No Guarantees

Back in the late 90's, I spent a bit of time traveling for work. One of the cities I happened to spend a lot of time in was Boston and it quickly became one of my favorite cities to travel to. In addition to the great people that worked in the office I visited on my trips, the city had such an interesting vibe for me. One part historic, one part good old New England charm and one part cultured fun, it definitely was a place I loved to "visit" for work. 

On one of those particular visits, I got into the office after fighting incredible traffic coming from the airport. Everyone kept saying "Well, its Patriots Day". I had no idea what the heck Patriots Day was and it was explained to me. No wonder traffic was so bad! Half of the main downtown Boston area was closed and those streets were not the easiest to navigate in  the first place. But it never dampened by enthusiasm for what I think of as a very cool city. 

Being a New Yorker, yesterday's tragic explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon sickened me and brought back the same stress and anxiety that I felt after the events in New York, Washington, and Schenksville on September 11th, 2001. The media has such access to our lives these days and being a visual person, I can't help but see the images over and over again in my head. The images show people covered in blood, missing limbs, grayish skin, screaming in photos that I can almost hear because they are so graphic and vivid. People went out to celebrate Patriots Day and watch their family member or friend run in the marathon. Evil has changed those lives and many many others forever. It is a reminder that there are no guarantees in our lives. Every day is a gift.

My thoughts and prayers go out to those people and their families and loved ones who have been touched by this tragedy. I know we want to hope for peace and also that the monsters who committed this horrible act will be caught too. Yet, I can't help being fearful of the future too. I don't think I will ever feel safe in a crowd. No matter how observant we all are and how many times something unusual is reported, how difficult it must be to keep masses of people safe when they are all gathered in one place.

Today, I can only think of some of the people who I viewed in images of the tragedy yesterday. My heart is broken for them and for the city of Boston and really for all of us as Americans. Freedom is immeasurably expensive these days. 

I would love to hear your thoughts and if you are feeling some of what I am feeling today.  
 

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images from this source http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/04/16/mlb-pauses-on-jackie-robinson-day-to-honor-boston-marathon-bombing-victims/