Good morning my fellow crafters. I do not have a project for you today but wanted to share a few stories and thoughts on the Boston Marathon bombings. I'm sorry I have been MIA but, in light of Monday's events I think you can understand. This tragedy in Boston has consumed us all. I am happy to say God was surely watching over our friends and family on Monday's awful day. My daughter's brother in law was handing out Powerbars at the finish line. Thankfully he had already left the area before this happened. My son's girlfriend was right where the bomb went off but left with a friend 25 minutes before hand for a pee break, lol.
Finally, we were so concerned for a young woman who grew up in our home town, her brother is great friends with my youngest son. We had all wished her well on her FB page. She has worked so hard to train for this wonderful event. Her name is Laura Wellington and had reached the 25 mile mark and was headed for the finishline but was abruptly pulled off the track because of the bombings. Once we heard she was ok, we also heard of her emotional journey to reach her family.
In spite of the evil in our world, it is so important to remember that there are far more loving, selfless, caring people among us. Laura's story is one of them but there are thousands more yet to be told. Laura wanted to thank this couple who were there when she needed it most. Again, with this media we have today she was able to track down this couple. We ARE all connected. We come from the small town of Sutton, MA. The couple who helped her were from Alaska! Below is the story that went viral. Thank God it did since it was such a shot in the dark to find them
Tale of kindness goes viral
By:
There were countless tales of
heroism in the wake of Monday’s horrific Boston Marathon bombings and
even more stories of small acts of kindness, tales that reaffirm the
notion that, in the face of unspeakable evil, most people are inherently
good. Here is one of them …
Laura Wellington, a 25-year-old Cambridge claims adjuster, was one of the runners who didn’t get to finish the marathon. She was stopped a half-mile from the finish line and, when she learned what happened, panicked, knowing that her family was waiting for her in Copley Square. As she walked down Mass. Ave, Laura made frantic calls and was finally able to reach a friend, who was with her family and assured her they were OK. Here, in Wellington’s own words, is what happened next:
“I was just so happy ... that I sat down and started crying. Just couldn’t hold it back. At that moment, a couple walking by stopped. The woman took the space tent off her husband, who had finished the marathon, and wrapped it around me. She asked me if I was OK, if I knew where my family was. I reassured her I knew where they were and I would be OK. The man then asked me if I finished, to which I nodded ‘no.’ He then proceeded to take the medal off from around his neck and placed it around mine. He told me, ‘You are a finisher in my eyes.’ I was barely able to choke out a ‘thank you’ between my tears.”
They separated, but after the initial shock passed, Wellington
thought about the couple and how much that gesture meant to her. She
posted her story on Facebook in the hopes that she might find them and tell them.
“This couple reassured me that even though such a terrible thing had happened, everything was going to be OK,” she said.
By yesterday afternoon, her story had nearly 250,000 “likes” and had been shared more than 150,000 times. At around 1 p.m. yesterday, Kailee Cunningham posted to Wellington’s page saying, “That’s my mom and dad!”
Wellington was able to contact Brent and Karin Cunningham, who live in Alaska, and say a proper thank you.
In an interview with a local radio station, Brent said he gave Wellington his medal because “I just had to.”
“I got my medal and she didn’t,” he said. “It was like, I cannot not give it to you, you deserve it. And she just started bawling.”
Laura Wellington, a 25-year-old Cambridge claims adjuster, was one of the runners who didn’t get to finish the marathon. She was stopped a half-mile from the finish line and, when she learned what happened, panicked, knowing that her family was waiting for her in Copley Square. As she walked down Mass. Ave, Laura made frantic calls and was finally able to reach a friend, who was with her family and assured her they were OK. Here, in Wellington’s own words, is what happened next:
“I was just so happy ... that I sat down and started crying. Just couldn’t hold it back. At that moment, a couple walking by stopped. The woman took the space tent off her husband, who had finished the marathon, and wrapped it around me. She asked me if I was OK, if I knew where my family was. I reassured her I knew where they were and I would be OK. The man then asked me if I finished, to which I nodded ‘no.’ He then proceeded to take the medal off from around his neck and placed it around mine. He told me, ‘You are a finisher in my eyes.’ I was barely able to choke out a ‘thank you’ between my tears.”
“This couple reassured me that even though such a terrible thing had happened, everything was going to be OK,” she said.
By yesterday afternoon, her story had nearly 250,000 “likes” and had been shared more than 150,000 times. At around 1 p.m. yesterday, Kailee Cunningham posted to Wellington’s page saying, “That’s my mom and dad!”
Wellington was able to contact Brent and Karin Cunningham, who live in Alaska, and say a proper thank you.
In an interview with a local radio station, Brent said he gave Wellington his medal because “I just had to.”
“I got my medal and she didn’t,” he said. “It was like, I cannot not give it to you, you deserve it. And she just started bawling.”
Author(s):
Gayle Fee / Boston Herald
If you would like to show your support for the City of Boston and its people here is a thought: tomorrow we are asking that your show Boston pride by wearing apparel from any Boston sports team. (Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, Celtics etc) or wear blue and yellow the official colors of the Boston Marathon. If you do not have any of this why not make a Boston Cream Pie or some Toll House cookies? The original Chocolate Chip Cookie originated in Massachusetts.
Yesterday there was a campaign for people to show their support by running and showing a sign that was Run For Boston. It was unbelievable to see the people from all over who posted pics on their FB page.
I leave you with pics of my son's girl friend. We are blessed to have her in our lives and are thanking God today that her friend needed a "pee" break!
God Bless you all and please keep those injured both physically and emotionally from these bombings in your thoughts and prayers as well as all those who aided in providing the best care these people could have had.
An Update: Laura's story will be told on 20/20 Friday night. It is so inspirational in the midst of this tragedy. LauraWellington.jpg
MEDAL OF COMPASSION: Laura Wellington did
