Not like any of you need somebody else throwing out their thoughts. Many have here (my first).
But this one thing just keeps coming to mind for me.
Let me see if I can explain.
Any bombing. Mass shooting. Heck just a man beating his spouse hurts me. Pains me to the bone. As I know it does others here maybe in more profound ways.
But something about this hit harder for me then I would have thought.
Let me see if I can explain.
I jog (I don't say run) about 12-15 miles a week. Something I enjoy.
But you couldn't pay me to run a marathon. I see the point, but not something I'd do. I'd rather do other endurance things. Jump out of a plane. Climb a mountain. Swim a long distance. Hike 15 miles in a day with a 60 pound pack on. A lot of other things.
But many friends and co-workers of mine have run marathons. Often they were overweight and did the training for months not the event itself, to lose weight. Or for a cause to raise money. Or just to push themselves. Or all three (in most instances). They were often not athletic. In many instances they were like the second to last person you'd pick on your dodge ball team :).
I've stood on a number of marathon courses those friends ran to support them.
We might say things before hand like look up at mile 10, mile 20, and of course that final couple hundred yards we'll all going to be there.
I worked at high-end ad agencies at the time and we often had large format printers where we printed out huge signs pushing them. Wishing them well.
Heck I saw an AP photo, of somebody near the second explosion (don't know if she was hurt) with a hand written sign just saying:
Amy it is all downhill from here.
That the bomber(s) would know this was the time when most "average" people finished. That their kids and co-workers would be there watching dad who worked too many hours was trying to do something different. That person in their 70s trying to reclaim youth and refusing to "go off into the night" quietly. The soccer mom that has given up many thing to raise a family and now finding herself again.
There is something so darn fucked up about this.