Quick Thoughts on Boston

I have mixed emotions about yesterday's bombings at the Boston Marathon. I feel relief that the few people I know who happened to be in Boston, for the marathon, are all safe and sound. I feel angry that this happened. I feel sadness for the families who have lost loved ones and for those who will live with the scars and injuries of the day forever. I feel helpless. I feel scared. I feel annoyed.

The number one question people were asking on the radio this morning was: "Was the scene chaotic?" It's like, they were trying to get witnesses who were calling in to add to the drama and admit that there was pandemonium, to say that somehow, because there was chaos, terror was achieved, that the Marathon planners weren't prepared, that the city of Boston is full of hot-headed people who can't "STAY CALM" in an emergency. I had to turn the radio off.

Of course it was chaos, you idiot djs. Bombs went off in the middle of what was otherwise a glorious day. People were killed and injured out of nowhere.What else would you have people do? Sit in their seats and not run away? Pick up their belongings and children and just walk home or to their hotels? Hail a cab? Use their indoor voices rather than calling out about the people nearby with serious, horrific injuries? Yeah, that type of response wouldn't be concerning at all. Chaos is what we should expect. Chaos is a human response to tragedy. It doesn't mean that people weren't prepared, or that people weren't helpful. It just means they were human. I'm not going to listen to the radio again until they stop asking the nonsense questions and giving whoever did this credit and start focusing on the helpers and the heroes and the victims.

If you've ever run a long race, you know the feeling of euphoria that fills your body as you approach the finish line. If you've ever watched someone you care about finish a long race, you know the feelings of pride and respect that you feel for them as they finish. Long races tear down the body but build up the spirit. The people who were in Boston yesterday - racers and spectators alike - understand that. They and the city of Boston will recover. We all will. Hopefully we will hold on to the feelings of euphoria and pride and want to race again. Hopefully we will all want to move forward together and continue to make our world a safer, more peaceful place. I know that I will, because that feeling you get from being a part of a moving crowd of people all sharing the same goal - whether it be finishing a race or world peace or something else - is powerful.

And. The people who are responsible will pay. May they never drink chocolate milk again.