Anniversary of last year's marathon

[preppy]

I feel very similar. I don't know anyone personally who was effected but it still makes me cry when I think about it or see coverage. I DVR'd the National Geographic special on it the other night but haven't been able to watch it just yet.

I also watch about 12 hours of new straight that day and seeing my office window on the news where everything was happening in Watertown made it really hit home.

I can't believe that was a year ago.

[preppy]

Apr 15, 2014 9:03:00 GMT -5 RockNVoll said:

Apr 15, 2014 9:00:55 GMT -5 preppy said:

I feel very similar. I don't know anyone personally who was effected but it still makes me cry when I think about it or see coverage. I DVR'd the National Geographic special on it the other night but haven't been able to watch it just yet.

I also watch about 12 hours of new straight that day and seeing my office window on the news where everything was happening in Watertown made it really hit home.

I can't believe that was a year ago.

I didn't know about this.  Will have to look for it.

It's mostly about the hunt for the bombers and the day in Watertown. A co-worker watched and said it was well done but that she cried watching it. I might have to crack a bottle of wine and watch it Friday.

[pinkroses]

Yeah, I feel like the Friday manhunt had more of an effect on me than the bombings themselves.  Probably because I was completely unaware of the bombings as they were happening, but I was home all day for the manhunt and watching the coverage on TV.  I live way farther from Watertown than you do and I was still afraid to go outside to walk my dog, because who knew if he had been able to steal a bike or a car, or walk far away through the night, he could have been anywhere.  The whole week was so crazy, that nothing would have surprised me at that point.

I read the Globe feature on Sunday about the Richard family and my heart just broke for them. 

[bostonmichelle]

I got choked up hearing about it on the radio this morning too. I'm kind of glad it is tax day and I'm going to be super busy all day so I can't think about it or listen to the radio coverage. I had a few friends that ran last year and I remember hearing about it and being such a nervous wreck. It was an awful week already in my books as my mom had passed away unexpectedly the weekend before, we had her memorial service the 13th, and I had my first therapy appointment that afternoon. My parents had been planning on going in that day to watch the marathon and knowing my mom they would've been right at the finish where all the action was. I actually went into work that day for a few hours to do some cleanup work and the girl at the front desk had turned on the tv to watch the marathon and we watched the replays. I remember sitting there and thinking this was a terrorist attack just by how eerily everything felt like it did 9/11. I remember coming to work on Friday and locking the door and just watching tv while they tried to get the guy. My company went out for a tax season dinner on Friday night and when we were leaving they had the news on in the bar and they had cornered him at the boat. It was really nerve wreaking that even though I was further north how much it felt like it was happening in my back yard. I do think that the positive and outpouring of support among everyone in the community definitely brightened the dark day.

[no0b]

Apr 15, 2014 9:05:56 GMT -5 preppy said:

Apr 15, 2014 9:03:00 GMT -5 RockNVoll said:

I didn't know about this.  Will have to look for it.

It's mostly about the hunt for the bombers and the day in Watertown. A co-worker watched and said it was well done but that she cried watching it. I might have to crack a bottle of wine and watch it Friday.

H watched it the other night.  He had nothing bad to say about it.  Apparently it gives an entire play by play of what went down and their process behind the hunt.  


I knew people who ran and my H had walked out of Lord and Taylor about 10 minutes before the bombings.  No one I knew was hurt.  Still, it shakes you to the core.  I think about what happened a lot.  

[LoveTrains]

Thank you for posting this. I have been thinking about this in the past week or so as today was looming and I have friends running next week. Obviously I wasn't there last year, but I have volunteered at the finish line (handing out those metallic blanket things) in a bunch of previous years.

RNV, as you mentioned, it was such a beautiful day. Like the perfect Spring Day, perfect weather for a marathon - compared to other years when its been too hot, too cold, too whatever. And it is just shocking and jarring.

I also agree that the Friday events were very scary. I have a friend who lives in Watertown, just a block from the square, and she and my H were both up all night listening to the scanner.

I am really proud of everyone for rallying together to help after the bombing and to not let this dampen our New England spirit.

[no0b]

scm1011 That's terrible that you had to go in. Thank goodness I was non-essential hospital staff at the time and they pretty much ordered us not to go in.

Has anyone heard updates on the "pipe bomb" near south station? I'm not getting the warm and fuzzies thinking about commuting home now, real or fake.

[no0b]

Apr 15, 2014 10:03:16 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Apr 15, 2014 10:01:33 GMT -5 no0b said:

scm1011 That's terrible that you had to go in. Thank goodness I was non-essential hospital staff at the time and they pretty much ordered us not to go in.

