Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Beloved Boston



I wasn't there.

Neither my kids nor my husband were there. We were all safe.

She in NYC, is the one who alerted me of the events via text. He, safe on the golf course with my dad, 70 miles away from the war zone. My husband ensconced safely at his desk and I, enjoying a rare day off with my mom.

I wasn't there, but I could have easily been there like I had so many years before.
I can only share with you how most of us Bostonian who live here felt when the first waves of info came in:

It was 3:15, and I'm shopping at Neiman Marcus in a local suburb. Frick texted me. It read, "Mom, did a bomb go off at the marathon?" "Are u there?" "No."I replied." H/O"

I stopped, and searched the web on my iPhone. I googled Boston Marathon 2013. Nothing. I searched some more nothing. I then searched "bomb at Boston Marathon." I found the footage. I clicked on to the raw video and heard the news that a bomb had gone off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The report  said it was a, "horrific scene". It went on to describe bloodied streets and loss of limbs and I immediately went into safety mode. I started mentally checking off my family members.

That's what everyone that lives here did.

The first text was sent to my best friend. She lives in Boston and is an avid runner. I knew the answer before I finished typing the text, so I immediately placed a call to her seconds after I pressed the send button. I couldn't wait. She answered, "I'm ok." She was crying.
"Thank God," I said. "Were you there?"

"Can," she said between sobs. "I was right there. I had just decided that it was getting cold and that I had shit to do and that it was time to go home." "I felt the blast behind me and turned to see the smoke."
I was so glad she was ok. So glad she was safe. So shocked that she had been so close. She hadn't even called her mom. I let her go, telling her I loved her and to call her mom.

Then I went over the familial list:
I come from a large family and the majority of us are 20-50. Prime Marathon viewing years. The texts began furiously. While I was walking through the store, word got out and people everywhere could be seen either talking on their smartphones or looking at their smartphones. I drove home because no one really wanted to NOT be in front of a TV at this point and we listened to Boston Sports radio, which turned into news talk on the ride home. It was an uneasy next few hours as we awaited word on the family safety. It wasn't until 6:15 that we knew for sure that both my 26 immediate family members were ok and my husband's 11 members were safe. We were lucky.

Then the worst news of all came.

3 people had died and one of them an 8 yr old boy.

Hundreds of people had been injured. It was worse than we could have imagined. I felt at that moment that life had changed.

We were glued to the TV for the rest of the night as I'm sure you were too.

Trying to make the best of a horrid day which was no happy holiday after all.


8 comments:

Cora said...

I'm just so relieved to hear that you and yours are safe.

Slyde said...

Believe it or not, you were the first person i thought of.

glad you and yours are ok

Chris said...

Hi Candy,

First people I thought of were you and Suldog. Glad you're alright.

I'm running my first marathon in two weeks...and I'm strongly considering wearing a Red Sox hat when I do so.

You know me well enough to know what that says.

Candy's daily Dandy said...

Cora-Thank you so much.

Slyde-It's eery that as a spectator my family and my children have stood right there, many times in marathons before. It will never be the same.

Chris- Yes I do know what that says and I think I can speak for us to say that we would like that very much. Thank you.

MarkD60 said...

Glad you're OK.
I still can't believe the horror stories. A man sees his son on TV with no legs, parents go ti visit their daughter in the hospital only to find that it's not her.
Hope they get who did it.

Scope said...

It's been 10 years since I ran a marathon, but this has really hit me too. I keep thinking that the bombs went off just about as I would have been finishing. I remember how exhilarated I was. I can't imagine how this is going to effect some of the survivors.

I hope Chicago opens up spots for any of them that want to try another.

I'm so glad you and your family are safe.

SkylersDad said...

I am so glad you are safe, and proud of your city and the way they have handled themselves.

the walking man said...

"Slyde-It's eery that as a spectator my family and my children have stood right there, many times in marathons before. It will never be the same."


If it is never going to be the same then you have let them win. You have allowed them to make you fearful.

I live in Detroit because I will NEVER let the mean and violent win. I will NEVER let anyone steal from me my knowing peace.

I may die and if I do die at the hands of some lunatic I will still have won because I did not let anyone inhibit me from being where I wanted to be, and be there free from fear.