Boston Marathon Bombing Memorial

A few weeks ago I went to a Young Women in Digital event in downtown Boston.  The event was called "Cupcakes and Careers"...so how could I not go?  After work, I headed into town and was happy to realize it only took me about 20 minutes to get in AND park, so I was left with some time to kill.  The event was at the Back Bay Social Club on Boylston Street, so I decided to head a little further down and see the Boston Marathon bombing memorial.  Right after the bombings, the community set up a memorial at the main barricade.  Once the street opened backup, they moved the memorial to Copley Square, where it quickly quadrupled in size.

I parked at the Prudential center, so as I made my way to Copley Square, I paused at each of the bombing sites.  This was my first time back on Boylston Street since the bombings, and I was surprised at how chilling everything was.  This street I walked every day the first few years we lived here, forever changed.

The second bombing spot.  Forum still hasn't reopened.

The first bombing site, near the finish line.

First bomb went off in front of Marathon Sports.

Then I made my way to the memorial.  They took the memorial down the day after I visited, so I was lucky to see it.  There must have been thousands of running shoes, hats, signatures on posters, shirts, and wishes for the victims and their families.

Here are a few pictures of the memorial before it was moved to Copley, a week after the bombings.  We walked over one beautiful Sunday after church.  People were all over the Public Garden and the surrounding area, but once we approached the barricade, everyone was silent, paying their respects.  It was eerie to see Boylston street completely empty and both heartbreaking and inspiring to see all the notes and goods people left at the memorial.

Check out some of my other blogs about the 2013 Marathon here - My Thoughts on the Marathon Bombings, the Marathon Benefit Concert, and the first Sox game back after the terrorists were captured...and if you'd like to donate money, check out the One Fund.

Boston Marathon Bombing Benefit Concert

Last Thursday night, my friend Laura and I went to the Boston Marathon bombing benefit concert at The Garden.  I'm not usually a huge 'concert person', but when I heard the line-up and what the money was going toward, I knew I had to try to get tickets.  Travis was going to be in South Carolina at Furman University's new music festival, so I called Laura to see if she'd be my date for the evening (if I could manage to get tickets).  Luckily I managed to snag a few tickets as soon as they went on sale, because 5 minutes later the show was sold out.  (I'm going to go ahead and apologize for the pictures.  You weren't allowed to bring in 'cameras with removable lenses', so I was stuck with my cell phone.)

The evening started with the US Poet Laureate who had written a beautiful poem in honor of the marathon bombings.  How many rock concerts start with a poem read?  Probably not many.  Once he finished, Boston took the stage and started the music for the night!

It honestly felt like I was reliving my childhood.  I have a confession...I love 80's music...like LOVE it.  Growing up, we lived a few doors down from the community swimming pool.  I spent almost every day from open to close at the pool swimming, playing volleyball in the grass (dodging stickers), and hanging out with friends...with the radio blaring.  For this reason, 80's music, NuGrape soda, and Paydays bring me right back to 10 years old at the 'Family Pool'.

The evening's lineup is below, along with a few of the more popular songs they performed.

US Poet Lauret
Boston - Foreplay/Long Time, Peace of Mind, More Than a Feeling
Lenny Clarke (comedian)
Extreme - More than Words
Steve Sweeney (comedian)
J Geils Band - Freeze Frame, Love Stinks
Steven Wright (comedian)
Jason Aldean - She's Country, Dirt Road Anthem
Donny Walburg
Dropkick Murphys - Shippin up to Boston
New Kids on the Block - Hangin' Tough, Step By Step, You Got It (The Right Stuff)
Bell Biv DeVoe - That Girl is Poison
Boys II Men - One Sweet Day
James Taylor - You've Got a Friend, How Sweet It Is
Carole King - So Far Away, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
Jimmy Buffet - Margaritaville
Dane Cook (comedian)
Aerosmith - Dream On, Sweet Emotion  (Remember when I saw them in the fall?)

Jason Aldean

New Kids on the Block

Boys II Men

The evening was fantastic.  I can't possibly pick a favorite, but especially liked Boston, the NKOTB/Boys II Men/Bell Biv DeVoe set, and James Taylor/Carole King's set.  The only thing I wasn't crazy about was Dane Cook (he wasn't that funny) and Dropkick Murphys.  Dropkick was the only group that did new stuff...everyone else did their greatest hits, which is what you should do at a benefit concert.  I guess they redeemed themselves with Shippin up to Boston.  :)







Want to hear more from the concert?  Boston Inno has a great compilation of videos from the night here.

2013 Boston Marathon - My Thoughts

I was so excited to write my first blog about one of my favorite days, Marathon Monday.  Marathon Monday (the day of the Boston Marathon) has been one of my favorite holidays since moving to Boston.  The entire city opens its doors and takes to the streets for a massive celebration, cheering on over 35,000 people as they run 26.2 miles.  The entire city is into it.

Last year, the temperature was dangerously high (90+) for most of the race.  This year, things were perfect - 54 degrees, clear skies, and a slight breeze - 'easy' running.  I had to work this year, but was able to do so from home since my office is right on the route.  You do NOT want to go into Coolidge Corner if you don't have to while the Marathon is going on!  If I hadn't had to work, we would have gone into the city and camped out at the finish line, as we've done in the past, to cheer on the runners and soak in some inspiration.  This year, we walked down the street and spent an hour cheering at the Newton Firehouse.

The Boston Marathon is hope.  It's extreme...and it's exhausting. It's an entire city coming together to support athletes who have spent the last 6 months living and breathing running so they can cross the world's oldest finish line.  It's active military personnel completing the race with 50 pound packs on their backs.  It's Dick and Rick Hoyt, a loving father who has pushed his son (who has cerebral palsy) in more than 30 races.  It's the millions of dollars raised by every-day people running the race for their favorite cause.

Up until 2:50pm, that's all today was about.  That's why the explosions at the finish line are so heart breaking.  As I'm writing this (Monday night), the news is reporting 3 people have died (including an 8 year old boy) and more than 130 people were injured.  I hate watching these numbers rise, as they've done all day.  

It's unnerving to see something like this happen where we spent so much time the first few years we lived here.  I used to work right around the corner.  We spent several 'Marathon Mondays' right where the explosions happened...they were great seats!

Amidst all the pain and trauma of today, three things stand out:

1 - My God is bigger than a bomb.

2 - We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from friends and family who know we call Boston home right now.  All the sweet phone calls, texts, emails, and Facebook messages meant a lot.

3 - When a disaster strikes, people help others.  

The Boston Marathon is still all of the things I mentioned earlier.  Now, it's also the race volunteers that ran toward the explosion to help those who were hurt.  It's the runners who crossed the finish line and kept running til they reached Mass General so they could give blood.  AND it's the residents that took in runners and their families from out of town, when their hotels were evacuated.  It's the total strangers walking home with runners who were shaken up, since they couldn't find their families.

Who knows what information will come tomorrow as we're waking up?  For now, I'm going to celebrate God's hand in my life and thank Him for keeping my family safe.  I'm ALSO going to try to remember how much fun today was before 2:50 pm.  Here are some pictures from earlier in the day so you can hopefully remember the good about the Boston Marathon, too.

Look at this lady's feet - she's not wearing shoes!!!

Newton Fire House