Friday night

Middle and I spent much of the day together.
He was listening to the Boston police scanner, I was combing the internet and we were both reading Reddit.
It was so very emotional watching and waiting with the television news on too.
I went to the doctor in the middle of it all and the staff was glued to the tv there too.
Was the second Boston bomber alive? Where was he hiding? I'm sure everyone was thinking those same things - but I couldn't help thinking he was just a boy. 19. The same age as Youngest.
And he looks a bit like Youngest too, save for the curls.
Of course, the whole thing is terrible. Horrific.
We waited hours and hours.
Watching, listening, speculating.
Oldest and Middle met friends in town for drinks and I texted him whilst reading and watching on my own (the police scanner got shut down).
We learned the heart-wrenching story of Jeff Bauman identifying Suspect 2.


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We learned about the MIT Policeman who was killed.
We pondered the possible outcomes - none of them seemed good.


Toward the end, Reddit and CNN closed up the time lapse.

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Toward the end, while hundreds of Police officers had Suspect 2 cornered as he bled, I could only think of him as a boy. Middle had to remind me that he was a terrorist.


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We shall not forget those who lost life or limb and can only hope it is over.

Comments

Scot said…
I kept thinking about this kid all day long as news filtered in, and thinking just that - He's just a kid. I figured he was probably injured and terrified. I figured he was just following his older brother and his brother was about to get him killed. I felt sad for him. Then this evening I was reminded how that kid put a bomb on the ground, right in front of a family with children, knowing it would probably kill, maim and tear apart the lives of people it touched.
Now, I never had a big brother to try and emulate. I never had a big brother who I needed approval from, BUT I did, at 19, know right from wrong. I knew murder was wrong, according to EVERY religion on Earth.
I just needed some perspective and Terry Whats-his-name from ABC News gave me that. I'll reserve my sadness and sorrow for the victims, victims of both physical and mental anguish. I think we've all suffered some damage over the last few days. And once again we've all pulled together a bit. The phrase BE CAREFUL once again evolves to take on a new meaning. Everytime we go into large crowds from now on, we have to be careful.
Paola said…
Darling, as sad as this is going to sound, we must now expect the worst from anyone and anywhere. How else could they have pulled that off, his innocent face, a young kid, cap sideways ... clean face ... not even the need to wear sunglasses ... just a kid like millions. Who would expect him to be a trained terrorist ready to kill in the name of ... we don't know in what silly name sake they did that for.
I've been following closely from out here, the world has become one little square where we all run frantically, searching for friendly faces but never knowing who we could stand next to. Let's all thank our own God for our families and friends, I know I do and let's appreciate them.
blackbird said…
Well said, both of you...xo
Duyvken said…
We've been watching very closely too. My sister lives not far from Watertown and they could hear the ruckus from their apartment. Very scary indeed. I don't know how long it will take them to feel comfortable in their beautiful city again.
L.P. said…
I'm probably the only person in the universe who feels this way, but I thought the saturation coverage in the media was pretty bad. At so many points, people were talking just to talk and saying ridiculous things— so much speculation. Regular bulletins with updates? Helpful. Constant repetition of the same emotional speculation over and over? Interviewing people who had no idea what they were talking about? Not so much.

I am the mother of a 19 year old, too, and what made me sad was the mother, who couldn't believe her sons would do such a horrible thing (who could believe it of their own boys?).

And horrible things do happen, every day, in every part of the world. But so does joy and beauty.