Commentary on the Boston Marathon

Yesterday my city watched as a terrible act unfolded in Copley Square at the end of the Boston Marathon. Jeremy, Oliver, and I were lucky that none of our friends and loved ones were in the area of the finish line. Facebook, Twitter, and the “tubes” are filled with stories of the horror and of the brave men and women who went from cheering on runners or passing out water to doing triage. This certainly isn’t what one envisions when they volunteer to help at a race.

Oliver is too young to feel the impact of this event just now. Calle probably was the one who felt that something was wrong more than our little guy. It will simply be an event in Oliver’s past that happened “when he was one.”

 

Here are a few of the things that gave me pause to remember that people really do want to support each other:

Google’s Person Finder

The Chicago Tribune Sport Page Tribute  Can you imagine Boston doing this for another city?

The Boston.com Google Doc (story here) for people to offer help was awesome as well. All my coworkers know I’ve been pushing Google Docs for a while now. Here’s where the real power of such a thing becomes evident.

I wonder when Oliver is old enough to look back on these pages if this even will be something he knows about because of the long term impact on our fair city, or because he has learned about it in school.

 

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