Marathon Madness

The following is a post from guest blogger, Astrid Wilder, on the events of Marathon Monday.

Yesterday started out like any other day. But I didn’t know that it would be the worst day of my life. “Hurry up in the bathroom. You’ve been in there for at least half an hour. I want to see the marathon,” Dad called. When we were all ready, we went outside. We were just a few blocks away from where the marathon ended. “I think we should ask someone what’s going on,” I said. “It seems like something’s up.”

“You’re right,” my dad said. “What’s going on?” my dad asked some people who were standing there looking worried.

“There was an explosion,” they said.

“Let’s go home,” I said.

“Good idea,” Dad said. We ran into the Victory Gardens. “Do you know what happened?” my dad asked some other people.

“There was an explosion,” they said.

We walked down Peterborough to El Pelon. Some people were talking, “There were two bombs. If there are more, evacuate.”

We walked home and I e-mailed everyone whose e-mail I knew. I felt so happy when my friend, Mallory, said she was fine. She lives near where the bombing took place, too. My dad turned on the TV. He looked at every news channel. The roads were blocked off so my mom couldn’t get home. When my mom finally got home really late, we looked at all of our e-mails and texts. Then I called my Grandma in Chicago. She kept on saying “Thank goodness you are safe.” When we were done with everything and I was going to bed, I thought, “You’re right, Grandma. Thank goodness me and my family and friends are safe.” I smiled and fell asleep.

Today I did this drawing because the world needs to have love, happiness, and peace.  This picture is of someone who wants to stop hate. Hate is something everyone despises. Nobody likes to be bullied, right? So if you are mean to people, or even one person, remember the golden rule: treat people the way you would like to be treated. The world is full of violence. But always remember there are good people in the world, too.

The End