 | | | Tim O'Brien finishing the 2013 Boston Marathon. Photos provided | | | | | | "We absolutely heard it; we turned and looked, and there was a puff of smoke." Showering spectators with carpenter nails and ball bearings, a pair of homemade pressure cooker bombs rocked Boylston Street on April 15 at 2:49 p.m. Eastern time - just 50 minutes after Orinda native son, Tim O'Brien, crossed the 2013 Boston Marathon finish line. Three people were killed and more than 260 others were injured, including a Martinez sixth grader who suffered severe shrapnel wounds.
There was concern, but no fear among runners recuperating at the finish area, recalls O'Brien. Then, everything changed. "I saw a race official break down. This person was someone who was on an elevated stand to direct traffic, right smack in the middle of an intersection." Sirens propelled O'Brien to start looking for his wife, Leslie.
Director of Community Life at the Orinda Community Church, she was in town to support her husband. "At first, when I heard the second blast," says Leslie O'Brien, "I thought it must have been a blown transformer." She smelled smoke - and sulfur. "This very tough looking man was walking away from the race crying; my heart sank." A single tear trailed down his cheek. For 45 minutes, she unsuccessfully tried phoning her husband, all the while flashing back to images of him rounding the marathon's final turn - waving to her at the vantage point they'd staked out a day earlier. "If the last memory I have is of my husband running and saying, 'I love you babe,' we did just fine."
Working her way back to their hotel, Leslie found Lamorindans Heather Callister and Carter Hemming, who had both finished running. Terming Hemming her knight in shining armor for texting her husband non-stop, she also remains grateful to Callister for making the wait easier.
Meanwhile, Tim O'Brien headed for his employer's office - a mile-and-a-half away. Passing Faneuil Hall where he and Leslie had been tourists just hours before, he noticed "a lot of people walking in the same direction, mostly spectators and some fellow runners." Colleagues and clients expressed relief at his arrival. He collected himself, rehydrated and phoned to let folks know he was okay before returning to the hotel where he found and promptly kissed Leslie.
They remember with genuine awe the kindness of the Bostonians who ignored their own trauma to make sure the O'Briens of Orinda were okay, and are returning in 2014 because they want to honor that tenacious compassion. Tim O'Brien is one of the runners raising funds for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Harvard Medical School teaching facility which healed the marathon's injured and has also trained numerous San Francisco Bay Area physicians. Funds raised will bolster the hospital's annual fund which "keeps the lights on," says hospital representative Krissy Talevi. "We've been so lucky in our lives; we are so incredibly blessed," explains Leslie. "I can't give a billion dollar check, but I can do something." Smiling, she adds, "To whom much is given much is expected."
Fifteen other Lamorindans will also make the run April 21 from Hopkinton (see sidebar). "My goal is to finish strong and enjoy the crowds at the end," says Chris Severson. His mother, Orinda Mayor Sue Severson, will be cheering from the sidelines for him - and for all of the participants who refuse to let hate win.
Sidelined with knee issues, Hemming is raising funds for Wediko Children's Services in Boston along with Ken Webster and Tom Innis. Steve Meagher, one of the brains behind Lamorinda's annual Fourth of July Parade, will be there - as will Moraga native, Eve Phillips, who will run her 11th consecutive race. "After the bombing last year, people were just so open and helpful. So much grace and passion came out of that day," says Phillips, who will "celebrate that part of human nature and coming together."
"The atmosphere is electric," adds Meagher. "It's so historic; it's an honor just to be there." Leslie O'Brien agrees. "Just witnessing a marathon is life affirming. Seeing folks in full military uniform running, wheelchairs wheeling, Bostonians cheering, that is what life is all about."
"Knowing yourself and how to get through hard times is empowering for any individual," says Tim O'Brien. "Going back to Boston is the way that I cope with what happened last year. That's the key for me; you take what you're dealt and you make something positive out of it. It's a celebration of Boston, and what it means to be an American."
To show your love for Boston and say no to hate, visit:
Tim O'Brien/Team BIDMC: www.crowdrise.com/bidmc2014bostonmarathon/fundraiser/timobrien2
Team Wediko: (Carter Hemming, Tom Innis, Drew Mickel, Ken Webster):
www.crowdrise.com/Wediko2014BostonMarathon/fundraiser
Lamorinda's 2014 Boston Marathon Contingent
Established by the Boston Athletic Association in 1897, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon. "I went to college in Boston and got to experience the enthusiasm for it firsthand there," says Eve Phillips, who witnessed the marathon's 100th anniversary as a freshman at MIT and then qualified a few years later. "It's always been considered that special runners' marathon."
Follow along on Twitter at #weruntogether, watch live online at www.baa.org, or sign up for AT&T text/email alerts by entering your favorite runner's bib number: www.baa.org/races/ boston-marathon/participant-information/att-athlete-alert.aspx.
Bib # Name City, State Wave/Corral
12588 Byrne, Trapper Lafayette, CA 2/4
22966 Dykhouse, Mark Lafayette, CA 3/5
13239 Webster, Ken Lafayette, CA 2/5
23964 Gormley, Robert J. Moraga, CA 3/6
12724 Peterson, Spencer R. Moraga, CA 2/4
15460 Digrande, Tanja Orinda, CA 2/7
25225 Hung, Patty A. Orinda, CA 3/8
30565 Innis, Thomas P. Orinda, CA 4/4
8591 Kitayama, Dina M. Orinda, CA 1/9
15001 Meagher, Steve Orinda, CA 2/7
2040 Mickel, Drew W. Orinda, CA 1/3
31870 Nicolaou, Phil Orinda, CA 4/5
16008 O'Brien, Tim Orinda, CA 2/8
12675 Phillips, Eve Orinda, CA 2/4
8224 Severson, Chris Orinda, CA 1/9
18435 Westover, Debbie Orinda, CA 3/1
The True Meaning of Patriots' Day
The Sugar Act (1764) and Stamp Act (1765). The Boston Massacre (1770). Twin tea parties in Lexington and Boston (1773). Still more Coercive, Intolerable Acts (1774), prompting cries of "Independence!" from farmers' fields to church pulpits.
But George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland, was unyielding. British Redcoats were sent to destroy rebel arms. It was dawn, April 19, 1775, and the world was about to change forever.
The third Monday each April has since become a statewide holiday in Massachusetts that is as integral to life as crisp air and trees transforming from summery greens to the fiery reds and oranges of fall. Re-enactors reenact with Long Rifles. Kids learn. Adults nod in solidarity, reminded that America's freedoms are worth protecting - even in the face of adversity - because it is the nation's collective sense of community which keeps the United States strong.
The annual coming together at the Battle Green of Lexington and Concord's North Bridge, Patriots' Day is one for the "bucket list." To learn more, visit: www.nps.gov/mima/patriots-day.htm.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA