Stand up to terror

I watched in horror and disbelief as I saw the aftermath of the bomb blasts in Boston.

I was waiting for a slice of pizza for lunch on a crazy day where I had all of 15 minutes for lunch.

There was no sound, just the same video over and over saying that bombs had exploded at the finish line.

I had no idea at what time, at what point in the marathon, or who had been hurt.

It was several hours before I could get home to a computer and read about it... and then watch news shows about it.

Not unlike Newtown, there were conflicting headlines.

But one thing was clear... when the bombs went off, a crowd of people ran towards those hurt ... not away for their own safety.

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What ran through my mind at first had nothing to do with this being a possible terrorist attack -- actually, in what sense can a bomb not be terrorism?

What I thought about was the months of preparation -- physical, mental -- that goes into a marathon.  No one deserves to be targeted in this way -- but it seems an especially cruel joke to explode a bomb at the finish line -- before all those who were competing could fulfill their goal.

I know it may sound petty, but you may not have run that far in your life -- and many people run marathons in the way some people go to shrines as mandas.  It takes months to prepare for the abuse you will subject your body to in 26 miles.  I have only run 1/2 marathons to avoid that kind of abuse, but I have been a spectator to watch my sister pass the finish line after the full.

So, then my thoughts turned to those spectators.

It takes a fair amount of stamina to stand on the sidelines for hours as well.  Some of those people move to different points on the route in order to cheer on their loved ones.  Those who understand the tremendous will power it takes to keep putting one foot in front of the other, cheer on everyone.

It makes for a really special community --unlike many others-- where you support the anonymous runners as they pass you perhaps not always understanding the deep way you touch all those passing by.

To place those spectators and those runners in harm's way is unconscionable -- of course, it is not okay to harm anyone for any reason.

My heart broke for those who were most impacted by this -- the ones bringing up the rear, over four hours into the race, those approaching the finish line were those people I described above -- they were not running just because they could, they most likely had a reason for this run.

One last note, for many people, the Boston Marathon is the meta-goal -- the marathon that will mark their personal best just for qualifying.  I hope that they understand that in our hearts, they are all finishers -- whether they passed the line before the blast or not.

My heart goes out to all the runners, their loving supporters and all the people of Boston.  And I hail the way you all came together to help each other proving the strength of our union.

May you all be at ease.