Thank you, officers
Friday April 19th 2013, 9:35 pm
Filed under: Family,History

What a long day.

It started with a phone call–and I heard the phone ring, without any aids in, as I stepped out of the shower, which is an exceedingly rare but turned out it was a needful thing–letting me know that our oldest had been in a car accident.  I grabbed my old aids quick, wet hair and all: a teenager with pedal to the metal had hit her car hard enough to spin her out into a parked car that then was thrown into another parked car.

This is our kid with the autoimmune hemophilia. But after some time in the ER, she’s home and recovering. Thank heavens for airbags and attentive doctors and her good friend who came to get her. It was the guilty teenager himself who called 911 for her.

Then three of my cousins and their families were locked down in the Boston area as the whole world prayed for everybody’s safety, hoping hard for a good outcome. The one with young children had them visiting her parents in New Hampshire, where they did not have to see.

And then, as I’m sure you already know, the surviving bomber was captured and taken by ambulance to the ER and nobody else was hurt and he didn’t die either and the crowds poured out of everywhere and lined the streets to cheer all those officers, all those agents, all those long hours they’d put in to protect everybody, facing down their fears for us all, and it was a finish line of celebrating, joyous fans after the kind of marathon that nobody should ever have to go through.

My sweet husband this morning, wanting to see a way to forgive, wondered out loud if, like the DC sniper case, we had someone young and impressionable in thrall to an older, more evil man, and perhaps he might still be malleable enough to be able to come to see what he’d done should he survive being found. There was no doubt in our minds that he would be found. We had sat through a neuropsychologist’s lecture, years ago, where the man had said that in our youth our brains are not fully myelinated, and that what that means is that we physically cannot draw the mental line from A to B to mean C will happen; “So if your kids act brain damaged, it’s because they are,” he only half joked. Around 20-22 for men, a little earlier for women, that is when one can begin to see the future impacts of one’s actions.

That lecture has made it easier ever since for us to understand and forgive anything a teenager might say or do.

The New York Times and the Boston Globe have already run profiles of the two bomber brothers suggesting that very dynamic between them.

A cop said to one of the reporters as the ambulance drove the guy to the hospital, There will be justice, not revenge.

And in those words he represented the best of America in the face of what was done to us.

(And to clarify after Kelli’s comment: yes, absolutely. He must be held accountable to the full extent of the law for his actions.)


10 Comments so far
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I understand and applaud your perspective. However, going upon the idea that should the evidence prove the suspect did indeed commit such acts (whether a result of his being “coerced” by someone else or not), should he not be held accountable for his actions? I don’t think the “I didn’t mean to” is an acceptable defense after a person is older than 5.

Comment by Kelli King 04.19.13 @ 10:30 pm

Glad your daughter is recovering after the “accident.” I’m sure that guilty teen driver had no intention to hurt her, and is feeling remorseful. I hope the line from A to B to C is now drawn in his mind.

Comment by LynnM 04.20.13 @ 12:58 am

Another couple of underdeveloped teenage brains causing havoc! I’m glad your daughter is recovering and I will pray for her continued improvement. I was so happy to hear the bomber was captured alive so he can face the consequences of his actions instead of being able to take the coward’s way out by taking his own life. He should be held accountable no matter what his age, no excuses!

Comment by Jody 04.20.13 @ 6:54 am

we had the news on most of the day yesterday — yes, we need to understand the why of this case, yes, he needs to see justice for his actions, and yes, we should count on the law that sets our system apart from other places where revenge is the basis of what happens next

hope your daughter recovers quickly (and was this the newly acquired vehicle that took the hit? or am I confusing the daughters?)

Comment by bev 04.20.13 @ 8:24 am

Oh dear! I pray for a swift recovery for your daughter!

As I read the account in this morning’s paper, one thought that went through my head was ‘What a waste!’ A waste of lives and limbs in the explosion, a waste of this young man’s life.

Comment by Don Meyer 04.20.13 @ 10:13 am

Hoping for a speedy recovery for your daughter.
And as always: words of wisdom and little and big “somethings” to think about, from your blogpost- a breath of fresh air amidst the media hype and all too quick accusations. I hope there will be justice, and not revenge.

Comment by tinebeest 04.20.13 @ 12:45 pm

I’m so glad your daughter will be well after such a scare!

I’m also glad that my beloved city is (fairly) safe again. I am so proud of the people of the Boston area, and proud of all the law enforcement officers who gave so much of themselves to capture this guy. I know we’ll find out more as the days go by, but I don’t think we will ever really understand. In a strange way, though, that’s ok. That means we don’t have the same mindset, so I’m happy with that.

Comment by Pegi 04.20.13 @ 1:46 pm

I was glad that my Richard’s kids are in Texas, visiting the other grandma, not locked in their Cambridge apartment. And poor Sam! She really didn’t need anything else right now!

Comment by LauraN 04.20.13 @ 7:25 pm

Oh no! Hoping Sam is doing well and this doesn’t cause more problems. My thoughts are with all of you.

Comment by DebbieR 04.21.13 @ 7:31 am

Continued speedy recovery to Sam. After a few days away, your lead to your post sure had me reading it quickly.

I appreciate your comments on the horrible events. Acknowledging the waste of the bomber’s life does not downplay the waste of the victims’ lives. The loss is just that much greater for all of us.

Comment by twinsetellen 04.21.13 @ 2:14 pm



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