Let's see now... I know I left that soapbox somewhere... Oh yes, here it is... *climbs up on top*
I was between errands yesterday afternoon and for some strange reason, I pulled up Twitter as I sat in the parking lot of a local business. And as I scrolled through my time line, I saw the first report and I can only paraphrase it since I don't remember who it was from or what, exactly, it said but it was essentially-
BREAKING NEWS - Report of two explosions near finish line at Boston Marathon.
And I thought "Geez I hope that's a mistake" as I scrolled through my timeline further. And the longer I looked, the more I saw and the more it became obvious that, no, it wasn't a mistake, it was a thing. And I changed the radio station from local sports talk to the feed from MSNBC on my SiriusXM. And I listened as they brought out tape or video from various sources chronicling the explosions. I heard the screams and other random chaotic noises an event like that produces. And in my mind's eye, I started processing what I would see when I got to a TV. Those sounds and images stayed in the forefront of my thoughts as I finished my errands. I thought about the "first responders" a, in my humble opinion, homogenized word that has no real meaning to most of the people that use it; the cops, the firefighters and paramedics that were at the scene before the explosions, just as a matter of business, and how even though they may have trained for an incident like this, they most certainly weren't expecting it to happen. I thought about the doctors, nurses and athletic trainers who were there, expecting to tend to sprains and strains or fatigued muscles, now being overrun by traumatic injuries.
I sent the pirate a text alerting her to it. I knew she was busy taking care of business at home and wasn't sure if she'd seen it yet. Among other things, she was getting ready to go to sea on a two maybe three day trip. She was soon contributing to the update stream via text.
I got home and sat with her for awhile, watching the speculation from the talking heads and various "experts" and watching the video. And I noticed something.
People were running TOWARD the explosions.
Not just cops, not just firefighters or paramedics, PEOPLE.
They were there to watch friends or family run the most prestigious marathon, probably, in the world and found themselves in the middle of an act of terror and responded in the best human fashion, by placing themselves in danger, perhaps imminent danger, to try and help their fellow man.
And, as the story evolves, more heroes become apparent to us. Seemingly several for each tragedy associated with this Patriots Day attack.
And it makes me proud of my country.
And it makes me proud of what I do and what my many friends and coworkers do every day. Maybe not often to the extent of what we saw yesterday, but, that's the essence of who we are. We go in when almost everyone else goes out. We focus on the task at hand, whether it's out on the street or some public venue or in the Emergency Department or a surgical suite, it's what we do.
In the meantime, while the investigation takes place, let's try not to jump to conclusions. It may well be some foreign national intending to do us harm. It may also be some home-grown loon trying to further his groups agenda. Or, it could be some solitary person that thinks this is the way force his views on the public.
I certainly don't know.
Right now, no-one does.
But, this is still America. We still have things like due process and civil liberties. Even for those that "don't deserve" such things. Let's try and remember that. Let's try and show respect for the people that were injured or killed and the people that worked their tails off yesterday, by responding in the best human fashion today and tomorrow and every day that follows.
Peace
