Our hearts truly go out to the people of Boston. After yesterday’s tragedy there, which was shortly followed by a man killed by the G Train in Greenpoint, many of us may be starting off the day confused, saddened, and scared.
Mayor Mike Bloomberg wants you to know that he feels okay taking the subway after the “bombing” or “explosions” or “whatever” attack that happened yesterday during the Boston Marathon because NY is on high alert. Thanks Mike, but in a post-911 New York, many of us are probably shook up. But like brave New Yorkers, we carry on. Which can often make us feel even worse, guilty for acting like nothing happened.
While on a photo shoot yesterday, Jon texted me as the tragedy was unfolding and I quickly brought up the news on my iphone. The art director took one look at the horrific video and continued putting jewelry in front of my camera. It was disturbing to keep working, while at that moment amputees were being rushed to the hospital, but in all reality, what could I do in NY, but watch or keep working? Watching powerlessly can be worse.
After nervously returning home on the train, we listened to the news because watching would mean seeing the explosions on repeat, which is what many of us did after 911, which is even more traumatizing for our already shattered nerves. It’s not like after Sandy, when we could all come together and do something. In times like this, we can only watch and wonder and chose how to continue on.
And today we go back to our regular lives and think about how the people who were standing on the finish line yesterday had no clue how in one moment their lives would change forever. There is no comfort in this, that living in a city like New York, packed with people, vulnerable to such catastrophes, that at any moment any one of us could be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is the chance we take to live in such an amazing place. It was the chance the people in Boston took to be part of such a spectacular event. We are never 100% safe but we can’t give up on those things.
Today the best thing we can do is keep Boston in our hearts and cherish the people and the city around us that we love.
Go home early, hug your dog, make dinner with your sweetheart, get a drink with an old friend, call your Grandma. Enjoy life.
So Mayor Mike Took The Subway To Work: Feeling Safe After The Boston Marathon “Whatever” Attack
