Boston

It's a sad, dark day here in Boston. I was going to start today with a bright and cheery post about my heading off to New Orleans, but felt I wanted to send my heartfelt prayers and best wishes to all those directly affected by this unknown attack. I lived in Boston for several years and am in town on a regular basis. I shot the image above just last week, looking towards Beacon Hill and the State House - our fair "City on a Hill". I consider it my home. And my home was attacked. Like everyone here, I spent the day glued to the television, like we all did on 9/11.

And, once again, we saw our amazing First Responders run towards the flames so that others could run away. I don't know who took this amazing photo above, but I would expect it to become one of the iconic images of the day. It's an amazing shot that not only captures our city's finest officers in action - running towards the flames - but it also includes many world flags standing at attention - showing we're all really one. The runner on the ground is reportedly a 78 year old man who has previously run the marathon; he is okay. I'd also like to point out that the officer on the far left is a woman. Girl power!

 And I'd like to give a warm shoutout to my high school classmate Eric McDevitt, a long time Boston EMT. We knew from an earlier FB post that he was on duty and had prophetically wondered how busy the day would be. I was relieved when he showed up on television, looking very hale and hearty, and very much in control of the situation. We love you Eric. My mother (who was friendly with his late Mom) said she knows how proud his mother would have been of him today.

As Mr. Rogers famously said:

Thank you to the helpers. And thank you Lord for looking over my friends and family who were there and keeping them safe, and for welcoming those who don't make it into your loving embrace.