Musings on a sad morning

I can't believe all that happened in Boston last night while I was peacefully sleeping. And I can't believe all that is going on there this morning, with hundreds of thousands of people on lock down in their homes as authorities look for an armed and dangerous criminal. I pray that no one else is injured in apprehending him....that he doesn't take an innocent family hostage, or kill another law enforcement officer, or any of the awful, horrible, terrible things that could happen before he is in custody. Living on an island these last three years (it is now officially three years, we closed on our house April 16, 2010) has shown me how much we are all connected. Of course, we all know that somewhere in our hearts, but I really KNOW it now. Here in Key West, we are all connected by the fact that we live on a small island in the Gulf of Mexico. We all have that in common, which serves as a bonding agent. This leads to a certain level of respect that is granted to EVERYONE here. It sort of levels the playing field....no one really seems to care if you are rich, poor, gay, straight, have a live parrot on your head, have a fancy education or barely made it through high school. You live here in Key West, like I do, so we are on the same team. This is certainly something wonderful about this little island of around 25,000 year-round residents. The connection I feel with people here makes mornings like this extra sad for me, because I feel so much more connected to everyone everywhere. I am sad for so many because I can put myself in their shoes and think of how I would feel if I was stuck in my home wondering if a dangerous man was on my street, or what words I would use to explain to my two young girls why they couldn't go to school today and why we can't celebrate that by driving to the movie theater. Obviously, a national tragedy would have been terribly upsetting to me if I still lived in Altoona, PA, Frederick, MD or Washington, DC. But since taking Key West's 'One Human Family' motto to heart, it makes me even sadder, on a much deeper level. This photo was sent out by a bed-and-breakfast here after the explosions at the Boston Marathon. Pretty cool. :)