blessing and because of its close proximity and the many medical volunteers who raced into action probably saved a number of lives. Many of these ‘good Samaritans’ are in my prayer of thanksgiving. They rank right up there with those brave Minutemen who fought not far from here for our freedom during the Revolutionary War.

 

 

I first heard of the events when 98.5 FM which is one of the two sports call-in stations in Boston switched to their sister station WBZ who had been broadcasting from the marathon. I then started to worry about my sons, one who is domiciled in the
Fire House which is the closest to the finish line. I tried to get in touch but to no avail as later on all cell phone service for Boston was cut off. Hours later I breathed a sigh of relief when I did make contact with all three. The oldest was not on duty that day but was at the Fire House preparing for Tuesday’s shift and apparently was trying to check on a friend and son who ran in the marathon.

I hope that whoever is responsible for this cowardly act is soon caught. As bad as this was it could have been a lot worse if it happened an hour sooner when a lot more people would have been in that area.

It’s in times such as these when many come to the realization of how fragile life is. One moment one may be cheering and celebrating the next may be one of crying and mourning. I echo the sentiments published by the Christian Science Monitor, “Marathons, including the one in Boston, celebrate courage, endurance, strength, freedom, and joy, and the bombings that took place at this year's event cannot be allowed to have the last word.”