I woke up this morning to the bad news that the Boston Marathon had been bombed. My thoughts immediately flew to my fellow A-Z challenge blogger who runs Another Clean Slate, as she had just chosen to blog M for Marathon Monday which was all about the Boston Marathon. I knew she didn’t participate in it but I wondered about her loved ones. A quick check at her site showed me this:
Update: At this point, everyone I know who was attending or running in the marathon is safe. Thoughts and prayers to those impacted by this sad event.
Oh thank goodness. That’s good news for her. Not so good news for the two people who died and the 110 or so people who were injured though. =.(
Here is a screenshot of the CNN website. You can read the entire news on this link.
I can understand what the residents of Boston must be going through because I am no stranger to bomb hysteria. My hometown Zamboanga City was often a victim of bombings. As I said in an old post:
When I was in fourth grade, one of my batchmates died in an explosion in Fort Pilar. Then when I was in College, a series of bombs exploded in key areas, one after the other, killing and wounding a lot of people in the process. The atmosphere in the city was tainted with so much fear after that, that once, while we were having lunch in the food court of our only mall, Mindpro, we were shocked when a mass of people started screaming “bomba!” and stampeding downstairs. We did not want to join them and risk being crushed to death, so my companions and I just stood at the side, holding our breaths and each other, wondering if this was for real or just after-bomb hysteria. After a while, the matter was cleared up – some frat guy had started a fight up in third floor, someone had screamed, and some people had panicked and thought the worst things, triggering pandemonium.
So even if you or your loved ones are not victims, it can still have an adverse effect on you. I remember the painful fear that gripped me during those days, when walking from my school to the jeepney stop felt like a walk through a mine field or a real horror movie, when you’re afraid that at any given moment you could die or get injured or something. Trust me, it’s no picnic.
My sympathies and prayers are with the people of Boston. Whether or not they were directly impacted by those bombs, they are all victims alike. I hope justice prevails.
—;<@
This post is part of the A to Z Challenge, a blog hop that goes through the alphabet for all the days of April except Sundays. I have decided to go with the theme of Alliterations.