One has watched and read about, with
sorrow, and shock, the deadly, wildly
destructive tornadoes in Oklahoma. It is
hard to conceive what it is like, to be swept up in--and (if one survives) to
then seek to recover from--that kind of cataclysm.
_____
And then, there is the awful destruction--as in the Boston
bombings--which comes not from the immense power of nature, but from human agency:
from human cruelty, sociopathy, murderous
ideology.
_____
I haven't posted anything, in this space, since the
traumatic events of April, in Massachusetts.
A few nights after the Marathon bombings--the grotesque, inhuman,
evil acts which were committed--I hosted
my weekly radio program, and spoke at some length about what had happened. Earlier that evening, the video and still
images of the suspects had been released.
The next night, there was the battle in Watertown, following
the murder of the MIT police officer.
A transit officer was also, of course, gravely wounded, in Watertown.
I remained in front of the TV all night (more than 200 miles
away, in northern New Jersey), watching
the events in Watertown.
The following week, I spoke a bit more, on my program, about
the bombings, and their aftermath. Yet
my words, that evening, felt to me inadequate.
Seven weeks later, I remain just staggered by what took
place, continue to feel great sadness about the deaths, and the grievous
injuries which were inflicted.
I grew up just outside of Boston, my father lives less than
a few miles from where the bombings occurred, and I have talked often, with family, and friends, about the events of April. During that time I have tried to write a few posts about that
which took place, but the words, on paper, have also seemed inadequate, and I
have put the writing aside.
