Yesterday there was the collective exhale in Boston. It was the day marking the end of one year of shock, anguish and recovery. The day was, as the Reverend Liz Walker explained, a rising.
“Up from the deep, out of the shadows, through the sting and darkness of death; from the shock of the blow and the recoil from the horror, there is a rising,” she declared to some 2500 people packed into the Hynes convention center this afternoon for a marathon memorial.
The event was titled The Tribute--to the victims, to the responders, to the survivors.
“This day will always be hard. It'll never be easy to gather so close to that finish line. It'll never be easy to be so close to that place where our lives broke apart,” Rev. Walker continued.
Rising to the podium were three survivors, some walking on new prosthetics. Among them was Patrick Downes, who along with his newlywed, lost a leg last year. He told the audience of his own battle to come back from a place of great pain.
"While many of us struggled to heal within those hospital walls, a movement coalesced throughout our city, state and country. 'Boston Strong,' a simple phrase with a not-so-simple meaning, became our uniting call," he said.
Another victim, 16-year-old David Yepez, suffered burns and shrapnel wounds. He refused to be mired in his horror.
“Today I will not focus on the past but be mindful of our successes and thank those who have helped us take our first steps, reclimb our first mountains and reclaim our lives,” he said defiantly.
And though mostly spirited, Adrianne Haslet-Davis, a dancer who also lost a leg, refused to ignore reality.
“I have also learned that it is okay to not be okay — that we still have to let ourselves grieve,” she said.
From Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Governor Deval Patrick there were remembrances of 8-year-old victim Martin Richard, with whom both men had connected.
“I carry in my pocket today the photograph of Martin Richard holding a campaign sign for me when he was two years old — he got around Mr. Mayor. There are no strangers here,” Governor Patrick told the crowd.
Then the Boston Children’s Chorus delivered a poignant perspective, and Vice President Joe Biden who delivered the thunder.
“America will never stand down," Biden declared. "We are Boston. We are America. We respond. We endure. We overcome and we own the finish line!”
Which is now the start.
