Boston a Week Later

What an incredible and very sad series of events. A terrible attack on Boston on last Monday. By Friday of that same week the suspects killed and caught.

Like I said very sad. I’m not one to usually say it could have been worse so I won’t. We still lost Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell and Lingzi Lu. They are never coming back. Loosing them have left huge holes in the lives of their family and friends. Those who have injured have still yet to heal. Some it could well take years to heal physically and the mental trauma may take even longer. No we lost a great deal. All of us last Monday were attacked.

But here’s what I’m thankful for. This terrible attack happened at the finish line. So there were many medical personnel right there to help out. I went to see the end of the Marine Corp Marathon one year and was truly surprised by the number of medical staff there to help out. There is no question because the same level of medical support was at the finish line of the Boston Marathon that many people were saved who probably would have died.

I’m thankful for all the first responders that were there. These people instead of running away from danger ran toward danger. All the volunteers for the marathon who continued to do their jobs after this horrible event. The everyday people who decided they had to help people. This is one example of many:

Carlos Arredondo heroically jumped into action after the bombs exploded near the Boston Marathon finish line. Trained by the Red Cross, Arredondo says he tried to stop a severely wounded victim from bleeding. Jeff Bauman survived, but later had both legs amputated.

It turns out Bauman had an important part in the investigation:

In the intensive-care ward, Bauman, who had been near the finish line to see his girlfriend complete Monday’s race, wrote words that would help lead to quick resolution of the bombing that killed three and injured 176 others: “Bag. Saw the guy, looked right at me.”

FBI agents quickly came to Bauman’s bedside. A man in sunglasses and black baseball cap had walked right up to him, placed a black backpack on the ground and stepped away, Bauman remembered.

His tip became a critical lead, according to law enforcement officials.

I'm thankful for the actions of the police and the FBI in going through all the evidence and finding these two guys as quickly as they did. It was nothing sort of amazing.

I'm thankful for the happenstance of the curfew being lifted and a guy going outside to stretch his legs. Looking at his boat in his backyard and finding something amiss. Then calling the police.

I'm most thankful for the fact we all became Americans and Bostonians when the the bombs went off. We grieved for those who died. We were concerned about those who had been hurt. We were concerned for the city of Boston and the surrounding areas.

I'm thankful in a moment of great evil; there was also great good.