I was standing in front of...

Item Information

Title:
I was standing in front of...
Date:
April 2013
Format:
Documents
Genre:
texts (documents)
Location:
Northeastern University Library
Collection (local):
Our Marathon
Series:
"Your Story"
Subjects:
Boston Marathon Bombing, Boston, Mass., 2013
Places:
Massachusetts > Suffolk (county) > Boston
Link to Item:
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20265642
Terms of Use:
Copyright Not Evaluated. The copyright and related rights status of this Item has not been evaluated. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/ Requests for permission to publish material should be addressed to Northeastern University Library's Digital Scholarship Group (dsg@neu.edu).
Contact host institution for more information.
Language:
English
Notes:
Item Text: I was standing in front of the Lord & Taylor. It was my husband's sixth Boston Marathon and I'd never seen him cross the finish line. I decided to surprise him this year. I left my 4 and 2 year old sons with relatives at the Copley Marriott hotel and went down to Boylston Street alone. I managed to make my way to the front of the barricades through the kindness of strangers who wanted me to see my husband cross the finish line. I text messaged my relatives at 2:48 pm to let them know he crossed and that I was going to try and find him. I walked through the Lord & Taylor and into the garage. I helped a man navigate the door to the garage with his baby stroller and when he thanked me, I said, "No problem, I have two of my own." A few paces later, we heard the first explosion and everyone froze. It sounded like a tractor trailer dropped above us. Seconds later, the second bomb exploded and shook the garage. It sounded like a giant thunderbolt. I didn't know where the explosions were in relation to my husband. I didn't know if I should run to my children at the hotel. I feared that another explosion might happen.I kept hearing my words, "I have two of my own..." People came pouring into the street in front of the garage; screaming. A very calm man told his family to stay still and not get caught in the crowd. I knew I should take his advice but I was too scared to stay still. I started running and found myself on Stuart Street. I kept asking runners their finish time to see if they crossed with my husband. "If they were safe, was he?" I heard a man on his phone frantically telling his wife to "get the children out of the Pru." I stood motionless, "Where should I go? Are my children safe?" On the corner of Stuart and Berkeley Street, I said a prayer. I asked God to guide me. I turned toward the Copley Marriott to go to my children. A second later, I received a text message from my husband. It said, "I am safe."
Notes (acquisition):
This story was collected by the Boston Globe in the days immediately following the Boston Marathon Bombing. GlobeLab collected these anonymous stories on the Boston.com website and donated them to the Our Marathon Archive. We are grateful for this contribution, which gives insight into how Bostonians and visitors to the city understood the bombing events in their immediate aftermath.