Boston 2013

Yesterday, someone detonated two bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon about four hours into the race. As the first explosion, only five to ten feet from the finish line, went off, some videos capture the clock reading 4:09. Thirteen seconds later (I counted on the video I watched), a second blast went off a bit earlier on the race path.

No one has come forward to say why. No one has told us why a graduate student, a restaurant manager, and an eight year-old boy all had to die for this. No one has told us what the logic or reasoning was for injuring so many people so gravely.

The FBI has now taken the lead on this case, and I'm pretty sure they'll find out who did it. The finish line was a very interesting choice in that the statement is loud, but it's also the target of hundreds of cameras. There are videos of people streaming over the finish line. People taking photographs of their loved ones as they pass over the timing belt; even if only to get the back of their head and the time they cross. Anyone heading the other way would be easily photographed.

The timing is also interesting. Tax Day. Patriots' Day. A full Zodiac cycle since 2001. Or is there any reason? Perhaps finding causation in time and year is a red herring. The Boston marathon is a bit of an easier explanation. It's a 42.2km (26 miles) representation of American endurance.

There are so many things unknown. CNN has a list of known and verified details that they keep up to date.

This is what I know: I know that I've heard of the Boston Marathon long before I was ever interested in running, so it's a pretty big fucking deal. I know my favourite crime-fighting mystery solver, Spenser, would not have any of this in his hometown of Boston. I know that runners, when presented with a brick wall, will keep going, and that that's a metaphor. I know that the American people, despite their reputed brash and bumbling ways on the international stage, will not only be ready for a fight but will also bring it to your door. I know that no one deserves this to happen to them, and that the bombers will never win the hearts of mothers who can envision missing their daughters, or fathers who can imagine their sons hugging them for the last time after their greatest triumph.

The Boston Marathon is one of the most respected marathons in the world, but the insignia of the Boston Marathon unicorn will now become a symbol of perseverance beyond 26 miles.

O guilty party, you may have caused a day of chaos, pain, and fear. But the resilience of Boston is stronger than that, and you'd better run faster than a 3:09 marathon if you hope to get away with this.