Today is One Boston Day— the anniversary of the 2013 marathon bombing that killed four and injured scores of people on Boylston Street.
If you blink, you’ll probably miss it. And perhaps it’s inevitable that the events of that Patriots Day week — now 13 years removed— will slowly fade into the background of daily life for many of us.
The world keeps spinning and the drumbeat of bad tidings with each new headline and news flash has a predictably numbing effect.
Next Monday’s marathon will trigger more tangible memories: The runners streaming toward Copley, the crowds massed along the barricades, the jubilation of exhausted athletes as they embraced loved ones after a grueling run.
For many who witnessed the aftermath of the terror explosions in 2013, thoughts will turn quickly to those hours and days that followed the carnage: the fog of war, the fear of further attacks, the heroism and sacrifice of first responders, and the ultimately successful hunt to find the killers.
Those thoughts will be tinged by moments of pride, too: a sense of communal resolve— that elusive ‘Boston Strong’ sentiment that was too fleeting, but very real.
Locally, we recall the stomach-churning realization that one of our own beloved Dorchester families was among the most impacted victims— and that their beautiful younger son was ripped away from them forever. And we remember a candle-lit Garvey Park filled with mourners and a makeshift memorial at Peabody Square, where the clock was stopped to mark the terror-filled moment, then re-started as an act of communal defiance a week later.
Mostly, we’re stirred and steeled by the grace and good works of the Richard family, who refused to let their son and brother’s death define him or them or this neighborhood.
In the years since, they’ve breathed life into a living memorial that even Americans immortalized on silver coin and paper currency might envy: A harborside park where children younger than Martin play with joyful squeals; a Challenger League in which kids with disabilities compete on the same ball fields where Martin once tracked down footballs; and countless donations to causes near and far— all with the message that even Pope Leo himself couldn’t top: ‘No More Hurting People— Peace.”
We’ll say it plain: There’s not enough happening this year— 13 years removed from the tragedy. There’s a clean-up planned at Franklin Park on Saturday. There should be more.
Perhaps one day we might not go through the exercise of “One Boston Day.” But, while we have it, we should use it. Not as a feel-good slogan, but as a day of action.
Instead of griping about it, though, let’s make a meaningful attempt to do our part. A contribution to the Fieldhouse+, the facility that is now rising along Mount Vernon Street next to the Dever School on Columbia Point, would be a simple way to start.
Once its built— and opened, hopefully next year, the Fieldhouse+ will be run by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester in partnership with the Martin Richard Foundation. While the building itself will not bear
Martin’s name, the project itself has sprung from Bill and Denise Richard’s devotion to Martin’s home neighborhood and to young people — like him— who deserve the best.
Fieldhouse+ Project rises along Mount Vernon Street. Bill Forry photo
Work to build the Fieldhouse+, a new athletic and community complex, is accelerating on Dorchester’s Columbia Point this week. A partnership between the Martin Richard Foundation and the Boys & Girls Club of Dorchester, the facility is designed as an inclusive space for children and families. Plans include basketball courts, a turf field, walking track, fitness center, teaching kitchen, and studio space.
NBC Sports Boston play-by-play announcer Drew Carter will run next week’s Boston Marathon to raise money for the Martin Richard Foundation and the Fieldhouse.
Carter, who hopes to raise $50,000 as part of the Celtics Shamrock Foundation’s “Green Runs Deep” team, toured the active construction site on Mount Vernon Street recently with Martin’s father, Bill Richard.
For more on how to contribute to Carter’s run, go to this page.
Image courtesy NBC10 Boston