Has anyone heard updates on the "pipe bomb" near south station? I'm not getting the warm and fuzzies thinking about commuting home now, real or fake.

WHAT?! That's where I am right now :?

I wish I could find more details, but it doesn't seem like many news outlets are reporting about it.  I'm assuming it's not serious (hopefully) if people aren't being notified. 

www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/04/15/possible-pipe-bomb-found-near-massdot-regional-office-near-south-station-investigation-ongoing/vLPgCuy0PVT5GT6LoPfUrJ/story.html

NEVERMIND:  It turns out it was nothing.  Thank goodness.

[5kcandlesinthewind]

I haven't been able to watch/listen to the coverage, because it still just makes me really angry and sad. I remember we were watching House of Cards on Netflix when my MIL called to make sure we hadn't decided to go downtown, because there were explosions at the marathon. We initially thought it had to be gas in the sewers or something, and it was horrifying when they put the pieces together. I had friends/coworkers who were down near the finish line, and my friend's boyfriend was running the marathon and was just a mile away when the bombs went off. Thankfully, no one I know was hurt, but to think how close they all came. It seemed extra insulting that it was Patriots day somehow - like, it's the one day that almost everyone in Boston is in a good mood. Winter's over, the weather was great, and people bring their kids out to watch the marathon and have a good time.

And I swear I have some sort of PTSD about the lockdown. I was half convinced the kid was going to come running through my backyard. We lived a mile and a half from where he was hiding, and, in fact, I had lived on the very street they found him on a few years earlier. When they called off the manhunt, I was horrified. It was like, I could literally walk out my door and walk into a terrorist, and you're telling me not to worry? Thanks a lot.

H and I watched the Red Sox opening ceremony, and they paid a very nice tribute and all, but then we rememebered the first home Bruins game after the bombing, where the crowd started singing along with Rene Rancourt and he lost it, and man. I still get teary thinking about it. All the schmaltzy, programmed ceremonies in the world just cannot take the place of genuine emotion like that.

[noodleoo]

Apr 15, 2014 9:06:17 GMT -5 pinkroses said:

Yeah, I feel like the Friday manhunt had more of an effect on me than the bombings themselves.  Probably because I was completely unaware of the bombings as they were happening, but I was home all day for the manhunt and watching the coverage on TV.  I live way farther from Watertown than you do and I was still afraid to go outside to walk my dog, because who knew if he had been able to steal a bike or a car, or walk far away through the night, he could have been anywhere.  The whole week was so crazy, that nothing would have surprised me at that point.

I read the Globe feature on Sunday about the Richard family and my heart just broke for them. 

I feel the same as you.  I was at work in the suburbs, so I missed most of what was going on.  But I remember being home and watching all the coverage of the stuff going down in Watertown.  And I have a close friend who lived like 2 blocks away who was sheltering in place, so I was IMing with her and totally freaked out.  It was sort of surreal for us, we were far enough away to be okay but it all happened in places we spend a lot of time and in previous years, we've stood at the finish line to watch.

Our company is doing a moment of silence today, which is nice.

I do have to say that we used to go into Boston for public events and things and this ordeal has made me think twice about doing that, which makes me sad.  I always felt like Boston was a small city and not as likely to be a target at NY or DC and stuff.  The world got a lot more real and scary last year.

[fryjack2]

Anyone watching the Tribute right now?

I can't stop crying.

I don't want to relive last year. Or the year before.

2012, I was watching from my hospital bed at the Brigham waiting for the doctors to tell me that it was go time to deliver my preemie twins.

Last year, we were at our usual spot-Eastern Standard in Kenmore with our 5 days short of 1 year old twins. We walked towards the finish line, as H and I do every year, and were a few blocks away when the bombs went off. H and I are in medicine. I was torn. Go to work and treat whatever kids come in the door? Or home and hug my twins and H tight? Hours after the lockdown was lifted, we had their 1st bday. It was a celebration of so so so much more than a 1st birthday.

This year, I will be running the marathon. Once I cross the finish line, I will join my H and my boys at ES in Kenmore to cheer on the amazing other runners who are so close to finishing a huge accomplishment.

BOSTON STRONG.

[LoveTrains]

Good luck fryjack2.

[fryjack2]

Thanks LoveTrains

[bostonmichelle]

Good luck fryjack!!!

[no0b]

Good luck fryjack2

[soxin2]

This whole thread made me cry.

