I’ve never really had a “city” a “town” of my own. I grew up in suburbia, went to school in a pseudo-urban area in Ewing, New Jersey. We moved to College Park, Maryland after college but D.C. was never our “city.” And when we first moved to Massachusetts in 2007, I didn’t handle that transition well.
But after almost six years of living in the Boston Metro area…
Yeah, this is my town. This is my city.
And today, somebody decided not just to shit all over a beloved Boston tradition, but they have dramatically scarred a place I now call home.
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There were kids at the finish line.
And while confirmed reports of casualties and injuries are still coming in, they’re saying as many as 8-10 children were injured.
Just heard on the radio: one of the confirmed dead was an eight year-old boy.
Eight years old.
* * *
I’ve been listening to live streaming audio online from various Boston news outlets all day. On the WBZ Radio stream, one of the reporters said, “These people standing at the finish line – these were our friends, our family, people we’ve interviewed and worked with over the years-”
Another reporter cut him off, gesturing toward the screen as they showed an image of the aftermath.
“That runner right there?” she said. “That’s my cousin.”
The number of friends and colleagues I know who live and work in Boston, some within blocks of the finish line, is staggering. Thankfully and by the grace of G-d: they are all safe.
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“Boston is a tough and resilient town. So are its people.”
– President Obama at this evening’s press conference from the White House
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Yes, I have gestational diabetes and yes, I’m having ice cream for dinner.
#whatofit
* * *
Boston Police and federal officials are cordoning off a 15-block are of the city. From WBUR: “They’re treating this 15-block area of the city as a crime scene.”
This is my town.
My town is now a crime scene.
This is my town.
My home.
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