Shattered dreams

It’s hard to know what to say today. Yesterday I was watching the Boston Marathon on my computer and thinking how remarkable technology is sometimes. A few hours later bombs were going off thanks to the same remarkable technology. Anything used for good can also be used for evil.

I went for a short run yesterday evening. As I headed down a sidewalk, another runner approached me. Usually we move over for each other. This guy seemed to be coming right at me. As we got closer, he raised his hand in a high-five gesture. Cool. I high-fived him back. Then he said, “Run safe!” “You too,” I replied.

Runners are good people. We all feel for each other. When we see someone struggling to get to the finish line, we don’t make fun of them. We encourage them. We remember what it was like. When we hear someone broke a personal record at a race, we are happy for them, not jealous. In races, we compete against each other, but we are really only competing against ourselves. There are runners who will always be faster than me. There are runners who will always be slower than me. It doesn’t matter. We’re all runners. Running for our own reasons.

Yesterday was horrible. The scenes on the TV were horrible. I knew people who were in this race. I knew people who were on the sidewalks cheering them on. That runner knocked to the ground by the blast could have been me. The injured people being taken away on stretchers could have been my husband or my friends.

People died yesterday. Dreams shattered yesterday.

And I don’t know why.