/hormones


*hugs all around*

My BILs both live in the city and olderBIL was at the Sox game debating heading to the finish or a bar or home. They chose a bar then home. This year, he is running.

I have friends in Watertown, so, ditto all on the lockdown being memorable. Luckily my then-just-turned 3yo had gotten a leap pad for her birthday. She had no objection to the extra screen time on that while I was riveted to "boring grown up TV"

[starburst604]

The "could have beens" of that day really blow my mind sometimes. Last year was the first year I didn't take the day off to go watch the marathon. 6 weeks earlier my H (then fiancé) had ruptured his Achilles' tendon playing basketball. He needed surgery and we had to cancel our vacation to the Dominican. We were so bummed, and his surgery was painful and tough on us both.

The night before the marathon we had dinner with our friend who was running and her H. She almost enticed us into coming to see her at the finish. But I had had taken so much time off for my H's injury and he was still getting around on crutches.

I spent the next day seeing pics on FB and being so mad I wasn't there! I was tracking our friend's number and when she was about a 1/4 mile from the finish she seemed to not be going any further. Then the posts about the explosions starting popping up on FB. A few hours later I was reassured that everyone I knew he was in town was unharmed.

The next morning we realized that Martin Richard's dad was a colleague of my H's, someone my H considered a friend.

I'm not usually a big "everything happens for a reason" person but perhaps some things do. If my H hadn't had that injury we would have gone into town and waited at the finish for our friend. We might have seen the Richards family and gone over to say hello. Even if we hadn't, we would have been close enough to see some things that would haunt us forever.

The next day at the hospital I work in, I helped get equipment to give portable hearing tests to patients with hearing loss from the blast and shrapnel to the ear. I'll never forget how shellshocked these young people were. On the upside, I've seen some of them come in looking healthy and strong, having made beautiful recoveries. Our practice did not send bills to any marathon patients who had balances after insurance. Even though most of them will get financial assistance we felt better about not giving them anything to pay at all.

Sorry, that was long. This day has just really taken me down the rabbit hole and mad me count my blessings.

[laurie12820]

I feel the same way. I wasn't not affected personally but I do live minutes away from UMASS Dartmouth and I am a graduate student there. It was scary to know that Dzhokar (sp?) was also a student there and was around town just a day after the bombing. It was scary to see the campus evacuated and the SWAT team patrolling the streets, as well as taking his friends into custody who threw away Dzhokars things.

I still get a sad and scary feeling every time I am on campus. I don't know why it bothers me so much. Maybe it's because it was so close to home. Maybe it's because he used to frequent the AT&T store that my H worked at and he recognized him when his photos were released.

I am very interested how the trial will go too.

[Awkward]

Apr 15, 2014 13:47:03 GMT -5 starburst604 said:

The next morning we realized that Martin Richard's dad was a colleague of my H's, someone my H considered a friend.

Not to be weird, but my dad also worked for Martin Richard's father at that time. (I'll delete your quote if this is too skinsuitish) The profile in the Globe was heartbreaking, I still need to read part two in Monday's paper.

I touched on this back when all of this happened, but this is the first time an attack like this seemed "real" to me. Even an hour away, this felt weirdly personal. Add in the events over the couple of days afterward and it still is something that can shake a person up. I can't decide if I'll be glued to the tv for the trial or avoid it completely.

[starburst604]

Apr 15, 2014 14:19:13 GMT -5 Awkward said:

Apr 15, 2014 13:47:03 GMT -5 starburst604 said:

The next morning we realized that Martin Richard's dad was a colleague of my H's, someone my H considered a friend.

Not to be weird, but my dad also worked for Martin Richard's father at that time. (I'll delete your quote if this is too skinsuitish) The profile in the Globe was heartbreaking, I still need to read part two in Monday's paper.

I touched on this back when all of this happened, but this is the first time an attack like this seemed "real" to me. Even an hour away, this felt weirdly personal. Add in the events over the couple of days afterward and it still is something that can shake a person up. I can't decide if I'll be glued to the tv for the trial or avoid it completely.

I am sure that your Dad knows my H then! He doesn't work for that company, but they do (did) a lot of work together on projects. Small world, and even smaller city!

I understand how you feel, every time I see that boy's smile it breaks my heart.

[lizlemon19]

The bombings and the aftermath had such an effect on me. I remember being glued to the coverage, and checking statuses of my friends who were there as spectators.
I was impressed at the number of lives saved, and how fast they captured the bombers. Not a single person complained when they shut down the city.