The aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing and capture of the remaining suspect created an opportunity for the city of Boston and its surrounding communities.  That opportunity was to behave in a way that was good, helpful and caring. 

That’s right.  Good.  Helpful.  Caring. 

Who We Are

I suspect that those words don’t normally pop into your mind when thinking about Boston.  We are only marginally more friendly than NYC with less sophisticated sarcasm and a more judgmental bias. 

We are the original renegades of American history (Boston Tea Party … the one in which we really dumped tea into Boston Harbor).  We are righteous souls having waited eighty-six years for a baseball pennant, and the arrest of Whitey Bulger.  We immortalized a river so polluted that if you fell in you were advised to go to the hospital. 

We’re a well schooled lot because of top-notch institutions (Harvard, MIT, UMass, Tufts and the list goes on) and also the wanting due to some of the lowest school performers in Massachusetts public education (Roxbury, Dorchester, Boston, and Mattapan). 

We are a cultural smorgasbord of those who are affluent and represent old Back Bay money.  Our brownstones say breeding and our tenements speak polyglot.  Chinatown.  North End. 

Our sports teams are hard scrabble kinds of folks.  We have stars.  Understated stars whose bravado is sandwiched in the spirit of the team.  Mouthing off is in poor taste and most like the calm demeanor and stare of a hoodied Belichick.  The fans usually provide the furor and the foul words. 

But after the Boston Marathon bombing, we rose to the challenge.  People – runners, bystanders, and emergency personnel rushed in to help the victims.  With no hesitation. 

Communities gathered together in sorrow and prayers.  With no fear. 

There was a common lifting of spirit for those who suffered the most.  A belief in a stronger bond.  With no restraint. 

People became extended neighbors.  Someone who watched your back.  Supported the police and federal agencies.  Extended a hand to help with food, water and cheers. 

We mourn the senseless deaths and the extensive injuries of those who came on a beautiful spring day to celebrate a tradition.  We cry for those targeted for unknown reasons.  We pray for those caught in a cross-fire. 

Tish, beautiful and unique tribute to Boston and its environs, but most importantly, to its people.  Both of my parents grew up in Somerville.  My mother went to Regis College and my father MIT.  One of my sisters still lives up there – in Maynard. 
It’s been an enormously stressful, heartbreaking, horrifying, unifying, loving, and compassionate week. 
If we weren’t in the area physically, we were there in our hearts and in spirit. 
Sending you continued hugs and wishes for deep sleep, sweet dreams, and hope for a new dawn.