Archives for April 16, 2023

On Saturday morning, the pipes played and time stood still. The memorial services hurt more than they ever can help. We try to move on, but with every running of the Marathon, from here to eternity, we’ll close our eyes and see eight-year old Martin Richard’s face. Then, we see his family photo with his surviving siblings at his side. One is Martin’s sister, Jane, who lost a leg standing alongside her little brother – both innocently watching the 2013 race and the mid-range runners all crossing the finish line on a beautiful afternoon in Boston.

It all ended in 14 seconds and 200+ yards apart. It was sheer terror, smoke and carnage.

There were others who perished nearby. Lingzi Lu of China was here in Boston studying. She went home in a body bag after being torn to bits, dying from blood loss because of massive injuries from shrapnel, plastic bits and pellets, nails and other deadly propellents stuffed into a pressure cooker and concealed in a backpack. Lu will forever be a 23-year old in our mind’s eye.

Bostonian Krystle Campbell was killed by one of the two explosions purposely set-off in the areas where innocent people were enjoying one of America’s finest and longest standing sporting events. Campbell will forever be 29 years old, smiling that wonderful, endearing smile. She was the best of friends to those lucky enough to be within her inner circle.

Sean Collier, an MIT police officer and Boston Police Sergeant Dennis “DJ” Simmonds died in the aftermath of the terrorist bombing. Collier was assassinated by the two morons, shot at point blank range as he sat in his squad car on patrol on university grounds in Cambridge. He had no chance. They wanted his gun. They didn’t get it and the manhunt was on.

The final victim, Simmonds, was injured during a firestorm shootout in nearby Watertown after police identified the bombers and began the manhunt, the largest and most organized police detail every undertaken in one of America’s oldest, most beautiful and symbolic cities. Simmonds died of his wounds a year after that terrible day when the entire city of Boston was shut down as its citizens were instructed to shelter in place.

One of the terrorists was killed in the shootout in Watertown. He was then run over by the very S.U.V. being driven by his younger brother who was trying to escape but was later found bleeding and cowering in a winterized pleasure boat parked right in our backyards. The younger of the two domestic terrorist, the guy who chose to lay his backpack right next to the Richards family, was tried by his peers, convicted and sentenced to death by lethal injection. He awaits, sleeping on the USA’s dime on death row in a SuperMax prison in Colorado. I am very much against the Death Penalty. I do not think it acts as a deterrent to the criminal mind. However, there are exceptions. Regardless, I never want to see or hear about this guy ever again.

This Saturday afternoon, the bells tolled at the Old South Church in Copley Square at precisely at 2:49 p.m. to mark the time of the first explosion ten years ago. The cold, cruel facts of the domestic terrorist event and names of the victims are spoken and written today, over-and-over again to be sure we never forget. We have to remember their faces, those family smiles from the images. We have to recognize the overall importance of the victims to us all. Their diversity in age, occupation and nationality, symbolize what all that is great about Boston, a small college town with a huge heart and an extraordinary love of sports – from the Marathon to the Head of the Charles. The citizens of New England and all who come to run, visit and study here, will be out in force on Monday. After all – paraphrasing what David “Big Papi” Ortiz once said, “This is our F’ing city,” and we’ll all agree, “It’s our F’ing Marathon, too.”

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: While the lead-up to the 2023 Boston Marathon has taken on a somber note as the 10-year anniversary is marked this weekend, there was a certain complexity to the entire week just concluding.

This week began on Easter Sunday – and for those who believe – it was a day to reflect on death, resurrection and eternal life. The week continued – for this writer – with attendance at one of the most moving rock shows ever staged. It was a week when abortion rights were turned upside down by courts throughout the land, only to have the Supreme Court call a temporary “time out” for the very issue they tossed into the air last June 24th after 50 years of law settled the issue.

It was a week of extreme weather, deadly tornadoes in the Midwest and South and floods in Ft. Lauderdale while thousands of acres remained underwater from equally terrible flooding in California. It was a week when one of our own national air guardsman leaked classified documents and put the United States’ national security at risk, once again.

But, with all the upheaval and all the trouble lurking, we must endure and move forward as that is the only solution. “Survive and advance,” we said so confidently during March Madness. Now, we have to live by that saying. Yes, we will.

This week, the entire City of Boston will rally and move forward, as it must do to make any sense of the mental anguish of a monumental event in the city’s history now a full decade ago.

What might be a personal salve for the challenge as the anniversary comes along? Boston’s Sports will get the job done. The Celticws, the Bruins and the Red Sox will remember the best of times as they pay respect to the worst of times with ONE Boston Day celebration and day of service. After all, the Boston Bruins just completed the most successful regular season in National Hockey League history and one of its stars, David Pastrnak, netted 61 goals in his 82 games played. Things are looking good in 2023.