First Thoughts
Raw with emotion after hearing the news, I expressed my fears to my friend, Sarah. I fear that no race will ever be the same. I fear that finish lines in races will not only be filled with worry of future terrorism, but of a bitter-sweetness when it is safe. I fear even the thought of the BF running the Chicago Marathon this October. Sarah pointed out that this fear is exactly what terrorists want. She's right, of course.
I am reminded of one of my favorite episodes of The West Wing called "Isaac and Ishmael." They called it a play, I think, and they dropped it into the 2001 season, without regard to its place in the plot's timeline. It was their first post-9/11 episode.
I'm a huge fan, and while it may sound almost ridiculous to mention a TV show in the midst of all this, I believe it is fitting. The episodes are on www.netflix.com now. It is the first episode of Season 3. Watch it.
The point I'm getting to, though, is the strongest message I got from that episode:
terrorists always fail.
Inevitably, their acts of cowardice only cause the survivors to rally together and become closer. That which they aim to destroy, they strengthen.
I'm looking to that for comfort today... this day in which I ride a rollercoaster of emotions. So many details are not even near being announced yet, but I draw strength in the knowledge that we will prevail. We will grow stronger from this. We will unite.
We are runners. We are Americans. We win.
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