Boston - that's where my thoughts are today...


























I'll be back to blogging about Paris tomorrow. My heart just isn't in it today. Instead, my thoughts are with the people who were injured by the explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon and with the families who lost loved ones.

Unable to pull myself away from the horrific images on television last night, I was reminded of my discussion with a Haitian taxi driver when I arrived in Boston a couple of weeks ago. While sitting at a red light on Boylston Street, the man pointed at all of the banners fluttering from the lamp posts and asked if I would be in town for the Boston Marathon. When I replied that I wouldn't be there, he told me that it's a wonderful time to visit the city because the event attracts runners from around the world. Convinced by the driver's obvious enthusiasm, I promised to go to the marathon one of these years. And I will. Our world needs international sporting events to foster mutual understanding between nations and bring people closer together.

But for now, my thoughts and prayers are with the people whose lives have been altered forever by this tragedy.

Thank you to everyone who sent emails and messages asking about my children. Your concern and support has been heartwarming. Both Sara and Philippe are safe, although it was disturbing to see the location of the bomb blasts because they were very close to Philippe's apartment on Newbury Street. Fortunately, he spent the afternoon working across the river in Cambridge rather than watching the marathon. Sara is currently in New York.

Comments

  1. Glad your children are safe!

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  2. Good to hear your family is safe, and my thoughts go out to everyone affected as well.

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    1. Thanks, Gwan. The good news is that I keep hearing of acts of kindness from one stranger to another. It's reassuring to know that humans tend to work together in the face of tragedy.

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  3. Best to you, and all others at this time.

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    1. It was thanks to your post on Facebook that I first heard of the Boston bombings and could contact my kids to make sure that they were alright. It would have been awful to wake up to the news in the morning without knowing if they were safe or not. That's the problem with living in different time zones!

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  4. So sad and pointless. Ironically, I'm taking a course on Non-Violent Transformation of Conflicts right now with a scholar who worked side-by-side with MLK during the Civil Rights Movement! This should be a compulsory course for everyone!

    Wow! Philippe lives in a lovely part of town! Glad he was not there when tragedy struck! You must have felt really far away from your children yesterday, MK:(

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    1. The world would be a very different place if we all used non-violent means to resolve our conflicts! It must be fascinating to talk with someone who worked so closely with MLK.

      Apart from its proximity to the bomb blasts, Philippe lives in a great part of town, right near all the hip cafes, restaurants and shops. I always tease him that I'm tempted to move in with him ... until I remember that I would have to share the bathroom with the people in the 3 other studios.

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    2. Oh Dear! Shared bathroom! Nooooooooo!

      My husband and I spent a long weekend in Boston last June (our first visit there) and we were in the area where your son lives. We absolutely loved it!

      Maybe we'll live there one day, who knows? Stranger things have happened;)

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  5. Thank you for letting us know your children are safe. Your family was so in my thoughts yesterday. Today I am heartened by the many acts of kindness and valor by my fellow Americans and the many visitors to Boston, from those who rushed to render medical help to those who opened their homes to comfort those displaced. Those who seek to hurt will never understand the power of those actions to overcome.
    Dekage

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    1. Thanks for thinking of us. I've also been heartened by the way that people have been assisting others and helping in whatever way they can. I "follow" quite a few Boston people/companies on Twitter and Facebook and saw that many restaurants organized dinners last night to raise money. Immediately after the explosions, another restaurant opened their doors for people to use their internet access to get in touch with loved ones to let them know that they were safe.

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  6. Beautiful photos and post on one of my favorite cities. Prayers going up for all those runners and families whose lives were forever impacted.

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    1. Boston's one of my favorite cities, too. Even though I've never lived there, it feels like home. It was surreal to see the images on television of the streets and shops that we visited a couple of weeks ago - yet to be so far away geographically.

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  7. It's such an unbelievably awful thing to have happened. There's absolutely nothing in this world that can justify any act of terrorism like this.

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    1. Nothing at all. I'll never be able to understand how someone can justify killing innocent people, especially children.

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  8. The inhumanity and humanity of man on display at the same time!!

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    1. Let's hope that it's the vision of man's humanity towards others that inspires us as we move forward.

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  9. Watching the news now, they just caught the surviving suspect. A big relief.

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