There was a moment today as I was walking to campus, where I stopped walking and parked myself along the sidewalk in my small town.
I swung my backpack around, off my left shoulder, and plopped the stupid heavy bag on the sandstone wall. I took the last drink I wanted from my water bottle and popped it shut.
I went to unzip my bright orange backpack, and as I did, somebody passed by me....
They were looking at me as if I were crazy-
or as if I was doing something wrong.
At first I was confused. I must look extra weird today..
Then I remembered what everyone has been seeing on the news these days.
We are hearing of terrible crimes, reading of tragic accidents, and watching devastation on a daily basis. Our televisions, cell phones, social media sites, blogs and whatever else the internet gods have provided us- are shedding light on the harsh realities that are out there, but are pounding fear and terror into our minds.
But what if we only shared the happy stories,
the birthdays,
the miracles,
the survivor stories?
All I wanted to do, was put my water bottle back into my orange backpack.
************
Boston is my favorite city. The city swept me off my feet the moment I first got off the Charlie at Arlington and mozied my way into the commons, the public gardens- where I spent every weekend for an entire summer. It was the best summer I have ever had...
Boston is beautiful and strong city and this incident will only make it stronger.
Now, I may be a broke college student, but I feel that I can help, maybe even just a little bit, by sharing this site I came across this morning. It may not be for the victims of Boston, but it's for the young people who are going to fill in the shoes of those die hard Red Sox/Celtic/Patriot fans that are helping the city right now. If you can, make a donation- if not, just pass it along to someone who might be able to.
http://gbfb.org/our-mission/backpack-program.php