The horror of Marathon bombings has triggered such an amazing sense of togetherness all over the country. We all feel attacked. For this surreal day Boston is locked down, so all of America feels locked down as well, on edge for Boston, checking the news anxiously for the apprehension of the second brother. Did they get him? Did they get him? Did anything happen? The murdered MIT policeman feels like our policeman. Our hearts are heavy for this brave man doing his job to protect students to the death. And he did. We don’t even know your name yet, but we mourn you and thank you for sacrificing your life while trying to make the world a better and safer place.
We also feel like we knew eight-year-old Martin Richard who had just come back from eating ice cream to become a heartbreaking Marathon casualty. If only the ice cream line had been a little bit longer, if only his family had chosen another spot to stand, if only they had already left, if only… How can that poor father possibly bear the loss of his son, his six-year-old daughter with an amputated leg, and his wife suffering from serious brain damage? It’s unfathomable.
In his statement he said, “We thank our family and friends, those we know and those we have never met, for their thoughts and prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for my family as we remember Martin.’’ So he knows we’re out there, the friends he has never met. So let’s pray for his family. That’s what friends do; they pray for you when the chips are down. And the chips couldn’t be any further down for him, our friend who has lost his family as he knew it. AND FOR WHAT?!
The righteous anger is setting in. A union based in Martin’s home of Dorchester has mounted a huge billboard in downtown Boston, reading, “COWARDS!” They didn’t know Martin before, but they know him now. He is now one of their own — and one of our own as well.
Walker Percy once said, “Have you noticed that only in time of illness or disaster or death are people real?” He sure does have a point there, doesn’t he? It cuts you down to the core, cuts us all down to what really matters. We learn to savor life a bit more, flawed as it is. We double back and start taking better care of each other, paying more attention to each other, and mourning together because we all feel the same tremendous sense of loss and despair. What in the world has this world come to these days? It is far beyond my grasp.
It’s a great unifier — tragedy and death. We can all relate to it. We can all gasp in horror that innocent people watching runners pass over the Marathon’s finish line were literally torn apart by bombs filled with nails and ball bearings. There was no warning, no way in the world to ever foresee such a malicious event. We are all in equally vulnerable positions throughout the day every day of our lives. It’s beyond scary; it’s bone-chilling. Let’s just say what we are all thinking, it could have happened just as easily to me. We are trying to make sense of it all, but inherently evil acts make no sense and never will.
The ongoing investigation this week has been another marathon of sorts as police and FBI work tirelessly to find the remaining bomber brother. This is a marathon that we will win. And we will cross this much more important finish line together.
LibbY
