BostonStrong

I grew up a 1/2 hour outside of Boston. Instead of trying to explain to people where I lived, I would always say, "I am from Boston". However, with my New England accent it sounds like Baw-stin.

My early memories of Boston are taking the train in to see the Ice Capades, going to Fanueil Hall at Christmas time and talking to Dave Maynard in the WBZ bus, going to the Aquarium, the Science Museum, Red Sox games and the awesome High School field trip where we were let loose in Quincy Market for a few hours.

I also remember driving into the city with my dad at the wheel and watching him turn into "a Boston driver" the minute we hit city limits. A Boston driver is very aggressive (probably an understatement), but you need to know where you are going and not be afraid to cut people off and step on the gas. I am proud to say, when in the city limits, I am a Boston driver, too.

We never went into the city to watch the Marathon on Patriots day. We lived in the middle of the reason for Patriots day, right near Concord.  Patriots Day, Marathon Monday, School Vacation week all felt like the beginning of spring. The Marathon was always on our TV. My dad was an avid runner and that gene seemed to have missed every one of his children. However, we always watched the marathon and knew the big names Joan Benoit, Bill Rodgers, Dick and Rick Hoyt and all the other names we couldn't pronounce. We watched it when Rosie Ruiz claimed the first woman's spot in 1980, but then admitted that she took the T instead of running the whole race.

As I have gotten older, Boston has become less of a mystery to me. It's not easy to get around (see Boston driver remark) and the streets are NOT in a nice and tidy grid. However, it is worth going to over and over again. I like bringing the girls there to show them the beauty of the city they are closest to: the seaport, the Boston Public Gardens (not to be confused with The Gah-den, where the Celtics and Bruins play), the theater district, Quincy Market; so much history and beauty.

And the people: resilient, tough, weathered, kind. You don't mess with Boston as a whole. We are loyal to our sports teams, we throw great parades when they win, we say "better luck next year" when they lose, we love our Sox and strongly dislike the Yankees. Of course, because of the bombing at the Marathon, we don't dislike the Yankees quite as much anymore. Leave it to them to honor Boston by playing Sweet Caroline in the 3rd inning the other day.

For a person or people to ruin what is known as the happiest day in Boston, was unthinkable. A sporting event where people train for months and are in the best shapes of their lives targeted as a "good" spot to kill and maim people. To set if off at a time when  the runners who are running for charities are usually coming into the finish, where my best friend would have been coming in if she hadn't missed qualifying by 50 seconds, when the Sox game was getting out and people were wandering over to the finish line.

Some people are very evil. However, we are BostonStrong. We will mourn for the dead, cry for the wounded, but we will not be stopped. Bostonians, like me, are resilient, tough, loyal and stick together. An act of terror will not stop people from running the Boston Marathon or cheering on the runners. If I know Bostonians, I would dare to say that there will be more people running the marathon next year.

How do you like them apples, evil people?


*Quote from Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting. Wicked awesome Boston movie.